Tommy Bowden is as Heartless as a Crack Den
College Football March 11th. 2008, 11:27am
You may recall the heartwarming tale of Ray Ray McELrathbey, a Clemson reserve running back who was granted custody of his 11-year-old brother almost two years ago when his parents were unable to care for the youngster. Ray Ray had no car, but relied upon his friends to cart him and his brother around; his scholarship stipend helped provide food. Sad stuff.
Except that Clemson coach Tommy Bowden just pulled his scholarship (for seemingly no reason other than Bowden handed out too many boats). The result was that Ray Ray decided to leave school the program. The media has been hounding Bowden on the subject, and naturally, the coach got snippy when pressed on the matter. Fantastic offseason those classy Bowdens are having, right?
Bowden stays mum on McElrathbey (The State)
Ray Ray finished playing for Tigers (Post and Courier)
36 Responses to “Tommy Bowden is as Heartless as a Crack Den”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:28 AM
There just has to be a back story that we don’t know about. There just has to be. There just has to be. There just has to be….
March 11th, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.
Asshole.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:30 AM
@jgp, I hope for Bowden’s sake that there is a backstory. Because if there isn’t he is an incredible asshole, and also incredibly stupid. How much bad press is this guy gonna get for this??
March 11th, 2008 at 11:31 AM
That article said he was leaving the program not the school.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:31 AM
@jpg- we got dunn last night if you saw that.
this guy should get the home remodel guy on A&E that went to Clemson to pay his college bill. Richard was a huge Clemson fan. i love his assistant if anyone knows what i am talking about
March 11th, 2008 at 11:31 AM
Anyone who doesn’t think that coach/player relationship mirrors pimp/ho relationship should read that story.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:31 AM
The ACC leads the league in douches.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:33 AM
The Post and Courier story says that he will graduate in August. Of course, he plans to attend grad school, and there aren’t eligibility problems with that. Maybe somebody will give him an academic scholarship or make him a T.A.. Technically, there isn’t a difference between an athletic and academic scholarship.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:34 AM
Irish, I saw that. You just knew they would bring in a veteran RB. Dunn is a good guy too. It’s a good pickup
March 11th, 2008 at 11:35 AM
March 11th, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Academic usually doesn’t get you room/board, though. (or access to co-eds)
March 11th, 2008 at 11:35 AM
I dont see how this is being heartless…the kid got a free ride (financially)to his degree and thats that. He isnt entitled to a grad degree. If he can latch on elsewhere, sure, more power to him, but its not like he was one year from graduating and had no eligibility left.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:36 AM
I forgot to add one thing though. It seems weird that you would sign him and Antonio Bryant on the same day. Definitely a yin-yang thing going there.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:36 AM
If you want to attack somebody, attack his parents – you know, the crackhead and the degenerate gambler.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:37 AM
For the Bucs, maybe Mike Alstott can come out of retirement and then it can be 1998 all over again!
March 11th, 2008 at 11:39 AM
Totally missed the Antonio Bryant signing. That guy was a stud for Pitt, but never quite got his head screwed on right. Good luck with that…
March 11th, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Sterlin – I disagree somewhat. He still has 2 years of eligibility left. Even if he rides the pine for those 2 years, he has the opportunity to get his grad degreee with tuition and room/board paid for. There’s no rule that states you’re only allowed 1 degree from your scholarship.
I think the scholarship is somewhat like a contract that the school/coach must honor for the 4-5 years provided the “terms” (going to practice, participating in the team functions, etc.) are met.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Why did the Rams sign Trent Green to a 3 year, 8 million dollar deal?
I know contracts aren’t guaranteed in the NFL but that deal seems stupid on a multitude of levels.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:42 AM
Did something happen to Marc Bulger?
March 11th, 2008 at 11:42 AM
412- i didnt know he went to PITT. Hey is Dave W still the coach up there?
March 11th, 2008 at 11:44 AM
Yeah… Wannstedt is still here. Probably saved his hide with the win over WVU.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:44 AM
cbh – isn’t that about $1 mil per concussion?
March 11th, 2008 at 11:47 AM
Even if he does get some academic assistance, Tommy Bowden will catch the ton of shit when (not if) one of those piece-of-shit third string linebackers he just couldn’t afford to get rid of gets kicked off the team after a brawl or after he steals a credit card or something like that.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:47 AM
As much as there has to be some form of backstory, how big could it possibly be if the school has extended an offer to be a grad assistant in the AD? Bowden needs to take a class or 10 in PR. “How not to be a a complete tool 101″ would be my first suggestion.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Did anyone notice Bowden suspended him from 4 practices because he missed a team function for academic reasons? The kid is taking 21 CREDIT HOURS a semester so he can graduate in three years, heaven forbid he miss a team function so he can study!
March 11th, 2008 at 11:54 AM
True, but he’s only there because of his football-playing abilities, so he sort of has to show up for team functions, no?
March 11th, 2008 at 11:55 AM
ACC = All Class Conference
March 11th, 2008 at 12:02 PM
There’s no backstory here, other than the fact that Bowden overrecruited in his 2008 class, and some folks had to be cut.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:05 PM
In the immortal words of Jeff Spicoli:
You dick!
March 11th, 2008 at 12:05 PM
yea, when all these hot recruits started choosing clemson (which im pretty sure they didnt anticipate) someone was gonna get cut. Davis returing also didnt help.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:22 PM
@irishmafia- You’re talking about Richard Davis from Trademark Properties, I’m assuming. I see nothing wrong with that idea, and since he’s had his scholarship taken away, I doubt there would be any NCAA violations.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:31 PM
@Bruce- yes sir indeed. I have actually learned a few things about flipping houses from watching his show.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:45 PM
@Bruce – If he wanted to continue to play elsewhere, since he has eligibility left, I would think it could be an issue.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:53 PM
@irish – Richard’s assistant has alot to love, if you know what I mean!
March 11th, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Thank you for posting this TBL! The local media is just starting to pick up on what a shithead Tammy Bowden is. It has not helped his case that James Davis came out and pretty much said that Ray Ray was cut off becuase Tammy oversigned his class and the all the PR mileage had been used from Ray Ray. Tammy preaches all this shit about his faith, doing the right thing, and the overall experience of the cow pasture that is Clemson, and then he goes and cuts off this kid’s lifeline to a better future for he and his brother. I hate Clemson but I had to give them credit for the way they took care of Ray Ray ad his brother, hell even the backassward NCAA gave him a special ruling to allow for the trust fund. Way to fuck it up Tammy!
/And yes I am a Gamecock
/ End rant
March 11th, 2008 at 8:56 PM
Just what I need … one more reason to hate the ‘extended’ Bowden family.
Bobby, Tommy, Terry, Mark Richt, Chuck Amato, Brad Scott … when do we get to start hatin on Jimbo for spoutin on about his faith in God and hear the lemmings pour it on about how great he is as man, not necessarily as a coach.
These are the phoniest people in college football and they learned it all from “St” Bobby.