Letter to the Editor

[Ricardo del Rio]

In the sports section of the Wichita Eagle dated June 9, 2013, there is a letter to the editor. It is entitled "WSU's Sexton wrong for firing Stephenson."

I searched Kansas.com so that I could post a link for you, but the letter/story was not available. Maybe later in the week, the letter will be posted on line.

To give you a taste of the story, here is the first paragraph as follows:

"In the annals of Wichita State sports, the firing of Gene Stephenson marks a new low in the always despicable manner in which WSU athletic directors kick aside their coaches in disgrace, rather than terminating their employment with a sense of class."

The diatribe continues with five more extensive paragraphs.

The author is Chuck Glover. He might be William incognito.

[molly jabali]

Yeah, I read it...in fact, the editor stepped in to correct one statement about basketball success. I'm glad Gene has supporters...we all need them! But it was correctly descibed as a 'diatribe'!

[SB Shock]

Well the gene lovers better remember that can make a choice - get over it or force the AD To list all of Mean Gene transgression that lead him to make the decision to go a different direction. All it will do is tarnish gene reputation and memory if the full story has to be told.

[BenWSU]

Chuck & William suffering from ADD ? At some point you got to accept what happened and move on.

[shocker3]

After firing a legend, the AD should expect these kind of things.

[SB Shock]

After firing a legend, the AD should expect these kind of things.

Well just remember, there is another side to the legend, a darker side. So if u really want to go to war - just be prepared we can talk about the baysingers stories. We can post the pictures the creighton fans provided of gene a few years ago.

[DUShock]

After firing a legend, the AD should expect these kind of things.

yes sir, misplaced, un/misinformed responses such as this letter only make the person seem like an ignorant jack wagon.

[ABC]

I am sure that Sexton did expect it.

Hmmm . . . Baysinger stories? Pics from CU fans? I am intrigued.

Regarding the LTE, it was available online earlier today, but no longer. Oh, the writer was probably the box of rocks.

[WSUwatcher]

After firing a legend, the AD should expect these kind of things.

Yes, he should, and Gene's accomplishments were so extraordinary -- unique, really, in the literal sense -- that it's understandable to get this stuff from someone who chooses to accentuate only the positive. But even if you ignore the OU dalliance or other off-the-field things that seem to mesmerize folks like SB and DU (imagine what LouisvilleDU would be saying about Rick Pitino!) -- the simple fact that Gene's diehard supporters can't ignore is that, ON the field, he'd literally never had a five-year period at WSU worse than the one he just finished. At some point that, and the declining attendance and ticket sales that follow, have to count for something, and a responsible AD can't let that kind of thing go on forever. I'm a huge fan of Gene's and always have been, and I'm disappointed in the way his career ended too. But without knowing the whole story, which I don't and none of us here is likely to, I'm not willing to exonerate Gene for the unhappy rupture or blame Sexton 100% -- not by a long shot.

I definitely expect the next five years to produce better results for WSU baseball than the past five did, and that's where I plan to focus my attention.