Friday, May 16, 2008

Report: Arthur’s grades altered

By Ryan Wood

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Darrell Arthur grades question

A report by Dallas television station WFAA alleges that Kansas University basketball forward Darrell Arthur was the beneficiary of improper grade-changing while in high school.

The report cites an interview with Winford Ashmore, Arthur's former math teacher at South Oak Cliff High in Dallas. The report, which ran Thursday night, said Arthur twice had a math grade changed - once almost two years after it was recorded.

James Mays, Arthur's basketball coach at South Oak Cliff, told the Journal-World on Thursday that there was no wrongdoing and that one of Arthur's grades was changed due to a teacher error.

"Totally ludicrous," Mays said of the report. "We've been fighting this with (WFAA) since last year."

It's unlikely the new allegations, if true, will have an impact on Kansas. Arthur was declared eligible by the NCAA prior to enrolling at KU in 2006.

KU associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said Thursday that officials were aware of WFAA's story and added that the Dallas Independent School District is looking into the allegations.

"Until they finish and come up with some facts," Marchiony said, "we can't say anything."

Arthur led South Oak Cliff to state championships in 2005 and 2006. The '06 title later was forfeited after it was determined that one of Arthur's teammates was academically ineligible.

Arthur helped Kansas win the national championship last month. He since has declared for the NBA Draft but has not hired an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning to KU.

Comments

LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...

The title is a little misleading. My heart sank when I thought it had something to do with KU. I should have known better....

May 16, 2008 at 3:52 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

madamhawk (anonymous) says...

No kidding LA...I think I sharted myself when I read the title!

May 16, 2008 at 4:19 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KEITHMILES05 (anonymous) says...

I am hoping the teacher will be brought up on charges of violating privacy laws. This is a serious matter to air a students grades.

What a bunch of idiots

May 16, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Brock (anonymous) says...

I live in Dallas and WFAA has been all over SOC and DISD for a long time as a way of boosting their ratings. WFAA went too far in this case, IMO, by interviewing this cheezy former teacher who showed the raw data on TV. Heck, my wife and I were not able to see raw data regarding our own children due to rules and laws covering such procedure. Tying KU into the local mess was way over the top.

May 16, 2008 at 6:28 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

I live in the Dallas area as well. Their "Special Investigation" report last night smacked of sensationalism, saying things like, "The NCAA has indicated that if a student was academically ineligible, the school would have to forfeit all games the student participated in." It appeared the teacher, who no longer teaches at South Oak Cliff, was disgruntled and was trying to get back at the principal and coach.

May 16, 2008 at 6:40 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

NH_JHawk (anonymous) says...

No doubt this is sensationalism txrockchalk. Sounds like this is old news and someone still has an axe to grind. What's the point of bringing it up now anyway?

May 16, 2008 at 6:53 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

Seriously!!!! They've already stripped SOC of its state titles...what more can they (Texas state athletics board) really do??? Let it go people!!!!

There's NOTHING they (NCAA) can do to KU....they cleared Darrell for God's sake!!!!

May 16, 2008 at 7:04 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

mvjayhawk (anonymous) says...

i agree with all of the above. it's too late, it's sour grapes on a former teacher's part, and his transcript from high school was already vetted by the NCAA. there's been no hint of academic scandal since Darrell has been at KU.....so what's the point? it will be interesting to see what the KC broadcasters do with this....how far they'll go.

May 16, 2008 at 7:14 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

afilmer (anonymous) says...

I think they should put the NCAA on probation.

May 16, 2008 at 7:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

TaCityHawkFan (anonymous) says...

The teacher should be fired due to ethical concerns. The teacher modified the grade. He was stupid enough to do it, he was stupid enough to say that they were changed, he can find a profession where ethics aren't a concern.

Ya, good luck with that. Idiot!

May 16, 2008 at 7:46 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

Not to mention that the sports news biggies (e.g., ESPN, SI.com) aren't even wasting their time with this fluff. They're worried about REAL infractions like O.J. Mayo and USC.

May 16, 2008 at 7:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

WilburNether (anonymous) says...

May is a ratings sweeps month, so local TV stations abound with cheesy sensationalism. The media pukes responsible for this story should be given a good, ol' fashioned, Texas necktie party.

May 16, 2008 at 9 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

not_important (anonymous) says...

Ah, don't you all just love news during the May sweeps month? November and February bring about the same crap each year too. Not that local news is anything great to start with (a glorified police blotter), then they go try and get into the muck and slime during those months just because they think a few more people will watch. The whole thing is abhorrent.

Whether this thing has legs or not, Mr. Arthur, armed with a multi-million dollar contract, should be able to fund a nice contingent of lawyers to go after this teacher who openly discussed his grades. While teachers don't make nearly as much as they should and Arthur will have millions, I sure hope Arthur takes that guy for all he's worth because he deserves it. Then Darrell could donate any money he gets from a lawsuit to charity just to show that he was doing it to make a point.

May 16, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ku98 (anonymous) says...

It's all over ESPN already...
The NCAA cleared him 2 years ago. If anything, the blame should be put on Myles Brand and his compadres.
What was Self supposed to do? Tell Shady "sorry, I know the NCAA just cleared you, but that's not enough"??
This is ridiculous.

May 16, 2008 at 9:26 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

klong (anonymous) says...

I agree jayhawkinatl. USC runs thier program more crooked than a dog's hind leg and never seem to have any trouble. Funny how when a team the press doesn't want to win wins, they find all sorts of stuff. I too think the NCAA should be put on probation.

May 16, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

BCRavenJHawkfan (anonymous) says...

As many here have noted, this probably has no legs, but as I said a long time ago, crap happens.

May 16, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kickazzkurtz (anonymous) says...

I didn't see anything online on ESPN or Foxsports. It's only local and I don't think there is much to it at all. This only came up because we won the Championship and Arthur is going pro. If there was more to it why didn't this come out last year? Arthur was a big name recruit.

May 16, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

yates33333 (anonymous) says...

I lived in Dallas for forty-five years and each week some newspaper or TV channel or radio station came up with a sensational revelation. Some true, most designed to boost circulation or increase listeners or viewers. This is probably crap being revealed so long after the fact. A free press is a nice idea, but lots of innocent people suffer as a result.

May 16, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

nebraska_jayhawk (anonymous) says...

I dont see anything on the national media outlets either.

May 16, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

prairie_rattler (anonymous) says...

The KCStar sure paints a different picture...
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/stor...

May 16, 2008 at 10:22 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ku98 (anonymous) says...

I saw it on ESPN Sportscenter Update during Mike & Mike and First Take.

May 16, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

theno1jhawk (anonymous) says...

it just scrolled across the espn ticker during 1st and 10

May 16, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

tis4tim (anonymous) says...

I'm so tired of the asterisk world we all live in now. There is always some question from somebody about the legitimacy of a championship. Sadly, it's usually the media.

I'm extra frustrated here because KU was given minimal press by the media during their tourney run. We shut them all up by winning a championship when nobody wanted us to, and now the media still tries to find a way to discredit us with some weak "6 degrees of Kevin Bacon" type crap.

I'm not a litigious person by nature. I still believe in such things as accidents, but when this story dies, I think Shady and his family should sue the f*ck out of the station, those reporters, that teacher, and anyone else trumping up this garbage.

May 16, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Chicago_JHawk (anonymous) says...

A mention is available on CNNSI...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008...

May 16, 2008 at 11:07 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rgreene (Ryan Greene) says...

"As many here have noted, this probably has no legs, but as I said a long time ago, crap happens."

So if I were to go to Mass St. and steal $5,000 worth of merch from some store, you'd expect them to chalk it up as a loss by saying 'crap happens'? It's funny how everyone is just passing this along as a TV station sensationalizing. Even if they added some colorful vocab to the piece, it doesn't mean they flat-out lied and made up the story. That's not how journalism works. Someone should be held accountable, whether it's Arthur, Mays, the principal or whoever. I'm sure it will be thoroughly investigated and something will come out of it, though I doubt KU will be affected.

May 16, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Mrs_Estherhouse (anonymous) says...

Nice headline jackasses

May 16, 2008 at 11:24 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rgreene (Ryan Greene) says...

I'm also of the belief that if all the facts are straight, Arthur shouldn't simply be given a free pass here. He had to know what he was doing was wrong.

May 16, 2008 at 11:27 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

tis4tim (anonymous) says...

Ryan,

I don't know. If Arthur really was that bad at math, maybe he didn't put 2 and 2 together. Just sayin...

May 16, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jhawks (anonymous) says...

Most important thing: He stayed academically eligible during his years at KU.

He went through the Clearing House with the NCAA before being cleared by the NCAA to play at KU. Saying that it's possible to strip our Title is ridiculous. He played every game with 100% eligibility "according to the NCAA". How could KU know this happened?

I'm with you -afilmer, I think we should put the NCAA on probation for telling KU that he was eligible.

May 16, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kickazzkurtz (anonymous) says...

Ryan,

I'm just saying if all of this is true then it should have came out last year. What took the teacher so long. If it was wrong this year it was wrong last year when we lost in the Elite Eight. Only now will the teacher bring it up. I wonder if the teacher was paid for this information by the news station in Texas. Winning a championship sure made that information worth more.

May 16, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

KGphoto (anonymous) says...

Ryan Greene. Do you really think that Kansas is the only team to have someone in this situation. College sports is riddled with crap like this. Why don't you ever see these exposed BEFORE the person has success?

With your analogy, you could steal the $5,000 without any consequence. But when you use it to earn a level of success, you will have the success taken away, not the money. Brilliant.

May 16, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dukehester (anonymous) says...

is it humanly possible for any "news" organization to accept standards OTHER THAN National Reporter type drivel?? Is there any organization in Dallas who is bringing suit to DISD for disclosing the grade information as it is perhaps illegal? Can the B12 South schools just accept that the B8 bailed their bacon once without being upset over it?
OBTW, gasoline is about $3.70/gal.....and lewd lew is still perplexed as to where $6,400 (perhaps a week salary donation) will come from to pay for the victory parade!!!

May 16, 2008 at noon ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

rgreene - Did you see the piece last night, or watch it online?

http://www.wfaa.com/video/index.html?...

Why didn't they mention that the NCAA had already cleared DA as being eligible before he came to KU? I'll tell you why - - because it would have dampened their "sexy" story. What about presenting both sides?

http://www.hsgametime.com/dfw/sharedc...

I agree with you regarding if the facts are straight someone should be held accountable. The station just needs to refrain from dragging KU through the mud.

May 16, 2008 at 12:33 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

100 (anonymous) says...

Misleading article. He said, she said from THREE years ago, where grades are kept with pencils in gradebooks, only later transferred to computers, by adults, who, unfortunately, have agendas. Bottom line: NCAA declared him elgible. Bottom line 2: Darrel is a good student at a higher learning institution. Right now. Bottom line 3: Darrel had to pass other tests, SAT, etc, later on to show proficiency in math to be NCAA elgible. That's called a double check system, just in case you didn't really learn it in the classroom, you'll show what you know to the NCAA on the big test. Some adult in TX has an agenda 3 years later. This reminds me of Washington DC politics. ''even though we've almost caught bin laden who attacked new york, let's leave him for a few months and get saddam because he tried to kill my dad 10 years ago!''

May 16, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

OPJayhawk (anonymous) says...

Awful headline LJWorld. I suppose you're getting the reactions you wanted. Pathetic.

May 16, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

GrayHawker (anonymous) says...

Getting a D in a math class would not have disqualified him was a sports scholarship. It factors into his core GPA and then compared to his standardized test score on a sliding scale. The NCAA doesn't care if the Texas High School oversite body would not have allowed him to play or not in a state high school tournament.

That is irrelevant to him passing the clearinghouse.

May 16, 2008 at 12:51 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayhawkPurist (anonymous) says...

Interesting analysis, GrayHawker. Are you sufficiently qualified to make such a conclusion?

The LJWorld should publish a story, and ASAP, about what the bottom line implications of this fiasco are. Is it, as GrayHawker suggests, that Arthur's grade, even if it hadn't been changed, wouldn't have impacted his clearinghouse eligibility? If so, this whole issue is moot.

May 16, 2008 at 12:58 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Yahweh (anonymous) says...

In defense of the title of this article, headline space is golden -- there isn't too much of it available usually. I would assume the reason this headline is so ambiguous is because the LJW didn't have the space to write: Report: Arthur's High School Grades Altered

May 16, 2008 at 1:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

So when this thing falls apart, can Lew Perkins sue WFAA or that teacher for slander, or would this fall under the Big XII conference, since their offices are in Texas?

***

txrockchalk,
I fully expect *YOU* to be leading the angry mob of Jayhawk alumni with torches and pitchforks to the front door of this station!!

May 16, 2008 at 2:20 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

milehighhawk (anonymous) says...

Poor Headline.

May 16, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Chicago_JHawk (anonymous) says...

Here is a paragraph from the current posting on ESPN's front page:

"The NCAA told ESPN.com's Andy Katz that for Arthur to be ineligible, there would have to be evidence that Arthur or Kansas knew or should have known about the changed grade."

Hmmm...I'd have to think that Arthur knew whether he was passing algebra, even if KU did not.

May 16, 2008 at 3:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

sevenyearhawk - I will need some outside assistance as well, so if you can appropriate some troops from the KC area such as the excitable fabio and fiery Jimmy_Dean, we will be well-prepared to commence the tarrin' and a featherin' of them there confounded fellers.

May 16, 2008 at 3:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

cobweb (anonymous) says...

These guys should stop pretending to be "student athletes". It's an oxymoron. Don't blame the kids. The whole system is guilty.

May 16, 2008 at 4:04 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

"As many here have noted, this probably has no legs, but as I said a long time ago, crap happens."

"So if I were to go to Mass St. and steal $5,000 worth of merch from some store, you'd expect them to chalk it up as a loss by saying 'crap happens'? It's funny how everyone is just passing this along as a TV station sensationalizing. Even if they added some colorful vocab to the piece, it doesn't mean they flat-out lied and made up the story. That's not how journalism works. Someone should be held accountable, whether it's Arthur, Mays, the principal or whoever. I'm sure it will be thoroughly investigated and something will come out of it, though I doubt KU will be affected."

Can i chime in late on this one?

First of all... $5000 dollars of merchandise constitutes a felony... are you calling this THAT serious?

Secondly, YES, I would chalk it up to "crap happens" if the store decided to prosecute you for it 3 years later. Isn't there some sort of statute of limitations, here? Things that happened 3 years ago are PAST transgressions, so why punish someone now? (even if that punishment is merely dragging there name through the mud right before the NBA draft). No matter the truth to this, this is NOTHING like a felony, the steroids scandal, or the Patriots cheating in the superbowl. It is undisputed that Arthur maintained good academic standing and never cheated in college.. on or off the court. This is HIGH SCHOOL we're talking about here. This is not MLB or the superbowl, however much the Dallas media likes to make it out to be.

The reason this is sensationalism is the timing... as well as the fact that they left out some of the facts. It's just like your title. You want people to hit up your article by putting up a vague headline that makes one think there's an NCAA report saying Arthur cheated in college.

I'm not buying that you didn't intend to do that... and I'm not buying Yahweh's story about limited headline space, either.

THAT is what journalism like this Dallas station's is all about. Misleading people with half-truths, or omitting pertinent information... drawing their attention in and trying to get people to make their conclusions about a situation without all the facts. I think you wrote a good, fair article, with a poor & misleading headline... but any defense of that TV station's journalism is falling of deaf ears.

May 16, 2008 at 4:13 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

Very well put as usual, Lebowski.

BTW, I think Yahweh was being sarcastic regarding headline space :)

May 16, 2008 at 4:21 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

tex,

I'll see what I can do ... ;)

May 16, 2008 at 4:27 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jrh (anonymous) says...

Please remember that in Texas there is the pass and play rule. Students graduate everyday who were not eligible to participate in sports. One could have one failing grade during a semester and lose their right to play, but, still graduate from school. Also, if you would like to understand the pass and play manipulations, read the last part of the book Friday Night Lights.

May 17, 2008 at 3:55 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

Leijon (anonymous) says...

What an outstanding teacher this must be to wait over 2 years to report a grade change. Keep him in Texas. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

May 17, 2008 at 4 p.m. ( | suggest removal )