Standing up to absurd ground rules

Living in Minnesota, I didn’t pay much attention to Lane Kiffin’s departure from the University of Tennessee after just one season as its head football coach. Kiffin was picked to replace Pete Carroll at USC, understandably angering quite a few Tennessee fans in the process.

But it turns out there’s a guy who works for the University of Tennessee that you’ve probably never heard of who actually deserves a little heat too. Especially if you have a journalistic background, like me.

You see, today I caught wind of an incident featuring Bud Ford, UT’s Sports Information Director, that preceded Kiffin’s final statement to the Tennessee media before hopping on a plane to California.

As I read this post from The Poynter Institute’s Al Tompkins, analyzing the goofy antics of Ford and the bold way WBIR-TV News Director Bill Shory stood up to Ford’s nonsense about the ground rules for videotaping Kiffin’s statement, I just had to see the video.

I’ll share some thoughts after you watch the clip. It’s worth all 7:57:

First of all, the fact that Bud Ford felt the need to accommodate Lane Kiffin is beyond words. No live coverage? No video at all of the first part of his remarks?

Kiffin bailed on your employer. Why are you allowing him to set any ground rules at all?

Why does Ford even care if he pisses off Kiffin? He should have said, ‘Look pal, I don’t work for you. Take your statement off-campus and have your own PR guy or gal set your lousy ground rules. You don’t work for UT anymore.”

Had he done that, this post would have paid tribute to him. Could have set a bold new standard for how the exits of college coaches who choose new jobs – especially after one year – are managed for the media.

Instead, kudos to Shory for having the guts to pick the fight, while many of the other “journalists” in the room were so worried Shory would blow it for them that they tried shouting him down.

No guts at all from most of that group. It was too big of a story, right? They just wanted the soundbite because of course you can’t bring blank tape or a blank notepad back to the newsroom.

“You cut off your nose to spite your face, TV.”

Good line, Bud. Take a look at your own nose. Whether Shory had a point or not, it’s absolutely asinine that Tennessee even wanted to be a part of a Kiffin statement in the first place. Tell him to take a hike.

Embarrassing.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the whiny woman pretending to be a reporter who comes in at 7:04 in the video shrieking “He doesn’t caarrrrree…” and so on. Again, she just wants the content. Never mind the principle of it.

It baffles me that she and others don’t seem to care that Kiffin won’t be answering any of their questions before he leaves the room. Sure, Kiffin’s just as much an idiot here. As a former state employee he was under no obligation to give any statement at all.

But Lane, if you went to USC the next day and answered questions you sure as heck could have answered a few at UT the night before.

Good for you, Bill Shory.

By the way, here’s the precious media statement Kiffin gave in that room. Funny, he didn’t say “Turn the cameras off guys, I’ll tell you when to turn them on.” So, even he didn’t want to stick to his ground rules? Did Ford even have time to tell him what had just taken place in the room?

I also despise Kiffin’s arrogance in that he came in and stood, knowing full well that the microphones were placed for him to be seated. His decision to stand made sure there would be crappy audio for all of the reporters in the room.

Priceless.

Another coach who thinks he’s bigger than the media, fans and the programs he works for.