| FTBL Cecil Hurt involved with "rogue" booster

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Cecil Hurt was involved with Ray Keller who was labeled a "rogue" booster by the NCAA. Keller co-signed a loan for him and Hurt never disclosed it to his bosses at the Tuscaloosa News until it came out in court.

I'll take this opportunity to mention that I never have cared for Cecil, his writing style or his commentary, but TerryP thinks he's great! Good call, Pellman.

I don't know how to do the clean link thing, so it it is...

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20071128/NEWS/71128024/1007
 
Cecil Hurt still owes my family some money from a bike he bought from us on "credit" at a bicycle store my family owned and ran in Tuscaloosa for 26 years. He never was good to his word. That says something about his honesty and integrity to me. We had plenty of customers that bought LOTS of things from us on the same credit and made good on it. He never did.

That said I have nothing against the guy (other than that he owes us about 500 bucks). His writting style is ok. I have met him several times. He does not really seem like a very happy person for what it is worth. I could be wrong.
 
Swamptick said:
Cecil Hurt still owes my family some money from a bike he bought from us on "credit" at a bicycle store my family owned and ran in Tuscaloosa for 26 years. He never was good to his word. That says something about his honesty and integrity to me. We had plenty of customers that bought LOTS of things from us on the same credit and made good on it. He never did.

That said I have nothing against the guy (other than that he owes us about 500 bucks). His writting style is ok. I have met him several times. He does not really seem like a very happy person for what it is worth. I could be wrong.

The Cyclepath?
 
Bo7 said:
I'll take this opportunity to mention that I never have cared for Cecil, his writing style or his commentary, but TerryP thinks he's great! Good call, Pellman.

I thought Terry was Cecil Hurt. :shock: :D :wink:
 
Bo7 said:
Swamptick said:
Cecil Hurt still owes my family some money from a bike he bought from us on "credit" at a bicycle store my family owned and ran in Tuscaloosa for 26 years. He never was good to his word. That says something about his honesty and integrity to me. We had plenty of customers that bought LOTS of things from us on the same credit and made good on it. He never did.

That said I have nothing against the guy (other than that he owes us about 500 bucks). His writting style is ok. I have met him several times. He does not really seem like a very happy person for what it is worth. I could be wrong.

The Cyclepath?

Yes. The Cycle Path.
 
Bo7 said:
Cecil Hurt was involved with Ray Keller who was labeled a "rogue" booster by the NCAA. Keller co-signed a loan for him and Hurt never disclosed it to his bosses at the Tuscaloosa News until it came out in court.

I'll take this opportunity to mention that I never have cared for Cecil, his writing style or his commentary, but TerryP thinks he's great! Good call, Pellman.

I don't know how to do the clean link thing, so it it is...

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20071128/NEWS/71128024/1007

This is the same format you are used to...shake all of those fog webs out of your head Scott.

When you compare Cecil to reporters like Rappaport what do you come up with? FWIW, I could tell you stories about Cecil and Young...but, it'll have to be on the phone.

We haven't talked about Cecil in several years, and to say the least, this one ticks me off as bad as the earlier statement did.
 
TerryP said:
Bo7 said:
Cecil Hurt was involved with Ray Keller who was labeled a "rogue" booster by the NCAA. Keller co-signed a loan for him and Hurt never disclosed it to his bosses at the Tuscaloosa News until it came out in court.

I'll take this opportunity to mention that I never have cared for Cecil, his writing style or his commentary, but TerryP thinks he's great! Good call, Pellman.

I don't know how to do the clean link thing, so it it is...

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20071128/NEWS/71128024/1007

This is the same format you are used to...shake all of those fog webs out of your head Scott.

When you compare Cecil to reporters like Rappaport what do you come up with? FWIW, I could tell you stories about Cecil and Young...but, it'll have to be on the phone.

We haven't talked about Cecil in several years, and to say the least, this one ticks me off as bad as the earlier statement did.

Rappaport is a lightweight. That's what the Bham News gets for hiring a Mississippi beat writer.

I've always thought there was something shifty about Hurt. This just confirms it. How stupid do you have to be to ask a source for money? They need to fire his ass and bring in Kirk McNair to take over like he did when Cecil went on his "sabbatical".
 
Bo7 said:
TerryP said:
Bo7 said:
Cecil Hurt was involved with Ray Keller who was labeled a "rogue" booster by the NCAA. Keller co-signed a loan for him and Hurt never disclosed it to his bosses at the Tuscaloosa News until it came out in court.

I'll take this opportunity to mention that I never have cared for Cecil, his writing style or his commentary, but TerryP thinks he's great! Good call, Pellman.

I don't know how to do the clean link thing, so it it is...

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20071128/NEWS/71128024/1007

This is the same format you are used to...shake all of those fog webs out of your head Scott.

When you compare Cecil to reporters like Rappaport what do you come up with? FWIW, I could tell you stories about Cecil and Young...but, it'll have to be on the phone.

We haven't talked about Cecil in several years, and to say the least, this one ticks me off as bad as the earlier statement did.

Rappaport is a lightweight. That's what the Bham News gets for hiring a Mississippi beat writer.

I've always thought there was something shifty about Hurt. This just confirms it. How stupid do you have to be to ask a source for money? They need to fire his ass and bring in Kirk McNair to take over like he did when Cecil went on his "sabbatical".

Can't see that happening, but I would like it as well. What does Kirk have to do now-a-day with the $ he got from the buyout from Scout of Bamamag?
 
Bo7 said:
I've always thought there was something shifty about Hurt. This just confirms it. How stupid do you have to be to ask a source for money? They need to fire his ass and bring in Kirk McNair to take over like he did when Cecil went on his "sabbatical".
Kirk McNair is an unethical and completely unprofessional journalist, who also happens to be a hack writer.

McNair has far, far more conflicts of interest than Hurt, and I dare say every other reporter for the Tuscaloosa News combined. McNair's nose was so deep up Logan Young's arse he could tell what Young had for morning breakfast by scent alone. If the T-News were to do as you suggest, they might as well forget about having any integrity with their subscribers and readers.
 
This is a non-story.

At the time of the loan, Keller was not involved in any NCAA investigation. All Cecil did was get a personal loan for healthcare expenses and Keller cosigned...Cecil had no obligation, moral - ethical, or otherwise, to tell his employer that he needed a friend/acquaintance as a cosigner for a loan. The insinuation that he did is a pile of crap.

If Keller had given him a pile of cash in the middle of the NCAA investigation, it would have been one thing, but this was a cosigner on a loan who was not involved in any investigation at the time.

Crap like this makes me angry. We have no right to know that Cecil had to take out a $4000 loan for medical bills and Keller cosigned. If Anna Maria Della Costa had any journalistic integrity, articles like this would go unpublished. The media - even the Ttown news - lives to stir up controversy to sell papers and it is wrong. Their article may have been a preemptive strike to publish an article before another paper ran with it, but NO paper should have had access to this information. It should have remained private and the Ttown News should never have heard about it.


Cecil Reprimanded???? For a cosigner 7 years ago!!!!????

Please Lord, Make it Stop!
 
BigFan...

The timing of when the loan was executed is not the important and troubling issue to the T-News.

The troubling issue is Hurt has for years reported on the circumstances surrounding Keller's involvement in the Alabama probation findings and kept secret from his employer the proven fact Hurt and Keller had a pre-existing financial arrangement and personal friendship.

Everyone now must call into question not only what Hurt wrote about the facts regarding Keller's involvement, but also what Hurt did NOT write. There is no way anyone cannot pose the question of whether Hurt slanted his coverage and reporting to protect Keller, or if Hurt failed to aggressively ask Keller (and those surrounding him) some tough and persistent questions. It will take much more than Hurt, or anyone else from the T-News, merely saying he did nothing wrong - he must somehow prove he did not. And it is virtually impossible to prove a negative. So, Hurt is rightfully in deep trouble with his employer.

The credibility and impartiality of the T-News is at stake. And if the paper loses those things in the public's eye, then they are nothing more than a gossip rag or a shopper's guide - or a shrill like bamamag.com. Hurt's lack of forthrightness has brought immediate discredit to his employer.
 
alagator said:
BigFan...

The timing of when the loan was executed is not the important and troubling issue to the T-News.

The troubling issue is Hurt has for years reported on the circumstances surrounding Keller's involvement in the Alabama probation findings and kept secret from his employer the proven fact Hurt and Keller had a pre-existing financial arrangement and personal friendship.

Everyone now must call into question not only what Hurt wrote about the facts regarding Keller's involvement, but also what Hurt did NOT write. There is no way anyone cannot pose the question of whether Hurt slanted his coverage and reporting to protect Keller, or if Hurt failed to aggressively ask Keller (and those surrounding him) some tough and persistent questions. It will take much more than Hurt, or anyone else from the T-News, merely saying he did nothing wrong - he must somehow prove he did not. And it is virtually impossible to prove a negative. So, Hurt is rightfully in deep trouble with his employer.

The credibility and impartiality of the T-News is at stake. And if the paper loses those things in the public's eye, then they are nothing more than a gossip rag or a shopper's guide - or a shrill like bamamag.com. Hurt's lack of forthrightness has brought immediate discredit to his employer.


Contemporary newspapers are nothing more than gossip rags anyway. Cecil's business is his own business. There was a time...not that long ago...that this would not have been an issue. The reason it is an issue now is not integrity. The media by and large has forgotten what integrity is. In this day and age of microwaved internet news, mainstream media looks for controversy to gain marketshare, and the boundaries of truth are stretched by the fishwrappers on a daily basis.

If Cecil's employer has an issue with something he has written regarding the NCAA investigation or Keller cases, they need to point it out and be specific - as does anyone who wants to be critical of him. Cecil has never made his fandom a secret issue, yet even as a Bama fan he tends to shoot straighter than anyone else, for better or for worse. He calls a spade a spade and not a heart because it gets him readers...readers who want to know what the truth is. He reports on the facts and when he give his opinion , it is couched as opinion. His longstanding fandom of Alabama would likely slant his reporting on anything Bama related far more than a Keller as a cosigner.

It is my opinion that Cecil Hurt is the best sportswriter in Alabama. If the T-News wants to play the B'ham news games, so be it. I am sure that Cecil will find gainful employment with little effort.

What is being forthright? His attaining a cosigner - be it Keller, Young, or the ghost of Elvis - is none of anyone's business. The T-News would not have had an issue with it had it not been made public...a fact that I feel is wrong. I would like to know what the NCAA thinks that bringing this out in court will accomplish.
 
Swamptick said:
Cecil Hurt still owes my family some money from a bike he bought from us on "credit" at a bicycle store my family owned and ran in Tuscaloosa for 26 years. He never was good to his word. That says something about his honesty and integrity to me. We had plenty of customers that bought LOTS of things from us on the same credit and made good on it. He never did.

That said I have nothing against the guy (other than that he owes us about 500 bucks). His writting style is ok. I have met him several times. He does not really seem like a very happy person for what it is worth. I could be wrong.

Cause is was/is a BUM
 
From an ethics standpoint, Hurt should have disclosed the prior relationship and financial connection when Keller became a story. That's a no-brainer. That he needed a co-signer on a $4,000 loan, and got it from a friend/acquaintance with strong Bama ties is not a story (and not a required disclosure) until Keller became a story.

The big issue here is indeed the timing of the loan guaranty. This is not a seven year old issue that has nothing to do with anything, it's that it has just now come to light. Keller co-signed a note for Hurt at the very same time he was accused of spreading money around for players. Was Keller and Hurt friends at the time and, if so, was he simply helping out a friend (Hurt) in need? Or were they just acquaintances, and Hurt was looking for deep pockets and Keller viewed it as a way to curry favor with the press?

Regardless of style and appearance, Hurt covers Bama well.

RTR,

Tim
 
Big_Fan said:
alagator said:
BigFan...

The timing of when the loan was executed is not the important and troubling issue to the T-News.

The troubling issue is Hurt has for years reported on the circumstances surrounding Keller's involvement in the Alabama probation findings and kept secret from his employer the proven fact Hurt and Keller had a pre-existing financial arrangement and personal friendship.

Everyone now must call into question not only what Hurt wrote about the facts regarding Keller's involvement, but also what Hurt did NOT write. There is no way anyone cannot pose the question of whether Hurt slanted his coverage and reporting to protect Keller, or if Hurt failed to aggressively ask Keller (and those surrounding him) some tough and persistent questions. It will take much more than Hurt, or anyone else from the T-News, merely saying he did nothing wrong - he must somehow prove he did not. And it is virtually impossible to prove a negative. So, Hurt is rightfully in deep trouble with his employer.

The credibility and impartiality of the T-News is at stake. And if the paper loses those things in the public's eye, then they are nothing more than a gossip rag or a shopper's guide - or a shrill like bamamag.com. Hurt's lack of forthrightness has brought immediate discredit to his employer.


Contemporary newspapers are nothing more than gossip rags anyway. Cecil's business is his own business. There was a time...not that long ago...that this would not have been an issue. The reason it is an issue now is not integrity. The media by and large has forgotten what integrity is. In this day and age of microwaved internet news, mainstream media looks for controversy to gain marketshare, and the boundaries of truth are stretched by the fishwrappers on a daily basis.

If Cecil's employer has an issue with something he has written regarding the NCAA investigation or Keller cases, they need to point it out and be specific - as does anyone who wants to be critical of him. Cecil has never made his fandom a secret issue, yet even as a Bama fan he tends to shoot straighter than anyone else, for better or for worse. He calls a spade a spade and not a heart because it gets him readers...readers who want to know what the truth is. He reports on the facts and when he give his opinion , it is couched as opinion. His longstanding fandom of Alabama would likely slant his reporting on anything Bama related far more than a Keller as a cosigner.

It is my opinion that Cecil Hurt is the best sportswriter in Alabama. If the T-News wants to play the B'ham news games, so be it. I am sure that Cecil will find gainful employment with little effort.

What is being forthright? His attaining a cosigner - be it Keller, Young, or the ghost of Elvis - is none of anyone's business. The T-News would not have had an issue with it had it not been made public...a fact that I feel is wrong. I would like to know what the NCAA thinks that bringing this out in court will accomplish.

I can't say I disagree with anything you said Big Fan but the problem for Hurt may be the way the U of A views this conflict of interest which may be reflected on how much access he has to the program going forward. As far as the University is concerned, Ray Keller is a disassociated booster, whether that be right or wrong, and Cecil is in proverbial bed with him. That may affect the way Cecil is able to carry out his duties going forward as well.

He may be able to get another job, no doubt. I just don't think it will be as a BAMA beat writer unless he goes to a much smaller news organization.
 
A little off topic, but in the beginning when I read about the various appeals I thought great, good for them. Appeal away.

Then, the more I thought about it the more I thought nothing good would come of it. Sadly, this appears to be the case. No one has been vindicated by the NCAA. Even if they were half the people that knew about Alabama in the 1st place will never, ever hear/read about any appeal. Furthermore, the NCAA never loses even if they lose. :?

I could be wrong, but I'm assuming none of this Cecil Hurt info would have ever been known had this appeal not occurred. I hope Keller's appeal is the last. I really had plenty of info the 1st go-round and am ready to put it all to bed.
 
BamaDelta said:
A little off topic, but in the beginning when I read about the various appeals I thought great, good for them. Appeal away.

Then, the more I thought about it the more I thought nothing good would come of it. Sadly, this appears to be the case. No one has been vindicated by the NCAA. Even if they were half the people that knew about Alabama in the 1st place will never, ever hear/read about any appeal. Furthermore, the NCAA never loses even if they lose. :?

I could be wrong, but I'm assuming none of this Cecil Hurt info would have ever been known had this appeal not occurred. I hope Keller's appeal is the last. I really had plenty of info the 1st go-round and am ready to put it all to bed.

Dr. Jones laughed all the way to the bank.

Back to the original thread...the thing that throws me about all of this is it was a 4K loan. A signature loan, at best.
 
TerryP said:
BamaDelta said:
A little off topic, but in the beginning when I read about the various appeals I thought great, good for them. Appeal away.

Then, the more I thought about it the more I thought nothing good would come of it. Sadly, this appears to be the case. No one has been vindicated by the NCAA. Even if they were half the people that knew about Alabama in the 1st place will never, ever hear/read about any appeal. Furthermore, the NCAA never loses even if they lose. :?

I could be wrong, but I'm assuming none of this Cecil Hurt info would have ever been known had this appeal not occurred. I hope Keller's appeal is the last. I really had plenty of info the 1st go-round and am ready to put it all to bed.

Dr. Jones laughed all the way to the bank.

Back to the original thread...the thing that throws me about all of this is it was a 4K loan. A signature loan, at best.

Yes, I know about Dr. Jones. Was he ever vindicated in the public's eyes though? Nah, no one ever knew who he was outside of Alabama. Not to mention his winnings garnished a few paragraphs in the local papers while most national media failed to report any of his "vindication".

I was speaking in loose terms regarding the NCAA and vindication. What I mean at the core is the University of Alabama will never be vindicated in any of this no matter the outcome of any appeals.
 
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