Readers:
I’d like to respond personally to some of the claims made about my column today.
First, I sincerely apologize to everyone who was offended by its content; it was my intention to be satirical, not hateful. My original intent was simply to show that there are valid reasons to stay in college in an admittedly less-than-original format, through the caricatured mind of a Duke fan, not to imply that Kyrie Irving ‘owes’ Duke students another year, or anything of the sort.
Second, I regret deeply that this column was interpreted as having racial undertones. That was, of course, not my intention: I would have written this article about any potential one-and-done player, especially one as talented as Irving.
Third, there is nothing I would enjoy more than to see Irving achieve success wherever he plays. I did not mean to imply that he should put off a huge NBA contract to satisfy Duke students and fans, nor insinuate that in leaving for the pros he would forfeit what he has already accomplished in Durham. I simply intended to highlight some of the reasons for staying, with a little bit of humor thrown in. His decision should be based only on what is best for him and his family, not the opinion of this writer.
If you have further points you would like addressed, please contact me at cusack.duke@gmail.com.
Chris—
Anyone who actually read the article and thought about it knows that you aren’t being condescending toward Kyrie. You have an opinion, for sure, and yes, you use the old fallback of sarcasm to make it, but there is nothing in the article that tells me that you think you know better than Kyrie or that he can’t decide on his own.
I won’t even address the other point. Some people find racial overtones in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That’s the way our world is now. Ignore them.
Keep on writing, Chris.
You are a Dukebag. This is not intended to be satirical, but rather a statement of fact. Sincerely,
Any reader of your letter
Open Letter to Chris Cusack:
http://devilwolfing.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/an-open-letter-to-chris-cusack/
Laughing at Pukie fans who have railed on UK for being “one and done university.” Now you see that players talented enough WILL go after one year, until the NBA changes their policy. These kids have to go somewhere, too bad UK gets most of them.
With peers like yourself, there’s no reason for Kyrie to stay at Duke.
Rest assured, your article is already being referred to in recruiting circles.
In the future, you won’t have to worry about top recruits bolting for the NBA. Weren’t the Greg Paulus / Lee Melchionni years fun?
drew magary said it best. lol…
“And on and on it goes. Duke folks seem to have a real problem with students who would abandon their precious school. What? Leave Duke? But it’s so perfect here! What with all the manicured quads, and white people named Tyler! What kind of beastly savage would ever voluntarily remove themselves from such an intellectual paradise? If you want to leave Duke early, you clearly must be some cynical money-grabbing street urchin who never really appreciated the sacred halls of our fair institution to begin with. You were not a real KOACH K KID. You were a mercenary. From the street! And Duke does not abide by mercenaries. That is strictly the province of crass programs such as, I dunno, MICHIGAN.”
Most of the commentators on this column are idiots. First, “students” who come to college to play basketball on scholarship are first and foremost athletes, and students a way far off distant second. Need you look any further than how people like Myron Rolle at Florida State, who is a Rhodes Scholar, are called out as the exception, not the norm, when it comes to “student” athletes. Any of you pretentious dookies who commented on this thinking that he had somehow minimized Kyrie Irving or put him in some sort of athlete only box, well, look at ANY major sports column and NONE of them say anything different when it comes to college basketball players deciding how to declare. This was clearly satire. CLEARLY. He’s BY FAR your best player. Any idiot who didn’t read the column this way, including those that call him racist (what?!?!), needs to come to the realization that unfortunately, $$$ talks, especially when it comes to the millions the NCAA made last weekend. Boosh!
Thank you very much, for reminding me of the reason why I left Duke. Peolple (sic) like you cannot and willnot (sic) ever understand my situation. I’m sure daddy worked very hard to send your rich self to college. While real people struggle. I would also like to extend an invitation for you not to waste your or my time ever agin. (sic) Never being considered a part of your posh group of yuppies really hurts me to the heart. Yea Right because I don’t care about you or your alumni.
I know that there is “freedom of the press”. However, what are editors for if not to screen articles like this? Realize that they are potentially inflammatory and quite frankly refuse to publish them. I am a huge Duke fan and this is not the first time the “Chronicle” has published an inflamatory article. Years ago they had the nerve to grade the basketball players. Who do they think they are anyway? I don’t care how the reporter meant it. I was embarrased for Kyrie, and yes, ashamed for Duke.
Chris,
Your open letter to Kyrie was awesome. Anybody that took it for anything other than what it was (light-hearted satire) really needs to spend some time reevaluating their own sense of humor.
Go Duke!
Would any 19 year old turn down $10,000,000? It is foolish and dangerous to try to shame a young man into continuing to be free entertainment for you at the risk of his own future.
I don’t blame Kyrie for leaving Duke. He has to do his own thing, I guess
Duke is damned if they do, damned if they don’t…if you bring in kids from outside of the typical Duke athlete/student and tried to convince them to stay in school, it’s wrong (and douchey). If you don’t recruit those same kids because you KNOW their priorities are much more different than what Duke is looking for (family comes first)…that’s wrong (and racist).
However, maybe Duke should only recruit players from middle-class and higher backgrounds since they apparently fit better to Duke and its academic as well as social environment. It makes no sense to get players that will leave early since that defeats the purpose of giving a free FOUR-year education to athletes. As for Kyrie, I’m sure he knew exactly what he was getting into when Duke was recruiting him. The “spoiled” fans and the “sense of entitlement” that everyone loves to quote about is something that he most likely did know about before coming here. He just ignored it because he was getting a chance to play (not play and learn).
Best of luck to him though.
Agree 100% with David Bunkley. I think all the frustration from Chris’ article comes from the hyper-sensitive fans. As a student and fan of a major college basketball team (not Duke but a “Major Mid-Major” school), I understand all the frustrations and pressures that go into rooting for a high profile team. While I will never fully understand the year-by-year expectations at Duke, I understand the feeling of a disappointing season or a season that leaves more to he desired. Having such an unbelievable player like Kyrie make a decision like this is something that I would certainly pay attention to as a Duke fan. However, what I am seeing here is a lot of people being too caught up in Kyrie’s decision. The idea that Kyrie would actually make the biggest decision of his life based on what one punky, 20-year-old aspiring writer has to say seems ludicrous to me. Call me a skeptic, but I have a hard time believe that anything Chris, or any journalist for that matter, says is really going to impact his decision. Keep on keeping Chris. I think people need to lighten up a bit and not be so hyper-sensitive.
I think anyone who read the entire article shouldn’t think that there were racial undertones. I understand where you are coming run, and your ending purposely exposed your opinion. Unfortunately, some people will always see things in black and white.
Derrel “Jazz” Johnson
That “letter” reeked of privilege, which can be connected with the ideal of racial undertones. And I read the entire article. And being a former columnist, I’m ashamed. I remember when the Brand email came out. I remember how some people tried to sweep it under the rug as “miscommunication”. But it was blatently closed minded and disrespectful. And the same thing students were doing for Jennifer Taylor are the same thing you are doing for this poor excuse of a writer.
The type of comment you just made let me further know that you do not “get it”.
And just to let you know…You go to school to get a job. The days of a well rounded educational experiences died a long time ago. Higher education is career driven. The opportunity for electives have become smaller every decade. So Duke, just like any other instiution of higher learning, has become a plateform for employment. And his plateform at Duke has assisted him in landing a 7 figure salary. I just hope your time at Duke is assisting you also.
Why would I want to familiarize myself the the history of these types of outbursts? Where they written by the same writer? I read this article as one article, not as one in a series of articles by numerous writers of the “history” of Duke University. Truthfully, I have no desire to either. It’s very easy to play “The Race Card” and it’s sad that it is done as often as it is. Would you want to be called sexist, a homophobe, or racist mistakenly?
You can say whatever you like, but, unfortunately, it is clear that you are the one that doesn’t get it. I pray one day you will.
I may never understand where you are coming from, or I may know very well where you are coming from. You are hiding behind your “LegalLegacyClassof05″ name, so I no absolutely nothing about you, and honestly, it’s not that serious to me.
What would the dialouge that goes on on CRR have to do with this?
If you were indeed in the class of 2005 then I am aware of some racially charged events that went on at Duke University.
Should I not get specific? I would suggest always being clear, not just for my benefit.
I feel like I’m in acronym hell, with CRR and SPJ. IDGAD about any of that. Again, I read an article, I gave my opinion. Good taste? You have shown poor taste in your original comments to me. ”Compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage”? Who might that be?
I think his feet are being held to the fire. He apologized. I don’t think he was necessary, but if he truly didn’t intend to offend anyone, he should’ve apologized for that. I didn’t use free speech or it’s his opinion, so who are you referring to?
Here’s an issue you have that I clearly don’t. You either knew, or assumed the writer was white. If he were black, what would you say? When I read the article, I didn’t take it as someone speaking from an area of white privilege , what part of the article says that?
Thanks for the “assistance.” Not wanted or needed. In a weird way, I’ve enjoyed this dialouge. Not your if you are on Twitter or not, but if you are, feel free to reach out at @razzjazzsports . If not, perhaps we can find another way to keep up some type of dialouge.
I love this letter, especially for the reaction it has generated. What you’ve done, Chris, is write something that allows the, literally, millions of Duke haters to claim all their prejudices, assumptions, and generalizations as fact.
The real shame is that the ignorant and hateful yell so loudly.
My reaction to the article exactly. I thought, “what a field day the haters are going to have”. We can thank Chris and the editors that approaved the article for this
So, the school that celebrates its illustrious Cameron Crazies can’t take it when one of your own uses some irony and sarcasm in a futile attempt to convince Kyrie to stay so much so that the writer has to apologize. Unbelievable. This only goes to prove that your in-game antics are not tasteless attempts at humor, they are simply intentionally tasteless antics.
Legal Legacy, I agree, that “letter” reeked of privilege, but Duke University is an institution of privilege. I am not one to think that something is automatically about race, and, when I completed the entire article, that is not a feeling I had. If you attempt to connect things with the ideal of racial undertones, anything and everything can potentially be challenged. This country was built on a foundation of capitalism and slavery, so that dynamic is there.
I am not familiar with the Brand emaiI you are referring to, nor am I familiar with Jennifer Taylor. What exactly am I “doing for this poor excuse of a writer?” I simply stated my opinion. I do not “get it”? I don’t know who you are or anything about your history, nor do you know anything about mine. Do not make this personal and say anything about what I get or don’t get without knowing me or my history. You don’t get me, my history, you know very little, if anything about me.
You don’t go to school to get a job. Is that what you did? I went to school to start a business. I am not a student at Duke (I guess something else you have assumed about me) but someone made me aware of the article. I read it, and this post, and stated my opinion. You have stated yours. I have no problem intelligently debating the subject, but I won’t respond to simplistic remarks like “You don’t get it.”
You might want to familiarize yourself with the “history” of these type of outburst on Duke’s campus. You might want to read up on the Brand/Jennifer Taylor incident. And because you have never attended Duke, I can say that “you don’t get it.” You will never understand where I’m coming from. I wish you could check some of the dialogue that goes on in the CRR. And I know things haven’t changed that much on that campus. I have a strong love/hate relationship with my experience.
And let me be clear on something. I should of said you go to school to “set a craft”. Since you wanted to get “specific”.
And if you have never set your eyes on the SPJ Code of Ethics you would also not understand that what he did was totally against everything that document represents. Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity. Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage.
And yes, “he’s just a student writer”, but he still has a job to do. And the same way my feet were held to the fire on everything I wrote, I expect his too. People use “its his opinion” and “free speech” too loosely to explain the actions and opinion of others. And yes, he spoke from an area of privilege…That not only reeked of privilege, but reeked of “white privilege” also. But I’m sure to you that is stretching it, right?
And I’m not here to “debate”. I do that on a daily. What I’m here to do is assist you on thinking past your opinion. I understand what he might of been meaning to say through his piece. But I also do understand that as a journalist he has a job to communicate that to the masses, BEFORE he gets called out about it. To be honest, I’m more disappointed that one of his peers, if not his editor, didn’t call him out for it. But in typical Duke fashion, that would of been too much like right.
I find no fault with your assertions. However, it sounds as if “K” is using his muscle on you.
You have one of the best coaches in the history of the game. And, if I may add, it’s wonderful to have him, for once, say something complimentary concerning a player upon foregoing their future at Duke.
Remember the “send-off”, the press conference he afforded Gerald Henderson? Of course you don’t. It was a clone of his actions when confronted with L. Deng. The reason you do not recall a conference is simply because there was none.
It would be nice to see “K” make an effort to seek help concerning his narcissism. If there’s nothing to benefit Coach K, his attitude seems to be the “hades” with it, even at the expense of his “kids” as he calls them.
Also, he appears to like players he can bully, run rough-shod over and brough-beat. I don’t think he tried this action on Henderson, knowing Gerald’s dad would have probably left him in a “horizontal position.”
Its sad that so many people could completely misread this article and base someone’s character on it. I happen to know Chris personally, and some of the awful things people have said about him (ex. racist, douchey, privileged) are as far from the truth as can be. He simply meant to write a satirical, not hateful or racist, article highlighting the reasons why Kyrie should stay at Duke. Chris does not feel entitled or privileged… he simply wants Kyrie to stay, like anyone would who had an amazing player at their school. He was trying to show some of the reasons why he might stay. He WAS NOT trying to write an unbiased article about the many reasons why he should go and the reasons why he should stay. Its absolutely ludicrous to give this article racial underpinnings; I still have not read a single valid point about what is actually racist about his article. Perhaps Chris failed at conveying sarcasm (how I will never know) but that fact that this has generated so much debate is absurd. Before you attack Chris personally, try and think for one damned second if you actually know him. I do. He’s not privileged. He’s not spoiled. He’s not entitled. He is a really, really nice guy and a great friend. Say what you will about his article, but don’t attack him as a person. You don’t know him, and you clearly don’t know what the article was intended to convey: just some reasons why Kyrie should stay.
I think it was a great piece. Get off your high horses, there was no racism involved.
I enjoyed watching him play but as a UNC grad, I’m glad he’s going pro.
DBlock, That was such a selfishly motivated statement if I ever heard one. Yes, I am a die hard Duke fan, but it’s not about us as fans. I hated to see him go, but I cannot sit here and say not to go and realize your dream. We only got see him play in a few games, but whose to say if he came back he would not be injured again. He has to look out for himself as well as his family. Kyrie I wish you the very best in your future endeavors!!!
I’m thinking you thought all of Duke’s fanbase would agree with you. When they didn’t, you hastily wrote up an apology to stave off the damages to your reputation.
It was too late.
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I thought it was funny. I’m a Carolina fan too. I will be mad at Harrison Barnes if he leaves, but at least he got to play the whole season. Is it too much to ask for these kids to stay 1 more year in college? It’s SO much more exciting than the NBA. I think they always regret leaving…eventually.
@Jessi, maybe college is so much more exciting than the NBA, I don’t know, that is a subjective argument. The elephant in the room is money, money is the reason most players go pro, if they were playing for free they would have stayed in college. Money is also the reason most people take a job. With that it mind it reeks of elitism to pillory a player for trying to maximize his earning potential. A guaranteed $10 million contract is on the table, there are a lot of unknown variables involved in playing an extra year of college that could conspire to ruin KI’s chances at this contract. It reeks of elitism and selfishness to criticize someone for taking the money, this stench is further accentuated by requesting that the said player, in lieu of taking the $10 million contract, play for free for your own entertainment. The racism aspect is not direct but rather a derivation of the classicism espoused by the letter. During the era of slavery, there was a class of citizens that had not rights and were owned by the elite. I think as a result of that there are racial undertones involved in any issue of classicist and elitism.
Furthermore, as the NCAA founder said in his biography, the NCAA system has become no different from a slave plantation where the money is earned by the players (especially the stars like KI) while the benefits are enjoyed by the colleges and well-paid coaches. You would have to be obtuse not see how it can be construed as racist to ridicule a player for electing to leave a system where his talents are leached to join one where he is fairly compensated.
If that article was “light hearted satire” my name is Taylor Swift. Next time, read your article aloud to ascertain how it reads. I am older and have many friends who are Duke alumni and they are as embarrassed by this, as one friend called it, “screed.”
You are too young to know about the Elton Brand “open letter,” but Kyrie, whom my husband saw as a superstar as a junior in HS, deserves better. He would have been a 1st rd. pick out of HS in the LeBron days.