LaxPower Back-Up Stick

Couple of comments wrt Amherst.
1. Let the facts come out. Once completely known, I am absolutely certain Amherst, which is in no way beholden to their athletes, will take appropriate action.
2. A lot of unjustified and unwarranted criticism of JT. Anyone who has held positions of leadership knows the accountability thrust upon you, while at the same time the limits of human behavior and thought you can actually control. If accusations are true, place responsibility on the shoulders of the individuals involved.
3. Do not associate the attitude and beliefs of the whole team over the actions of a few. Every organization has outliers, yet the vast majority are good and decent. Be careful of unjustly lumping all members together.
4. It is well known at Amherst that the culture and views of the majority, who are non athletes, is vastly different than that of the athletes. An oil and water scenario. The non-athletic majority almost relish upon bringing the athletes down. The trigger is quick-fuzed for calling out and reporting faults. I’m not justifying the faults or saying they may not have taken place, only that the spotlight is quick to shine and public ally proclaim. My guess is that the type of incidents we hear about at Amherst are much more widespread and we just don’t hear about them.
5. The incident mentioned is internal to Amherst. Let Amherst take the appropriate action and deal with it accordingly. The talk of action by others or precluding team opportunities next year is not justified, unless Amherst itself decides that the problem goes beyond the seniors involved and decides to take such action.
6. We all live in glass houses. Be careful of throwing stones and assuming our houses have no issues. The lacrosse culture as a whole has grown and become more inclusive. But there is still work to be done and I imagine every organization has areas where they can improve.

Some shameless promotion..Coach T and the team seemed like they had some good culture from the outside, then again not sure entirely off the field.

Agree with everything PicLax said. Spot on. Thank you for some much-needed perspective.

I agree w PC too. Note, however, that the non-athletes are a pretty slim majority with approx. 1900 enrollment and at least 800 athletes of both genders.

Unknown Participant wrote: ↑Mon Mar 16, 2020 5:28 pm 1900 enrollment and at least 800 athletes of both genders.

Um, its Amherst, so i think its actually "of all genders"

ah23 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 15, 2020 11:20 pm This conversation has pretty much confirmed my suspicion that the Thompson criticism is opportunistic BS made in bad faith with pretty much nothing to back it up. If anyone had anything even remotely constructive to say I’d be all ears. But the discourse so far has been laughable.

+1

This student newspaper story is college-age drama. It certainly appears the authors are reaching for a connection of these incidents.

That does not excuse any behavior.

If true, Drunk idiots made really dumb choices.They should be punished for those choices. Up to and including expulsion or not graduating, if it breaks a school rule.

But connecting this all to the team is a reach. Unless these 3 students were habitual offenders and let off the hook by JT before.

Otherwise it smacks of Amherst kids hating on a group (the lax team) they dislike or have general ideological differences with.

I have 100% neutral feelings about Amherst lacrosse and JT, whom I've never met. Heard him on the Jamie Munro podcast and my impression was, "Wow, this guys is really impressed with himself." There can be a thin line (which is always subjective) between confidence and arrogance. He's probably rubbed some people the wrong way. Doesn't take away from the great job with that program on the field.

Final Rankings Released - NESCAC with 6 in Top 30.... Not Bad

– – Win Rank Loss Rank
1 Salisbury 1 1
2 Tufts 2 1
3 Gettysburg 3 27
2 Ursinus 4 1
3 Williams 5 1
4 Denison 6 1
5 St. Lawrence 10 1
6 Chris. Newport 8 33
7 Union (NY) 12 29
8 Western New Eng. 12 35
9 Cabrini 6 51
10 York (PA) 9 49
11 RIT 17 1
12 Lynchburg 14 39
13 Amherst 17 28
14 Dickinson 11 68
15 St. John Fisher 19 38
16 Stockton 24 33
17 Randolph-Macon 30 1
18 Trinity (CT) 27 29
19 SUNY Geneseo 23 43
20 Stevens 16 53
21 Wesleyan (CT) 21 52
22 Wash. & Lee 26 46
23 Middlebury 37 1
24 Rhodes 21 58
25 Colorado Col. 41 1
26 Franklin & Marshall 34 47
27 Widener 38 37
28 Hampden-Sydney 36 41
29 St. Mary’s (MD) 24 61
30 Roanoke 33 53

Ranking doesn’t pass the ‘smell test’...

3 Gettysburg
2 Ursinus
4 Denison
5 St. Lawrence
6 Chris. Newport
8 Western New Eng.

And then...
11 RIT
13 Amherst

ergit wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:41 pm Ranking doesn’t pass the ‘smell test’...

3 Gettysburg
2 Ursinus
4 Denison
5 St. Lawrence
6 Chris. Newport
8 Western New Eng.

And then...
11 RIT
13 Amherst

Agreed, RIT or Amherst certainly favored over any of those on a neutral field, fairly significantly so for all but Gettysburg and I’m not sold on them as a slam dunk top 10 this year. First clue of shadiness is that there are 32 teams in this top 30!

pcowlax wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:07 pm

ergit wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:41 pm Ranking doesn’t pass the ‘smell test’...

3 Gettysburg
2 Ursinus
4 Denison
5 St. Lawrence
6 Chris. Newport
8 Western New Eng.

And then...
11 RIT
13 Amherst

Agreed, RIT or Amherst certainly favored over any of those on a neutral field, fairly significantly so for all but Gettysburg and I’m not sold on them as a slam dunk top 10 this year. First clue of shadiness is that there are 32 teams in this top 30!

Don't disagree, took it of the site http://fanlax.com/fanlax/2020/03/17/fan ... -20-final/

During the period of 2000 to 2006 my sons played NESCAC lacrosse. During my younger sons (2002-2006) career one of his teammates was a black superstar. This young man was quiet and extremely well mannered and polite. After graduation he played professionally. There were no racial issues with any NESCAC teams except Amherst. They would yell racial slurs at this young man during the games.
During his career he never lost to Amherst.
This behavior has been going on for a lot longer then the last 2 years.

Patlaxer wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2020 10:16 pm During the period of 2000 to 2006 my sons played NESCAC lacrosse. During my younger sons (2002-2006) career one of his teammates was a black superstar. This young man was quiet and extremely well mannered and polite. After graduation he played professionally. There were no racial issues with any NESCAC teams except Amherst. They would yell racial slurs at this young man during the games.
During his career he never lost to Amherst.
This behavior has been going on for a lot longer then the last 2 years.

Funny how it seems those institutions making the most noise telling everyone how inclusive and woke they are so often are the worst offenders........

I certainly hope that the coach and the athletic director reported this behavior to the Amherst coach or - far better - the Amherst athletic director. Or the Amherst President. I am confident that the athletic administration and the school administration would very much want to learn about this type of egregious behavior. My guess would be that you, as a parent, or the Tufts coaching staff reported this - is that safe to assume? Reporting it on a lacrosse blog wouldn’t get that to the powers that be ...

Thompson out at Amherst

Oh....?

Sources?

GritCoaster wrote: ↑Fri Mar 20, 2020 2:54 pm https://twitter.com/diiilacrosse/status ... 89664?s=21

“Following up on this as it’s been made public, the Amherst head coach position is now open and the team is banned from NCAA tourney in 2021”

Not that I don't want to believe DIII on twitter, whomever it is is usually spot on.

But again....sources? These are pretty significant rumors

Hang tight. It’s true.