Smith thrown out tonight

[SpanglerFan316]

shockerfanmas: You're right. From now on, I will ignore the entire Women's Sports area on SN. After all, an indication that there is a new post in Women's Sports is likely to represent deceptive advertising to my way of thinking; I don't see anything new in arguing over allegations about Smith which susposedly occurred sometime before April 21, 2003 (when Jane was named the new coach).

[SubGod22]

I feel ya SF. Most, if not all, Smith talk comes from the debate from years ago if he should be here or not or who's better he or Jane. It's not really about catching up with an old coach. It's about pointing out why he's gone or why he should be here.

[ictshockolate]

Its just that JS was so quick to get rid of Smith for winning,(because he yelled like a mens coach) and now we are stuck with a Jane for 4 more years who is very much over-rated as a coach.

[shox24]

Hi Everyone--
Jenn Kaczka here...I never reply to this message board, but I did see something that I didn't really appreciate. I am replying to the comment that Coach Smith had an inappropriate relationship with a member of the team. That statement is absolutely ludacris and I can't believe someone would actually say or believe that. He happens to still be a great friend of mine and I would JUMP at the chance to coach with him one day.

[1972Shocker]

Hi Everyone--
Jenn Kaczka here...

On a somewhat more pleasant subject:

Jenn, congratulations on your well-deserved selection to the MVC Women's All-Centennial Top 35 Players.

Are you working on a coaching career?

[shox40]

I also supported Coach Smith and I can't believe that someone would even say that he had inappropriate relationships with his players. I can't even believe that comment was allowed to stay on here and that poster was not warned. Yes he did yell but he never laid a hand on us physically (Bobby Knight ) or sexually (Pokey Chapman), if you don't want to be yelled at by a coach go play in the YMCA League or something. Spangler, I care about this topic and it doesn't matter if he is gone or not so maybe you shouldn't read this forum like you said.

[shox24]

Thanks for the congrats...I had no idea until I went to the MVC website to see who the women were playing in their first tournament game. It certainly solidified that my hard work went noticed! I would absolutely love to coach if an opportunity to do so comes my way. Right now I'm just raising my two boys and having a blast doing that. They LOVE basketball too. They have been watching the Men's tourney games...but we can't wait until tomorrow when the women's games start.
Shox40, I couldn't agree with you more!

[RoyalShock]

I have received a couple of complaints (thanks again to those who contacetd me) about the post in question and how it is addressed in the guidelines. So I thought I would clarify my current position on issues such as this. (And for the record, I have no opinion on the accuracy or inaccuracy of the rumor itself.)

The guidelines about unsubstantiated rumors are meant to protect current players, coaches and staff. Unless a post is extremely malicious, it will be left to stand on its own merits. However, the last line of the guidelines could very well come into play if the subject of any rumor wants to pursue legal action:

ShockerNet assumes no liability for the actions of individuals who post on or view this site. ShockerNet will fully cooperate with legal authorities if said actions lead to unlawful conduct.

I'm in the process of getting feedback from the other staff members to see if they agree with this position. The guidelines are always subject to change.

They will always be subjective, too. Case in point: I could remove ictshockalate's post (and even ban him/her) for saying that Schaus fired Smith because he yelled at some players. Unless ictshockalate was told that by Schaus himself (and can prove it) and had been reported in the media, it is a rumor about a current staff member that could be considered defamatory in nature.

[ictshockolate]

It wasnt my intent to make it sound like JS fired Smith for yelling at the players like the mens coaches. All Im saying is Smith treated the women players like alot of the men coaches treat the men players. Smith seemed to get alot of flack about that, and I couldnt understand why.I have no-idea why he got fired. Its just a statement that the only winning coach in womens history here got fired. But my opinion is that it was probably a personality thing, and maybe his demenor on the court during games. Just an opinion,just like every-one else here has.Again no slander here just an opinion.

[RoyalShock]

It wasnt my intent to make it sound like JS fired Smith for yelling at the players like the mens coaches. All Im saying is Smith treated the women players like alot of the men coaches treat the men players. Smith seemed to get alot of flack about that, and I couldnt understand why.I have no-idea why he got fired. Its just a statement that the only winning coach in womens history here got fired. But my opinion is that it was probably a personality thing, and maybe his demenor on the court during games. Just an opinion,just like every-one else here has.Again no slander here just an opinion.

Sorry, ict. I should have added that most would think interpreting your post that way would be extreme/unreasonable, yet conceivable due to the subjective nature of guidelines and the humans who interpret them.

[dregn]

"All Im saying is Smith treated the women players like alot of the men coaches treat the men players. Smith seemed to get alot of flack about that, and I couldnt understand why.I have no-idea why he got fired. "

To be successful in coaching womens sports you cannot coach like you would a mens team unless you get a very select group of girls (a couple of wnit's is not successfull in my opinion). This is the reason my sister turned down coaching high school basketball, she was not willing to put up with the drama. Smith for the most part was good at recruiting girls who didn't care about the drama, but they did not have the level of individual talent that most d1 basketaball players have. Jane on the other hand has the talent, but has to deal with the drama. If you can somehow get by that drama you have a much better team then what Smith could get. Last year they somehow played through it, this year they didn't (and i don't mean any specific incident, just in general). Hopefully next year they can and if they do then they will be much more succesfull.

[shox24]

Ok, here's the thing that really irritates me the most...It's easy to criticize things from the outside looking in. But, the truth of the matter is, yeah, Coach Smith yelled at us to motivate us, but that's his job. I'm not saying that everyday that I played for him was a picnic, trust me, I had bad days, but at the end of the day, Coach Smith cared about each one of his players as if they were his own daughter. If EVER we needed something, he got it for us. When we were on the road, we ate at the best restaurants, stayed at top class hotels, even if we weren't doing so well. He respected us as a person, and that is why I hold the utmost respect for him.