STrib: Mr. Minnesota Basketball Award account's tweet draws ire

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Jace Frederick from the Pioneer Press just did an article on this as well:

http://www.twincities.com/2017/02/1...ocial&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1486960514

The chairman of the Minnesota Mr. Basketball Award came under fire this weekend for his use of the award’s since-deleted Twitter account.

Ken Lien heads the award process and ran the Twitter account @MrBasketballMN. But while Lien tweeted about high school basketball from the account, he also used it for personal tweets about other topics, including politics.

On Friday, Lien quoted a tweet regarding Muslim high school students in New Jersey with the comment “Run their asses outta there!”
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GopherLady said:
Jace Frederick from the Pioneer Press just did an article on this as well:

http://www.twincities.com/2017/02/1...ocial&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1486960514
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On Friday, Lien quoted a tweet regarding Muslim high school students in New Jersey with the comment “Run their asses outta there!”n Friday, Lien quoted a tweet regarding Muslim high school students in New Jersey with the comment “Run their asses outta there!”

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So lot of inaccurate stuff being posted here, partially due to deleted tweets. Run their asses outta there wan't even about Mexicans crossing the boarder. I don't know what he meant.... He may just be talking about the few Muslim parents taunting the school. Who the hell knows. He may very well be a racist, but I don't see how that has been proven.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...y-school-board-religious-holiday-closure.html

Seems pretty stupid to post political stuff from a Mr. Basketball account/handle, but it is his personal account and him being in charge of declaring who is Mn Mr. Basketball seems like one mans opinion and shouldn't carry much weight, especially moving forward.

rosevillegopher said:
Racist or not, his statement is factually incorrect.
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I don't even know what his response/re-tweet comment was to the tweet, was his comment incorrect or just the original tweeter? Seems to me like Alex Conover has an axe to grind and it's pitchfork nation. If he is a racist asshole, let him lie in the bed he made, but I'm not so sure we need to jump to that conclusion.
 

HOOP DREAMS said:
On Friday, Lien quoted a tweet regarding Muslim high school students in New Jersey with the comment “Run their asses outta there!”n Friday, Lien quoted a tweet regarding Muslim high school students in New Jersey with the comment “Run their asses outta there!”

_________________

So lot of inaccurate stuff being posted here, partially due to deleted tweets. Run their asses outta there wan't even about Mexicans crossing the boarder. I don't know what he meant.... He may just be talking about the few Muslim parents taunting the school. Who the hell knows. He may very well be a racist, but I don't see how that has been proven.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...y-school-board-religious-holiday-closure.html

Seems pretty stupid to post political stuff from a Mr. Basketball account/handle, but it is his personal account and him being in charge of declaring who is Mn Mr. Basketball seems like one mans opinion and shouldn't carry much weight, especially moving forward.



I don't even know what his response/re-tweet comment was to the tweet, was his comment incorrect or just the original tweeter? Seems to me like Alex Conover has an axe to grind and it's pitchfork nation. If he is a racist asshole, let him lie in the bed he made, but I'm not so sure we need to jump to that conclusion.
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Can't see the whole thing on what Nadine posted but, "feral black teen thugs," makes me jump to that conclusion.
 


adchester said:
https://twitter.com/TMurr85/status/830450176695353344

Don't know how to embed tweets on here, but here's the tweet about "loading up your ammo and taking them out"
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adchester - many don't know how to do this, so thought I'd give a quick tip - click on the arrow on the top right of the tweet, and then "embed tweet" will be in the drop down menu. I've attached a pic as well.

And here's the tweet embedded:
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Embed a tweet.JPG
 



Mulligan said:
Can't see the whole thing on what Nadine posted but, "feral black teen thugs," makes me jump to that conclusion.
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+1. I have heard people use this type of language and they are 100% racist. Ask yourself, why is he responding to tweets/stories from South Texas, NJ, etc? He is obviously seeking out ways to justify his views and to spout his racist crap. Saying "we can't say for sure if he's racist" is giving him way to much benefit of the doubt when you consider what he is choosing to comment on and what he is saying.
 

Lien can have whatever personal beliefs he wants, but when he is using the MN Mr. Basketball twitter to express those views then he is crossing into pretty sketchy territory. Not to mention that it is not a good look to promote some of those views from the social media account of an award where a significant portion of the candidates are black.

As a Sibley grad I am proud of coach Carrier for calling him out on it.
 







Post Bulletin: Mr. Basketball Award chairman needs to step down

RUFF: The political divide that's grown wider since the election of Donald Trump as president, and the rancor that's gone with it, has now spilled into Minnesota high school basketball.

Longtime Mr. Basketball Award chairman Ken Lien created a firestorm last week with a tweet that denigrated Muslims. Some digging into Lien's twitter account revealed that it wasn't the first time that Lien had gone this route. There is now a push by the state's coaches, initiated by Henry Sibley's John Carrier, to get him out as Mr. Basketball Award chairman. I never would have guessed that high school basketball would get politicized. But here we go.

BOESE: I've been a friend of Lien's for years now, so this has been especially painful — but not surprising — to watch unfold. For some quick background, he's been owner and chairman of the Minnesota Mr. Basketball Award since 1977. I ate a pregame meal with him last year in Rochester before we watched Michael Hurt, a 2016 Mr. Basketball finalist, play at John Marshall.

Lien's political tenor changed last spring, finally coming to a head on Friday afternoon when Carrier called him out on Twitter. I requested an interview over the weekend after Lien announced his departure from social media because of mounting criticism. He declined. Lien later told the Star Tribune that he was sorry, and he knows there's some people who "want the chance to rip me a new one."

Here's where I'm at: Lien inappropriately mixed business and "pleasure" on social media by diving into the nation's divisive political debate. He deserves all the criticism he's received, if not more. Many feel the award and Mr. Basketball organization are now tainted by Lien's inflammatory rhetoric. I agree with many luminaries — like 1997 Mr. Basketball Khalid El-Amin — who argue it's time for Lien to step down to make way for new leadership.

http://www.postbulletin.com/sports/...cle_f8296c9a-f17a-5832-9e93-6534c5103f50.html

Go Gophers!!
 



The MBCA(Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association) has come up with a response to the debate starting with the 2017-18 season as the will start sponsoring the McDonald Award for the best senior basketball player in the state of Minnesota. The award is named after long time (and hall of fame) Chisholm Boys Basketball coach Bob McDonald.

http://www.mshsca.org/news_article/show/757420?referrer_id=2367017
 

STrib: Ken Lien announces his resignation from Mr. Basketball in an open letter

Lien and I have been in contact, and on Wednesday, he released this open letter:

"IN THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS, there have been a number of reports about my ill-advised posts on social media. As a figure who has tried always to shed a positive light on high school basketball in our state, and as a citizen of this great country, my actions were inexcusable.

"I humbly and sincerely apologize for my insensitivity and to those I have offended.

"Having owned the rights to the non-profit, all-volunteer Mr. Basketball of Minnesota program for 40 years, it truly has been a labor of love and pride for the committee and myself.

"We do not just look at stats in the morning paper or on any number of online outlets. A safe estimate is we attend a minimum of 340 games annually.

"We do that in fairness to the players. There are nights where a player has a hard time making a bucket, encounters foul problems or is playing through an injury. That’s the very reason the committee and I made every effort to see the candidates several times during a season.

"I mention this because it’s important for you to know the diligence and effort the committee puts forth. We put in this effort because being named 'Mr. Basketball' is the most prestigious high school boys basketball award in the state.

"My poor decision-making has caused hurt feelings and a great deal of anger. I recognize this and I am truly apologetic. It was, and never has been, my intent to hurt anybody’s feelings.

"In the best interest of the award, past and future recipients and all those who represent high school basketball, I have removed myself from the Mr. Basketball committee effective immediately, and have not and will not be involved in this season’s voting.

"I made this action known to my committee members on Monday. There will be a new head and spokesperson of the committee, including for this season’s 43rd annual award.

"I encourage all devoted basketball fans to place your trust in the Mr. Basketball committee. These gentlemen are a committed group and will continue to work diligently to crown Minnesota’s best high school senior.

"Thank you for your understanding and I ask for your forgiveness.''

~ KEN LIEN.

http://www.startribune.com/ken-lien...om-mr-basketball-in-an-open-letter/413843303/

Go Gophers!!
 

I'll give the guy credit for handling it well. From everything I've seen he sounds sincere, and he took pretty quick action to step down. Don't know whether it was forced or not, but the letter sounds sincere.
 

According to Shama, Lien has passed away from blood cancer. He was 72.
 

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