Bateman opting out of 2020 Football Season

Donate To GopherHole
I about started to cry when I read the announcement. I wish him the best and am so thankful for all he did to enhance our program. I will always be a fan of any player that loves Gopher football like he did. I would have liked some closure. Of course when we have so much to look forward to, a stinking pandemic hits. 2020 sucks (except New Year's Day which was awesome!). Thank you Rashod.
 

John Galt said:
I lost pretty much all my respect for Bateman today.

What he did is basically unprecedented - skip his junior year and bail on his team to get ready for the draft. And before you tell me how he has nothing to prove and there are millions of dollars involved, I don't see Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence or any of the other 32 guys on this list projected as 1st round picks who have made this decision.

2021 NFL Mock Draft – WalterFootball

walterfootball.com walterfootball.com
Click to expand...

And the majority of this board lost all their respect for you after this post
 

John Galt said:
I lost pretty much all my respect for Bateman today.

What he did is basically unprecedented - skip his junior year and bail on his team to get ready for the draft. And before you tell me how he has nothing to prove and there are millions of dollars involved, I don't see Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence or any of the other 32 guys on this list projected as 1st round picks who have made this decision.

2021 NFL Mock Draft – WalterFootball

walterfootball.com walterfootball.com
Click to expand...

LOL-well, time for Bateman to take stock and reconsider his decision-some rando on the message board has lost respect for him!

What is also unprecedented is the upcoming college football season-already truncated with a strong likelihood for postponement, further abridgment, or outright cancellation. An athlete's career is finite, and football's probably the cruelest of all the sports in this regard and someone in Bateman's position should assure himself with as much certainty as possible in this uniquely uncertain time. If there was no COVID-19 wrecking havoc, would Bateman had made this move? No, he wouldn't have, presumably because it wouldn't even be up for thought, but also because character concerns would have been registered, whether fair or not.

Bateman stayed loyal to his commitment during high school, produced two extraordinary seasons for the Gophers, and has been unfailingly positive about his experience at the "U" and in Minnesota. Losing respect for this young man says much more about you than about Bateman.
 


SJUgopher said:
Also, this might seem a little random, but it was a few weeks ago, even in June maybe, Rashod posted a photo or video on Twitter, and now I can’t find it. I am hoping someone can jar my memory who follows him closer and has a better memory, but I recall thinking that I hope this doesn’t make him ineligible. I thought it was from this agency’s roof top. It’s now deleted from Twitter.
Click to expand...

I think you’re referring to this. He put his IG pictures back up. This is from May 12th.


I don’t know whether it affects his eligibility, but it matches the two photos on the bottom.

 


WriterGoph said:
And the majority of this board lost all their respect for you after this post
Click to expand...
Classy - you can’t contradict a single point I made so you’re left with this. And now probably another cute comeback. The rest of the team will be ready for fall camp.
 

coolhandgopher said:
LOL-well, time for Bateman to take stock and reconsider his decision-some rando on the message board has lost respect for him!

What is also unprecedented is the upcoming college football season-already truncated with a strong likelihood for postponement, further abridgment, or outright cancellation. An athlete's career is finite, and football's probably the cruelest of all the sports in this regard and someone in Bateman's position should assure himself with as much certainty as possible in this uniquely uncertain time. If there was no COVID-19 wrecking havoc, would Bateman had made this move? No, he wouldn't have, presumably because it wouldn't even be up for thought, but also because character concerns would have been registered, whether fair or not.

Bateman stayed loyal to his commitment during high school, produced two extraordinary seasons for the Gophers, and has been unfailingly positive about his experience at the "U" and in Minnesota. Losing respect for this young man says much more about you than about Bateman.
Click to expand...
Then I guess he also wouldn’t care about some random poster like you? Unless you exist just to stroke egos...
 


John Galt said:
Classy - you can’t contradict a single point I made so you’re left with this. And now probably another cute comeback. The rest of the team will be ready for fall camp.
Click to expand...

The funny thing is that when this is all said and done, your crying that no other 1st rounders have done the same - which was proven wrong within minutes by Micah Parsons - is going to age very poorly. We've only just begun...
 



PitinoFan said:
I think you’re referring to this. He put his IG pictures back up. This is from May 12th.


I don’t know whether it affects his eligibility, but it matches the two photos on the bottom.

Click to expand...
That’s it!!
 


PitinoFan said:
I think you’re referring to this. He put his IG pictures back up. This is from May 12th.


I don’t know whether it affects his eligibility, but it matches the two photos on the bottom.

Click to expand...
I don’t think it does either, but at the time I had a, “what are you doing!?” thought.
 




SJUgopher said:
I don’t think it does either, but at the time I had a, “what are you doing!?” thought.
Click to expand...

I’ll defer to those who understand the NCAA rules better than I do. It’s probably a moot point now, but it does seem rather bold to not only go there, but also to post photos on social media to prove he was there.
 

I believe if you receive improper benefits you become ineligible.

No accusing that he did, but for arguments sake, let’s say he did at that point, he’d be ineligible but the Gophers wouldn’t face any penalty because they hadn’t used an ineligible player.

Also, thanks for finding that. You have no idea how much that would’ve bugged me.
 

So I'm vacationing in the town where "The Bridge Over the River Kwai" is from. I saw the news this morning and almost jumped off the bridge. Then I remembered how PJ has stocked the fridge with talent and I stepped back and decided not to end it all. I'm joking of course but I am excited to see what we haven't seen yet in the newcomers.
I hope Rashod puts a no-draft clause to Green Bay.....
 

Hell yeah, Rashod! Set yourself up financially, you served this program tremendously! You are clearly ready for the NFL, and we were lucky to have you here.
 

WriterGoph said:
The funny thing is that when this is all said and done, your crying that no other 1st rounders have done the same - which was proven wrong within minutes by Micah Parsons - is going to age very poorly. We've only just begun...
Click to expand...
There are still 31 other guys playing. Maybe it whittles down to 25 or 20. But Bateman will have forever quit on his team and let down a generation of kids who grew up knowing him as their first great Gopher.
 

WriterGoph said:
Fortunately, the majority of our fan base - outside of mjfelton and Galt (ouch, that has to be a tough pairing for your ego to swallow) 😂😂 - has responded with class and appreciation for Rashod.
Click to expand...
No one signed up to make this a tribute thread - you seem overly offended that people have different opinions.
 

PitinoFan said:
Same agent as TJ and Adam Thielen

Click to expand...
Are you speculating that the agent got in his ear and convinced him to sit out?

Genuine question, with no judgement either way.

As has already been expressed well on this thread — even if he did, it was Rashod’s final decision to make, and we all respect his decision and wish him well. Already did more for Gopher football in two years than many.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Gopherhole staff seems pretty patient with people (look how long Veritas was allowed to pollute the board) so my guess is MJ's comment was the one that finally tipped it over the edge in terms of his status here. Doubt that one comment was the sole reason he was banned.
Click to expand...
He was banned before wasn’t he, for talking about Nazi/Hitler stuff on the football forum.

I hope it was a “you had been warned previously and have continue to display poor judgement“ type thing.

Gophers don’t need “fans” like that. I hope he moves to Wisconsin and becomes a Badgers fan.
 

If Rashod has a medical condition where he is seriously concerned about his health, then good move. Short of that, really? I’m not drinking the maroon koolaid, so if this move isn’t over asthma or something like that, it’s one of the more selfish things I’ve seen. He wants to just sit for 9 months to wait for a draft where he’s a 2nd round projection, while watching his team play? PJ gonna say in public what’s good for the program, any coach would. But I’d expect fans and players to be a little upset. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he has a medical concern I guess, otherwise it would be one of the more selfish things I’ve seen. I’d stay out of the lockeroom after games this season were i he.

Has anyone here ever worked 60+ hour weeks to get the work done while your supposed colleague sat out with a “medical condition”and “couldn’t work”, but you knew the real story. Ya, my reaction would be kinda like that if I were a teammate.

if I asked Tanner Morgan, Trey Lance (or any 1st round pick) why he was wasn’t doing the same, the answer would be . . . “I would never do that to my team”.

Anyway, Bateman was a really good gopher and deserves some support, but I certainly understand anyone who would also criticize this move. If you can’t handle what Galt said (very reasonable criticism) then you need to put the koolaid down.
 
Last edited:

All opinions can be heard. It is understood that if you do not agree with the group that some will get really creative and call you troll, traitor, fraud . Do not fret, people resorting to that are insecure about their own stance and just self reflecting. Bateman may be concerned about a reduction in short or long term organ damage. For a high level athlete he can not afford even a 5% reduction in the ability to process oxygen. That 5% can be the difference between several rounds in a draft, several years in the league.
 

PitinoFan said:
I’ll defer to those who understand the NCAA rules better than I do. It’s probably a moot point now, but it does seem rather bold to not only go there, but also to post photos on social media to prove he was there.
Click to expand...
It is not against rules to talk to agents. Only to sign or receive benefits
 

Herd said:
If Rashod has a medical condition where he is seriously concerned about his health, then good move. Short of that, really? I’m not drinking the maroon koolaid, so if this move isn’t over asthma or something like that, it’s one of the more selfish things I’ve seen. He wants to just sit for 9 months to wait for a draft where he’s a 2nd round projection, while watching his team play? PJ gonna say in public what’s good for the program, any coach would. But I’d expect fans and players to be a little upset. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he has a medical concern I guess, otherwise it would be one of the more selfish things I’ve seen. I’d stay out of the lockeroom after games this season were i he.

Has anyone here ever worked 60+ hour weeks to get the work done while your supposed colleague sat out with a “medical condition”and “couldn’t work”, but you knew the real story. Ya, my reaction would be kinda like that if I were a teammate.

if I asked Tanner Morgan, Trey Lance (or any 1st round pick) why he was wasn’t doing the same, the answer would be . . . “I would never do that to my team”.

Anyway, Bateman was a really good gopher and deserves some support, but I certainly understand anyone who would also criticize this move. If you can’t handle what Galt said (very reasonable criticism) then you need to put the koolaid down.
Click to expand...
Bateman is a completely different case than Morgan.
Bateman is a sure fire 2nd rounder at worst and probably a first rounder.
Morgan is not. He has a shot to be but needs to put up another year to really make that move.

Lance I don’t know much about. Who does Lance play for?

va tech corner
Bateman
Micah parsons

3 of the first 45 picks of the 2021 NFL draft have already opted out.
 

One wonders if the next pillar to fall in the sports world will be that football players will be able to declare for the draft following two years out of high school (ie true sophomores/redshirt freshmen). Bateman and Parsons would have been high draft picks this past year, had they been allowed to declare. What's the legitimate reason to limit players from being able to declare, particularly in this most meat-grinding of sports? Again, I come back to the finite nature of the football career and to force players to participate at the college level without pay for three years (as there is no viable alternative, like there is for basketball), seems patently unfair.
 

Some guy said:
Bateman is a completely different case than Morgan.
Bateman is a sure fire 2nd rounder at worst and probably a first rounder.
Morgan is not. He has a shot to be but needs to put up another year to really make that move.

Lance I don’t know much about. Who does Lance play for?

va tech corner
Bateman
Micah parsons

3 of the first 45 picks of the 2021 NFL draft have already opted out.
Click to expand...
And there will be more.
 

WriterGoph said:
And the majority of this board lost all their respect for you after this post
Click to expand...

Ya Galt, those people have lost all respect for you . . . especially G-holers that have hired agents and are planning to spend the entire football season hiding out in their basements.
 

John Galt said:
I lost pretty much all my respect for Bateman today.

What he did is basically unprecedented - skip his junior year and bail on his team to get ready for the draft. And before you tell me how he has nothing to prove and there are millions of dollars involved, I don't see Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence or any of the other 32 guys on this list projected as 1st round picks who have made this decision.

2021 NFL Mock Draft – WalterFootball

walterfootball.com walterfootball.com
Click to expand...

Not sure how much respect is worth from a guy like you, John. Adults getting mad at kids for chasing their dreams? You're particularly vile towards any of them who don't go along with your wishes. You really draw a hard line on these young folks, dude. They don't know you exist, don't take it so personally.
 

Some guy said:
Lance I don’t know much about. Who does Lance play for?
Click to expand...
He's one of the best freshman college football players that I've ever seen coming from my home state of MN. Where are you from? Ur not from 'round here I guess.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom