Ronny Thompson’s Ball State Saga
Uncategorized July 25th. 2007, 8:56pm
Remember Ronny Thompson? The former Georgetown guard who was a coach supposedly on the fast track to stardom? Earlier this month, he quietly left the Ball State basketball program after just one season, and did so under a dark cloud of NCAA violations and race issues.
While the Ball State Daily News has done a splendid job chronicling this mess, the school refuses to release one crucial email: Thompsons resignation letter, which may or may not have blasted the school over racial issues.
Theres an spectacular recap of the entire quagmire here, and if you read between the lines, perhaps youll come to the conclusion we did: Thompson wanted out so badly, he purposely broke NCAA rules so the school would have to fire him. It seems as if he bent over backwards trying to get canned, but when it didnt happen, he simply resigned.
Quite a soap opera in Muncie were going to recommend the school hire Bonzi Wells to run the show.
Thompson wanted out in May (Ball State Daily News)
A Fine Mess at Ball State (Hoop Wise)
15 Responses to “Ronny Thompson’s Ball State Saga”
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July 25th, 2007 at 9:04 PM
Can we get Jason Whitlock and David Letterman on this ASAP?
July 25th, 2007 at 9:21 PM
Isn’t that picture of John Thompson Jr, the coach of Georgetown?
July 25th, 2007 at 9:22 PM
Why is there a picture of John Thompson III on this story?…fix that. that’s libelous.
July 25th, 2007 at 9:25 PM
Why is there a pic of John Thompson Jr.?
July 25th, 2007 at 9:52 PM
He he… Ball State.
July 25th, 2007 at 11:20 PM
David Lettermen might be a fine replacement.
July 26th, 2007 at 12:34 AM
That mess sounds so bad you’d think it was Fresno State.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:15 AM
1. Yeah, why is there a pic of JT, Jr.?
2. Oh fuck. Here comes Uncle Whitlock. Good call UM.
July 26th, 2007 at 3:25 AM
Ronny Thompson is John Thompson Jr’s brother…
July 26th, 2007 at 7:26 AM
The picture is of John Thompson III, Ronny’s brother. John Thompson Jr. is the father of Ronny and John III.
While I understand it’s his brother, your use of a picture of JTIII makes it seem, incorrectly as far as I know, that he was somehow involved in this whole ordeal. It’s not as if there’s a lack of pictures of Ronny, as a check of Google shows. As a fan of this blog (and recent Gtown alum), I expect better.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:08 PM
I wonder what Whitlock is saying about his school
July 26th, 2007 at 1:44 PM
2. Oh fuck. Here comes Uncle Whitlock. Good call UM.
Oh fuck, Here comes KC not able to deal with even the possiblity that a black man potentially did something racial and starts calling other people “Uncle”
July 26th, 2007 at 2:09 PM
“telling players not to trust certain staffers because according to sources, they were white.”
Racism is racism. Why has the NCAA let the Thompson family get away with racism and bigotry for 30 years?
July 26th, 2007 at 2:10 PM
And why hasn’t ESPN covered this story?
July 26th, 2007 at 2:52 PM
Glad you picked up on this TBL. If this was Florida State or something, it’d be a grand story on the WWL.
I’m a BSU student.
I’ve never had any personal run-ins with Thompson, but I can say this: people didn’t really trust the guy. Fans felt alienated; he wouldn’t play nice with them. Ya know, shake hands, recognize them when they cheered, chat with them at functions, etc. Media felt disrespected, too. I guess Thompson had a holier-than-thou attitude.
President Gora has been on the job for just a few years. It is rumored (some talk I’ve heard) that she hired Ronny to scratch the Thompson Family’s back, in hopes Big John scratches back and gets her a job at a Big East school in a few years.
It should also be noted that the women’s volleyball coach, despite and impeccable record in 18 years, was fired last December. He believes it was because he squeeled on Thompson’s first violation. He’s hired lawyers and is about to file a lawsuit.
Also, rumors have circulated that Thompson wrote the racist notes himself, in hopes of it being an out in his contract, which apparently says he can if he feels unsafe/threatened.
Check out this story that quotes some e-mails saying he wanted in May. I suggest reading the reader comments; they shed insight into how the fans felt about the guy.
http://media.www.bsudailynews.com/media/storage/paper849/news/2007/07/19/Sports/Mens-Basketball.Thompson.Wanted.Out.In.May-2925362.shtml