Like Father, Like Son

As you may already know, South Carolina TE Weslye Saunders announced earlier this week that he was going to talk with his coach, Steve Spurrier.

"I'm going to talk to Coach (Steve) Spurrier beforehand and see if he's OK if I get a 15-yard penalty," Saunders said. "Because I'm gonna do some sort of extra celebration if I get a touchdown on the Wolfpack."

In today's Charlotte Observer (via The State), there is another quote from good ol' Weslye:

“A lot of the Wolfpack fans hate my dad, so (there is) a little extra incentive to go out there and do well and show them up a little bit.”

In case you didn't know, Weslye's father is News & Observer columnist Barry Saunders. In today's article about the story, the elder Saunders says:

“I cringed, but I appreciated the quote. I wish someone else on the team had said it. But as a journalist, I appreciate it.”

There are several problems with this whole situation.

Mr. Saunders (the old one) is NOT a journalist. He's a columnist. If he was a journalist (someone whose work is based in fact, rather than fiction), NC State fans wouldn't "hate" him.

Mr. Saunders turned 4 or 5 State fans taunting Chris Paul over the death of his grandfather into an arena-wide chant that he used as the basis of a column ripping Wolfpack fans. He failed to mention the State fans who immediately got the taunting fans to be quiet.

He wrote a column chastising NC State's administration for failing to interview a minority candidate for their head basketball coaching vacancy. I'm only assuming that it was written before Sidney Lowe got the job.

I'm pretty sure he wrote a column stating that the tailgating restrictions put in place after the tragic shooting a few years ago weren't restrictive enough. That ignores the fact that no one involved in that incident was a student at NC State or had a ticket to the game.

Any ill feelings that NC State fans have for Mr. Saunders have been earned.

As for the younger Saunders, I don't really have a lot to say. Unlike his father, he doesn't get to hide behind a keyboard. Young Weslye has to play the game, and has a chance to back up his bravado. He is a very talented player, so he may do it. Or, an NCSU LB may make him eat those words.

The only real problem I have with anything that he said is that he attended high school in Durham, but claims Raleigh as his hometown. Maybe he should mix in a geography class at some point.

I just wouldn't recommend any special dances.