dupree suspended

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

USC's Jerry Dupree Suspended
For First Six Games--(Sept. 10, 2002)

Dupree.jpg (8799 bytes) In a terse press release issued yesterday afternoon by the University of Southern California, the men's basketball team announced that junior forward Jerry Dupree has been suspended for the first six games of the season. Here's the press release, which does not explain in any detail the reasons for the suspension:

Junior forward set to return in mid-December.
Sept. 9, 2002

LOS ANGELES - Junior forward Jerry Dupree will sit out for the first six games of the 2002-2003 season to focus on priorities as a student-athlete, the USC men's basketball staff announced Monday (Sept. 9).

Dupree started seven of 30 games as a 2002 sophomore, averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game.

The Los Angeles Times also ran a story about the suspension of Dupree, which likewise did not go into any detail about the reasons behind Coach Bibby's decision. In the LA Times story, Bibby was asked if there were academic issues behind the move, and he told the Times: "I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying he needs to work on some personal things and get them in priority and go from there and he'll be back with us after that time. He needs to get his life in order." Bibby also told the Times that he might reduce the penalty if he saw Dupree progressing.

Whatever Dupree's problems at school, in our humble view, both the LA Times and the University itself, demonstrated at least a modicum of respect for federal law (FERPA) and the player's right of privacy, by simply keeping the reasons for the suspension limited to those contained in the official press release. If the problems relate to academics, it doesn't change things, and it doesn't make the story more or less newsworthy. Whatever the reasons, presumably Dupree now understands his situation, and USC fans also know that Dupree has been meted out a suspension, and that only he is capable of doing the things necessary to improve his situation.

Unfortunately, we can't say that the other local paper had the same respect for Dupree's situation:

This morning, The Daily News story blared the following headline:

"Dupree Suspended to Study."

The Daily News story, written by USC beat-reporter Scott Wolf, also noted that "USC junior forward Jerry Dupree could miss the basketball season if he does not achieve the necessary grade-point average for his fall semester classes," but then also concludes, somewhat curiously, that Dupree isn't currently ineligible.

Wolf writes that Dupree is "on academic probation," and "will be kicked out of school if he does not pass his fall classes." The story notes that the suspension was imposed "In order to improve the chances he [will] pass his fall classes..."

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by the Daily News treatment of this issue, in light of some of their other recent stories about Evan Burns and UCLA, and of course the paper elected to make the story about as sensational as possible, using phrases like "kicked out" and reminding us as well, somewhat gratuitously, that when Dupree was recruited, coaches from the College of Southern Idaho claimed that USC had committed recruiting violations (claims which, the Daily News also notes, the NCAA later found to be without merit).

In any event, the reality is that while a lot of people will read the Daily News account, and nod knowingly to themselves, the reality is that none of us besides the University of Southern California administrators and personnel with access to Dupree's transcripts and Dupree himself knows the real truth about Dupree's academic situation, and once and for all, we'd just like to see the Daily News show just a little restraint when reporting stories in this area. It's just not necessary and that's why the USC website and the LA Times treated the story the way they did. Call us naive, but the Daily News account does not add to the newsworthiness of the story, nor does it really give USC fans the real story, at least not unless someone, somewhere, has violated federal law and Dupree's right of privacy.