Hack Journalism, Seedy Parents, or Whiny Supporters?Moorhead

EHSHack · Post by **EHSHack** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:22 am

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/307641/
Curious what everyone else thinks of this. The paper did drag this kid through the mud and back, and they never published the names of the kids who got suspended for hazing, IIRC, so why was this 17 year old kid thrown under the bus?

EREmpireStrikesBack · Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:13 pm

Tragic.

PuckU126 · Post by **PuckU126** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:53 pm

Interesting story.

It appears the parents are circumventing the laws, regulations, and rules for him. Its unethical what the parents are being accused of, but in the long run, they believe they're doing what's best for their son. (Moorhead would prep their child for a better future athletically, IMO)

The parents are innocent until proven guilty and it appears there is also a witch hunt going on as well... I would vote twice if I could.

HShockeywatcher · Post by **HShockeywatcher** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:13 pm

This is a very interesting spin on the "recruiting" topics. Never before have I heard a group of people from a community trying to get rid of a star athlete who transferred there. It is usually outsiders complaining about a player they lost.

PuckU126 · Post by **PuckU126** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:22 pm

HShockeywatcher wrote:This is a very interesting spin on the "recruiting" topics. Never before have I heard a group of people from a community trying to get rid of a star athlete who transferred there. It is usually outsiders complaining about a player they lost.

Same. I had to read it twice because I was so surprised.

muckandgrind · Post by **muckandgrind** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:25 pm

There aren't any other schools in Fargo he could've transferred to in order to get away from "the wrong crowd"?

I've heard of parents renting apartments to give them a different residency so their kids can play in different youth associations, but to transfer legal guardianship of your son to your 21 year old daughter so he can play hockey in a better program?

I'm sorry, but this doesn't pass the smell test in my eyes. Could be legal, but still stinks.

Post by **karl(east)** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:28 pm

PuckU126 wrote:
HShockeywatcher wrote:This is a very interesting spin on the "recruiting" topics. Never before have I heard a group of people from a community trying to get rid of a star athlete who transferred there. It is usually outsiders complaining about a player they lost.
Same. I had to read it twice because I was so surprised.

While I haven't seen an effort to flat-out get rid of a transfer student, I have definitely seen the arrival of a transfer student cause significant discontent among those who believe they've been "robbed of spots."

The book "Blades of Glory" (highly recommended) recounts an incident in which a parent allegedly tried to attack AHA's Greg Trebil for "promising his son a spot on the team," and then seeing that spot taken away by a "recruit."

When there's a transfer, someone loses a spot, and that person is often displeased. There are plenty of other less drastic instances of this.

2nd string · Post by **2nd string** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:35 pm

Yet another loop hole has been found in the system, the kid wants to play in the most impressive state tournament in the country. And has a good chance to. We all know about he North Dakota State tournament. It does not hold a candle to the MSHSL Tourny. To bad the kid got put through the ringer from the paper. But they should of been prepared for it all. I am thinking they knew what they were doing.

DKS1962 · Post by **DKS1962** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:36 pm

The MSHL rules are in place. There are numerous loop holes in place to circumvent the rules to allow athletes to open enroll and compete. Numerous athletes have done this in the past.

I'm not going to say this is the reason here.

Is the paper reporting news or trying to make news.

I vote "Witch Hunt"

stpaul · Post by **stpaul** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:44 pm

The parents are not "innocent until proven guilty". There is no criminal charge in a court of law. The Moorhead parents legal threats are likely to go no where. This "case" will never see a courtroom. The article seems pretty fair. They interviewed all the parties and wrote facts. It seems pretty clear that the parents set up a sham guardianship with the sister so the kid could go to Moorhead HS and go home to Fargo every night. If he was not a hockey star, no one would care. But he is a hockey star. I vote not a witch hunt. It's news. Sorry mom and dad you got caught, but nobody is going to jail.

PuckU126 · Post by **PuckU126** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 1:57 pm

stpaul wrote:The parents are not "innocent until proven guilty". There is no criminal charge in a court of law. The Moorhead parents legal threats are likely to go no where. This "case" will never see a courtroom. The article seems pretty fair. They interviewed all the parties and wrote facts. It seems pretty clear that the parents set up a sham guardianship with the sister so the kid could go to Moorhead HS and go home to Fargo every night. If he was not a hockey star, no one would care. But he is a hockey star. I vote not a witch hunt. It's news. Sorry mom and dad you got caught, but nobody is going to jail.

Just to clarify, I never said they were breaking the law nor committing a crime. I did say they were circumventing the MSHSL standards and MN, ND statutes and regulations though, or in other words working around and taking advantage of the system.

You may have got this assumption from my "innocent until proven guilty" comment. That term is used loosely and is not just directed towards criminal activity. I was merely using it as a figure of speech. That is all.

I hope this helped.

foreversioux · Post by **foreversioux** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 2:02 pm

What a great example these parents are setting for their son. Im not buying the "we wanted to get him away from the wrong crowd". If they were that concerned, they could have moved. We had a situation in our town where the parents got a divorce so 1 parent could move with the kid to play his Senior year with a more established team. After the season, the parents got remarried. Is all this worth it for a game?

stpaul · Post by **stpaul** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 2:11 pm

P.S. - Dave Morinville looks really bad here. He would have been much better off saying nothing. He called the sister a liar, he claimed that the family "moved over to Moorhead years ago" and said “when he came over as a ninth-grader, I did not know the whole situation” Let's see - a lie, a lie and a lie. Strike 3.

observer · Post by **observer** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 2:20 pm

Fussy Moorhead parents.

Based on what we see in the metro this is entirely on the up and up. MSHSL rules state make your choice for 9th grade and you're free to go wherever you want. Not sure any of the rest of the information means anything. Sounds like he switched schools for 9th grade. Maybe since it worked for him you'll get 6 more Fargo 9th graders next year. Get over it.

muckandgrind · Post by **muckandgrind** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:01 pm

observer wrote:Fussy Moorhead parents.

Based on what we see in the metro this is entirely on the up and up. MSHSL rules state make your choice for 9th grade and you're free to go wherever you want. Not sure any of the rest of the information means anything. Sounds like he switched schools for 9th grade. Maybe since it worked for him you'll get 6 more Fargo 9th graders next year. Get over it.

I don't think many are questioning the legality of the situation. Looks like the parents exploited the system to their benefit. But just because what they did might be within the rules, doesn't make it right.

Why won't they just be honest and say they did what they did so their boy could play hockey for Moorhead? Personally, I would have more respect for them if they were just up front about it.

observer · Post by **observer** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:22 pm

It'll be interesting to get the stats at some point but I'll guess 60 9th graders, boys and girls, switched schools September 2010 in the metro alone. What I mean by switched, as almost all 9th graders attend a different school than the one they attended in 8th, is changed to a school different than the public one in their community or a different private.

Someone have the actual number? MSHSL?

BodyShots · Post by **BodyShots** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:27 pm

muckandgrind wrote:There aren't any other schools in Fargo he could've transferred to in order to get away from "the wrong crowd"?

I've heard of parents renting apartments to give them a different residency so their kids can play in different youth associations, but to transfer legal guardianship of your son to your 21 year old daughter so he can play hockey in a better program?

I'm sorry, but this doesn't pass the smell test in my eyes. Could be legal, but still stinks.

Hmmm, this sounds familiar!

OnFrozenPond · Post by **OnFrozenPond** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 3:32 pm

muckandgrind wrote:
observer wrote:Fussy Moorhead parents.

Based on what we see in the metro this is entirely on the up and up. MSHSL rules state make your choice for 9th grade and you're free to go wherever you want. Not sure any of the rest of the information means anything. Sounds like he switched schools for 9th grade. Maybe since it worked for him you'll get 6 more Fargo 9th graders next year. Get over it.
I don't think many are questioning the legality of the situation. Looks like the parents exploited the system to their benefit. But just because what they did might be within the rules, doesn't make it right.

Why won't they just be honest and say they did what they did so their boy could play hockey for Moorhead? Personally, I would have more respect for them if they were just up front about it.

Boy this is ugly all around...

1. Parents who turn over custody of a 9th grader to their 21 year old daughter (or pretend to).
2. Coaches who pretend they don't know anything about the transfer.
3. Parents who file a lawsuit over a transfer student on their own team (talk about team harmony).

Who comes out of this looking good? Nobody.

CitiesSpudsGuy · Post by **CitiesSpudsGuy** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:05 pm

The bottom line is the parents didn't break any rules here. Unethical? Yes and I fully agree with that. But the rules are full of loopholes and people will always find a way to exploit them.

If it's true that Leabo really "drives to his parents’ home in Fargo after school … and sleeps in his bedroom in his parents’ home" every day, then his MN residency is obviously a sham.

I don't know how you would do it, but the term "legal permanent residency" needs to be defined so that a certain percentage of a student-athlete's residency can be verified at their listed address. But as I said, I don't know how you would/could do that. Just my opinion.

wblhockeyfan8 · Post by **wblhockeyfan8** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:09 pm

OnFrozenPond wrote:
muckandgrind wrote:
observer wrote:Fussy Moorhead parents.

Based on what we see in the metro this is entirely on the up and up. MSHSL rules state make your choice for 9th grade and you're free to go wherever you want. Not sure any of the rest of the information means anything. Sounds like he switched schools for 9th grade. Maybe since it worked for him you'll get 6 more Fargo 9th graders next year. Get over it.
I don't think many are questioning the legality of the situation. Looks like the parents exploited the system to their benefit. But just because what they did might be within the rules, doesn't make it right.

Why won't they just be honest and say they did what they did so their boy could play hockey for Moorhead? Personally, I would have more respect for them if they were just up front about it.
Boy this is ugly all around...

1. Parents who turn over custody of a 9th grader to their 21 year old daughter (or pretend to).
2. Coaches who pretend they don't know anything about the transfer.
3. Parents who file a lawsuit over a transfer student on their own team (talk about team harmony).

Who comes out of this looking good? Nobody.

I absolutely 100% agree with you here. Although the kid looks good, because he's got a good stat sheet!

But seriously, it's pretty disgraceful of all parties. Although I thought the paper did a good job keeping a balance in the article. It raised questions, which is what the media is for IMO.

jackstraw · Post by **jackstraw** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:07 pm

Kids leave for midget and junior teams all the time and live with complete strangers, this one gets to live with his sister. 99% of these situations turn out fine.

observer · Post by **observer** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:09 pm

What I was saying is it may not make any difference where he lives. Minnesota has open enrolment and, you can go to school wherever you like, and be eligible for sports, as long as you make your choice for 9th grade. A 10th grade change is a different story. Now that's a Minnesota rule so maybe you do have to be a resident of the state.

Can a Hudson kid open enroll in Stillwater schools? That's probably where you at least have to be a resident of the State.

muckandgrind · Post by **muckandgrind** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:11 pm

jackstraw wrote:Kids leave for midget and junior teams all the time and live with complete strangers, this one gets to live with his sister. 99% of these situations turn out fine.

Sure, kids leave for midget and junior teams all the time....but those parents don't lie about it and make up reasons ("the wrong crowd") to cover their true intentions.

The reason the parents are probably lying here is because even they know how unseemly (though legal) this is. They are playing the system, while violating the "spirit" of the rules, IMO.

PuckU126 · Post by **PuckU126** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 5:15 pm

muckandgrind wrote:
jackstraw wrote:Kids leave for midget and junior teams all the time and live with complete strangers, this one gets to live with his sister. 99% of these situations turn out fine.

Sure, kids leave for midget and junior teams all the time....but those parents don't lie about it and make up reasons ("the wrong crowd") to cover their true intentions.

The reason the parents are probably lying here is because even they know how unseemly (though legal) this is. They are playing the system, while violating the "spirit" of the rules, IMO.

That's because they don't need to lie. Junior teams don't have restrictions like High Schools.

underthenbar01 · Post by **underthenbar01** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:15 pm

The AD himself says its "old news". Those reasons the 'concerned taxpayers' gave were ridiculous. Having sleep overs at his parents house? come on. Its his third year playing for Moorhead, clearly he's eligible. Sounds like some parents are mad their kids aren't getting ice time..

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