Being in the public eye isn't necessarily the easiest endeavor when you're a professional athlete—and still growing up.
Recently Matt Leinart, the Arizona Cardinals quarterback, and Vince Young, the Tennessee Titans quarterback, were both scrutinized heavily by the media for posing for photos in which they performed activity that is generally seen as "normal" for today's youth.
However, these actions are not what athletes—especially those who are supposedly the faces of franchises—should be doing.
While I listened intuitively to what the big names of sports media had to say about the utter stupidity of these two young quarterbacks, as a 19-year-old I couldn't help but feel some sympathy towards Leinart and Young.
The activities they were participating in are all the rage at college campuses across the country. Binge drinking and mingling with attractive women are exactly what just about every heterosexual male aged 17-25 wants to do in his free time—so as far as morality goes, these two have done nothing wrong in my eyes.
Letting someone photograph them performing such acts is where these two faltered and showed signs of immaturity, as well as a lack of judgement—and even after the media pounded the living hell out of this story, another young athlete let himself fall to power of a "friendly photo."
Eric Gordon, known to some as the 2008 Big Ten Freshman of the year and future NBA lottery pick and superstar, did what any normal teenage boy would love to do during his summer, as shown by this picture—he hung out with great-looking girls and went out partying and by no means is that wrong in my eyes.
The problem I have with my latest Facebook finding is not that EJ, as his friends call him, is around alcohol or girls, but that he let himself be photographed with the two temptations of teenage boys—only weeks before his name is called on draft day.
While what you've read thus far might seem contradictory, I would like to explain that Eric Gordon is only 19, while Young and Leinart are legal to drink in the United States (even though I am a strong advocate for a lower drinking age).
For Gordon to openly pose for a picture in which he totally disregarded the amount of alcohol placed in front of him is completely moronic.
26 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Tyler Heun about 1 year ago
A few things:
1) It's not his fault he skipped class. He obviously didn't want to go to college, and as any college grad knows, if you don't want to be there it is going to be VERY hard to convince yourself to get up for class. It's the NBA's fault for making them be one year removed from college.
2) I agree 100%- no problem with the kid drinking and hanging with hot chicks. I do the same all the time, accept my hot chicks is my fiance. :)
3) Don't take pics knowingly! Tell your friends that you can't be in the pic because of professional image. I won't let my friends post facebook pics of me that I wouldn't want clients to see since I'm a financial professional.
4) Where is IU's tail at!?! This kid is a first rounder and will make millions. He should have some better looking women than that! Check out pics of Texas, USC, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, hell even my school (Nebraska). Way hotter women!
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Kevin Nolan about 1 year ago
hot chicks and a fast life style are things any big time baller can be part of and have effected some players careers. See guys like Doc Gooden, Vin Baker, etc. However, I think people are starting to get way too invloved in these guy personal lifes. I could care less A-Rod think big boned strippers or if Kobe cheats. There are alot of players that enjoy the ocassional drink and 3 or 4some and do not let outside activities get in the way of there developement or focus has players. As a GM or coach I could care less how any white chicks Eric Gordon sleeps with so long as he properly decicates himself to basketball. Once the riches or anything else distract him from that then there is a problem but only then.
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Bill Clinton about 1 year ago
AJ, this such a stupid article. Grow up!!!! is Gordon doing anything???? It look like he is with a group of hot babes. I think you much be jelous..... I would love to do what he is doing. I could see if he was drinking, or smoking or doing something illegal. It doesnt look like to me he is doing anything different than 99.99% of all kids would love to do. Posing with beutiful young girls. AJ, I am sorry but you need to grow up.
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
If you read carefully enough I said what he's doing is completely normal for guys our age... The problem is he's not keeping up a professional image like he should be at the level he's about to be at..
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bobby smith about 1 year ago
first off were is the good source of someone who saw or knew he was skippin class. second...how did you even find that picture..... i mean do you go around looking for bad things too post about young athletes. That the problem with you reporter and why athletes dont get along with you. Come on now lets be real he may not have even known the can were gonna be in the picture or put out on the internet. He may or may not have been drinkin... he is a grown ass man. Go find something else to write about instead of bringing down athetes
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
1)Yes, I actually attend IU and had plenty of friends who had classes with Gordon and said he would rarely show up.
2)No I do not go looking around to demoralize young athletes, this picture was found on facebook while I was looking through an album of a friend of mine who happened to be at this party. Beyond that I am just doing the job of every reporter and that is bringing the news to the public, but beyond that I am in good terms with plenty of student athletes. Also if you read alittle bit more of the article you would understand that it's pretty retarded of him to not notice about 12 cans and a couple of bottles sitting in front of him in which case he could have A)asked the girl to crop the photo before she posted it online B)ask the alcohol to be moved or C)not taken the photo at all.
3)Grown ass man? Until the US lowers the drinking age properly to age 18, Gordon will not be "Grown Ass" enough to be around alcohol.
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Jay Harmas about 1 year ago
Gordon finished IU in good standings. Why are you trying to discredit a 19 year old student athlete? He is not a professional athlete. Why do you hold Gordon to a higher standard than yourself. I think you should go back to what you were doing after high school. Not writting.....
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Ben Weixlmann about 1 year ago
A ton of NCAA stars skipped class, let's not act like EG23 is the first!
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
Never said Gordon was the first, it was basically the entire 07-08 Hoosier team that was not attending class. Seeing as basically every Hoosier on scholarship was cut for academic purposes this offseason, whos to say Gordon would even be academically eligible to play next season in light of the rest of the team?
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Evan Gordon about 1 year ago
AJ, You are showing your true colors now when you say: "Whos to say Gordon would even be academically eligible to play next season". That is pretty pathetic. I know Eric Gordon on a personal level and you sure sound like a Damn fool.
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Johnthan Thomas about 1 year ago
What a dumb fucking blog entry. Where in this post do you mention that five of Gordon's teammates were kicked off the team this year for excessive partying and not going to class? All the while, EJ stays out of trouble, and never is there even a rumor hinting at any wrongdoing on his behalf. How hard do you think it was for him to stay in his dorm room and avoid the overwhelming party culture of Indiana - especially when his teammates are all embracing it?
I knew EJ at Indiana, and he is a good kid. The students who lived on his dorm floor considered him weird and introverted because he never partied or went out. When in reality, he was just trying to stay out of trouble so he didn't screw up his future in the NBA. His father would have killed him if he ever did anything remotely wrong.
His so-called lack of basketball IQ that you mention isn't from immaturity or lack of leadership. He is simply the kind of star player who only knows how to lead by example. He is a quiet kid and not someone who is going to bark at his teammates. Besides, Napoleon himself couldn't have led the knuckleheads that Indiana had on its team this season.
It's laughable that you justify this post by throwing out some bunk rumor about EJ dropping an English class, and then posting some lame (and stalker-ish) photo that you've hijacked from someone's Facebook profile. Neither provide much credence to your argument when (A) Star basketball players in the past have done much worse than drop an English class before heading pro, and (B) EJ isn't even drinking in that picture. No NBA scout is going to look at that and think "Wow, there is beer there in a picture with attractive young girls. Eric must have been drinking and having unprotected sex. Obvious character issues".
Sorry my friend, but you are barking up the wrong tree here. EJ, DJ, Lance, Taber and Ahlfeld were the only good kids on the team this season.
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
I never once judge Gordon's character in this article at all and yes from what I've heard he is a great guy. What this article is in reference to is his lack of judgement because he is openly being photographed with alcohol when he is under 21. Many young athletes fall to problems like this.
On a much more extreme level during the Pacers season, foward Shawne Williams was caught housing a friend of his who was wanted for murder. Shawne's character has nothing to do with this. Obviously from this you can get that Shawne is willing to protect his friends even if it may damage his name, which shows a great deal of loyality. But the issue was his lack of judgement which can lead athletes down the wrong path.
By no means am I wishing a bad career on Gordon, in fact I am one of the few left on campus who believe he can still blossom into a star in the NBA. However, becoming a star involves a few character checks and putting yourself in situations where you cannot fall victim to a poor lifestyle. While there are no character flaws now I'm almost certain peer pressure can change that.
If like you say his father would have killed him had he ever done anything remotely wrong then why is he out in the party scene anyway back in Indy. There's no reason for him to be hanging out around alcohol because for many teens the summer is the break away from the party scene.
To call the rumor "bunk" as well about Gordon dropping english, check your facts I know three people who sat through the class for 2 and a half months with him and then he stopped showing up...I doubt he just wanted to fail?
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Linnea Coulter about 1 year ago
AJ, I agree with your point at the most basic level. Unfortunately for college athletes, especially marquee ones like EJ, they do have an image to uphold. I can't imagine how hard it is to stay out of "incriminating" pictures such as this while still enjoying your time in college. You and I both know how IU is; even if you aren't a party person, 90% of our culture revolves around it.
The problem I have is that I think you might be being a little too critical. The only way EJ could ever avoid being in pictures like this is if he kept himself locked in his dorm room. And frankly, depending on who he roomed with, I don't think that's even a safe bet.
I can't even tell you how many times I have seen our basketball team out at the bars or house parties acting like damn fools. Hell, Killingsworth closed down Sports the night before the UConn game where Rudy Gay completely dominated his ass. In the four years I was at IU, there were a handful of them who I never saw out. EJ was one.
Although this picture is somewhat incriminating on a superficial level, I think we should all keep in mind that NBA scouts don't just blindly choose candidates for their team. Not only do they watch tape of them on court, but they do character checks as well. Although I was never a huge Gordon fan myself, if an NBA scout were to ask me my honest opinion on him, I would tell them that he is one of few professionally sound basketball players I have seen during my time here. This picture doesn't sway my opinion.
I'll be concerned when he makes it onto this site: http://www.drunkathlete.com/
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
Not to seem hypocritical or anything (like the article says even if he is drinking...) I am not against the party scene and went out just about every weekend in B-Town last year. Also to go along with this but at a little five party I was at many people were taking pictures with Tracy Porter, but Porter made it a point that it was cool, but he didnt want cups in the picture, so its not very hard unless your photo is taken by paparazi.
The problem is that the picture was actually just from a few days ago and not down at an IU party. It is very easy to avoid parties in Indianapolis, so there is no reason for him to even be there, let alone letting people take his picture. Hell most people say "ok" when you dont want ur picture taken.
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bobby smith about 1 year ago
i know ej on a personal level i grew up with him this isnt my real name on here for reason but he is like the nicest guy around for athletes.....and he didnt even know they were even gonna be in the picture casue he never saw the pic so how can he ask her to crop it.....i agree you need to stop being a writer, you dont sound like much one anyway
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
Not trying to attack you, but I hope this is satire. "you dont sound like much one anyway"?
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Eron Eron about 1 year ago
AJ, you are a DAMN lie by saying EJ was in this picture a few days ago. EJ has been in workouts, out of the damn state of IN. Right now he is in Portland, leaving on a plane now to workout with Seattle as I type. You are a lier!!!!!
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
Ok then why is the album called going to Indy?? Don't accuse me of lying and Gordon was just here last weekend. He did a signing at a local finishline on the 8th.
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Eron Gordon about 1 year ago
Stupid girl, he was at the Finishline in Castleton in Indianapolis. The kid doesnt even drive. He works out 3 times a day. Get your dates correct. EJ did the signing on last Saturday the 7th from 3-4 pm. He worked out 2 times before the signing and once after the signing. He was with his girlfriend Brooke and her brother Andrew's house in Indianapolis. Where do you get the signing on the 8th. Right now he is in Seattle. Shut the hell up, you pathetic idiot!!!
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AJ Shea about 1 year ago
Sorry I messed up the date of the signing. Still doesn't support your theory:
"AJ, you are a DAMN lie by saying EJ was in this picture a few days ago. EJ has been in workouts, out of the damn state of IN. Right now he is in Portland, leaving on a plane now to workout with Seattle as I type. You are a lier!!!!!"
I mean he was in Indy, so... I mean your original argument has no basis.
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stacy smith 10 months ago
brooke is not his girlfriend
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stacy smith 10 months ago
and that is not really eron. eron couldnt even spell pathetic if he wanted to. not to call him dumb but he is still in elementary school. you people need to get a life and worry about your self and not him!
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Eron Gordon about 1 year ago
Yea, it seems like your original argument was wrong. "I ment this, I ment that, I dont know what the hell I am talking about". I am done, playing your stupid game. You lost... it is evident you dont know what the hell you are talking about. Your Asshole!
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Shamrock Gordon 8 months ago
AJ seems to stalk him...& I mean I guess thats fine if thats what you're into...but by no means judge someone that you barely know. Everyone matures at different times in life...maybe one day when your time comes you will understand ;)
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Brian Blanton 6 months ago
By all other accounts, EJ is a good kid who went to class except when the team was on road trips.. These assertions have been repeated by coach Dakich as well as IU students who had classes with him. Yeah, I'm sure everyone is lying except 'your friends.' But complaining about EJ posing for a pic w/ alcohol in it is pretty moronic.. Doubt any NBA teams would refrain from drafting a guy who was at a party w/ alcohol.. Good try though.
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flow mcdanderson 6 months ago
You have friend that say he was never in class? Come on, he was going to the NBA and left in good standing academically at IU. You shouldn't write this BS. Deadspin is linking you as a source, fool. As an IU grad I'm ashamed of you and this site.
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