Talking Point

[drinks at Northpoint]

I think the worst part for Trevor is that he is now a talking point for the media and water coolers around the Metro. He is now part of everyones social commentary about violence against women and athletes getting preferential treatment. Every station has sensationalized the story. They talked about the felony assault case in Miami, but didn't mention he was never even brought to trial. I've heard him compared to "stalkers" and heard hypothesis about what horrible things could happen if this situation escalates.
I heard two people at work saying, "How can they let him play" they called him a thug who violated a restraining order and said they heard he beat up some girl in Miami.
I don't know what happened, nobody does.
What I do know is that he never even went to trial in Miami so he is presumed innocent and that shouldn't even be considered. There is no mention of violence in the restraining order and there was no violence or threat of violence in the email.
Unfortunately, in the drive by media world he is now the poster boy for violence against women and spoiled athletes.

 

[507Gopher]

+1

however its sad how easily this could have been avoided but had turned into a somewhat large story...

 

[Art Vandelay]

I think Gary Parrish sums it pretty well on his blog.

http://gary-parrish.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/26995507

Mbakwe has done himself no favors. His little tantrum via Twitter says a lot about him.

I would maybe re-read the articles in the local fishwraps about the restraining order and you will see that the woman is genuinely afraid of him and wasn't surpirsed about the Miami ordeal.

 

[GopherJake]

+1

however its sad how easily this could have been avoided but had turned into a somewhat large story...

I presume you mean by not violating the restraining order. Or not getting one in the first place.

 

[drinks at Northpoint]

I don't know what happened.
I don't know him personally.
But, for many people, he is already guilty of being the next Ike Turner.
At the end of this, I expect him to be fined $200 and told not to do it again.
But his reputation is forever ruined.

 

[Unregistered User]

I think Gary Parrish sums it pretty well on his blog.

http://gary-parrish.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/26995507

Mbakwe has done himself no favors. His little tantrum via Twitter says a lot about him.

I would maybe re-read the articles in the local fishwraps about the restraining order and you will see that the woman is genuinely afraid of him and wasn't surpirsed about the Miami ordeal.

Yup...he has really done his homework. Called it a restraining order rather than stating correctly that the two agreed to a "no contact agreement." I'm sure that tiny mis-sight didn't color his view of the situation at all.

And how well do you know the girl, Art? I'm sure you can personally attest to the accuracy of her statement, and condition through all her dealings, right?

I would rather have Trevor Mbakwe as a friend than you, Art.

 

[scher215]

I think Gary Parrish sums it pretty well on his blog.

http://gary-parrish.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6271764/26995507

Mbakwe has done himself no favors. His little tantrum via Twitter says a lot about him.

I would maybe re-read the articles in the local fishwraps about the restraining order and you will see that the woman is genuinely afraid of him and wasn't surpirsed about the Miami ordeal.

I think Parish needs to add a third question:

Serious questions:

1. How many times has a woman accused you of breaking her face?
2. How many times has a woman filed an order against you?
3. How many times have you been a celebrity?

Obviously most everyday 9-5 people never have that happen. But if you ask Kobe Bryant, the Duke Lacrosse team, and many other celebrities. I bet they'd have different answers than you or I would ...

 

[Art Vandelay]

I think Parish needs to add a third question:

Serious questions:

1. How many times has a woman accused you of breaking her face?
2. How many times has a woman filed an order against you?
3. How many times have you been a celebrity?

Obviously most everyday 9-5 people never have that happen. But if you ask Kobe Bryant, the Duke Lacrosse team, and many other celebrities. I bet they'd have different answers than you or I would ...

Celebrity? The Miami incident and restraining order both happened when he was a JUCO basketball player. Yeah, those guys are celebrities

 

[scher215]

Yup...he has really done his homework. Called it a restraining order rather than stating correctly that the two agreed to a "no contact agreement." I'm sure that tiny mis-sight didn't color his view of the situation at all.

And how well do you know the girl, Art? I'm sure you can personally attest to the accuracy of her statement, and condition through all her dealings, right?

I would rather have Trevor Mbakwe as a friend than you, Art.

+1

Except for this isn't close to the girls fault this happened, Trevor was wrong for sending the message. Period. Sure, she may have been overly sensitive (its possible) and may have overreated by calling the police (also possible) but at the end of the day, it was Trevor who broke the law. Not her. He was trying to be nice and his heart was in the right place, but he still broke the law and will have to face whatever consequences the law decides for him. I feel Tubby and Joel made the right call, now the law gets to make their decision.

Luckily, it isn't Art Vandalay who gets to make that decision or we might be having a death penalty debate on the basketball board.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Yup...he has really done his homework. Called it a restraining order rather than stating correctly that the two agreed to a "no contact agreement." I'm sure that tiny mis-sight didn't color his view of the situation at all.

And how well do you know the girl, Art? I'm sure you can personally attest to the accuracy of her statement, and condition through all her dealings, right?

I would rather have Trevor Mbakwe as a friend than you, Art.

I don't see it referred to as a "no contact agreement" anywhere. It was a "harassing restraining order" filed in June 2009.

 

[scher215]

Celebrity? The Miami incident and restraining order both happened when he was a JUCO basketball player. Yeah, those guys are celebrities

Would you call the Duke Lacrosse team celebrities? They are just as much celebrity as a JUCO basketball player, 4-star recruit out of High School, and former Marquette (D1) player.

When your picture is readily available online (and not because you put it on your facebook) and ESPN is reporting about you, you are a celebrity.

Maybe you are unfamiliar with how "celebrity" college, and even high school, athletes really are? I have watched many HIGH SCHOOL athletes on ESPN, you don't think that makes them a celebrity in their place of residence?

How does a woman picking her attacker from a basketball roster not make them a celebrity? Would that happen in your line of work? I don't think if a woman was attacked by an angry old man in your neighborhood that she would immediatley run to pictures of all of the employees at your workplace. However, when a woman is attacked by a tall black man, she will immediatley run to the basketball roster.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

Yup...he has really done his homework. Called it a restraining order rather than stating correctly that the two agreed to a "no contact agreement." I'm sure that tiny mis-sight didn't color his view of the situation at all.

Sorry, but it sounds like you are the one with the misunderstanding on this one.

 

[scher215]

I don't see it referred to as a "no contact agreement" anywhere. It was a "harassing restraining order" filed in June 2009.

It started out as a restraining order brought on by the girl. After some time Trevor and his now GF filed one against her to extend it and make it a no contact agreement. Reportedly, the woman who was so incredibly afraid of Trevor found time to "visit" his girlfriend and son at their daycare.

 

[rcpratt]

Yup...he has really done his homework. Called it a restraining order rather than stating correctly that the two agreed to a "no contact agreement." I'm sure that tiny mis-sight didn't color his view of the situation at all.

Even if it was a no-contact agreement (and I've only read that here), my understanding is that a no-contact agreement is a subset of a restraining order.

 

[Art Vandelay]

However, when a woman is attacked by a tall black man, she will immediatley run to the basketball roster.

She was at a party with the basketball team right before she was attacked.

Does that mean Mbakwe is gulity? No. But her picking him out of a "line-up" per say is not as random as you indicate.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

It started out as a restraining order brought on by the girl. After some time Trevor and his now GF filed one against her to extend it and make it a no contact agreement. Reportedly, the woman who was so incredibly afraid of Trevor found time to "visit" his girlfriend and son at their daycare.

Factually inaccurate.

 

[scher215]

Factually inaccurate.

The first part (about it turning into a no-contact agreement, which is essentially a restraining order on both sides) was reported from Nadine's original story on Gopherhole. So if that is incorrect, I am not the one breaking any news here.

The part about going to the daycare was from a tweet by Trevor Mbakwe's girlfriend after the arrest. This "visit" occured after the no contact agreement was in place for both sides and Trevor's girlfriend never called police, which is why she was upset that the girl did over a facebook message.

I apologize if the information I am using from OTHER people is inacurate, but I am not just sitting here making things up off of the top of my head.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Factually inaccurate.

never mind, duplicate post

 

[Monty519]

She was at a party with the basketball team right before she was attacked.

Does that mean Mbakwe is gulity? No. But her picking him out of a "line-up" per say is not as random as you indicate.

Actually, it could be. That roster had like four dudes that looked alike. In a dark situation at night, when being assaulted, it's not shocking to believe she could have misidentified him.

On the other hand, yes, you don't see dudes get accused of the things Trevor was accused of very often. He is a part of that, whether it's his rep in the past getting him in trouble, or his seeming lack of some common sense in situations. The guy clearly has/had issues, especially in his past. Since he's been here though, it's not like it's been one thing after another with him. Most of his issues sit a couple years in the past. I think Tubby's been a good influence on him and hopefully he can help him keep his nose clean from bad situations.

 

[scher215]

She was at a party with the basketball team right before she was attacked.

Does that mean Mbakwe is gulity? No. But her picking him out of a "line-up" per say is not as random as you indicate.

She was at a party that the basketball team was also attending.

Left the party.

Got attacked by a tall black man.

Why did she immediatley assume to look at the basketball roster? Because he was tall? Because he was black? How does she know it was someone from the team even? Maybe it was a random mugger (happens all the time here at the U). Maybe it was a friend of the basketball team? Was Trevor even at that party with the basketball team? She assumed basketball player. Went to the roster. Picked out a tall one, narrowed it down and said let's go with that guy. It's likely not as simple as that, but in the short time I have here, that is how I will desrcibe it. If there is no basketball roster online and no game to go to where she can (pay money too ... celebrity) see the basketball team, Trevor doesn't get accused, and it never happens. Simple as that. If Trevor is some average Joe McDonalds employee (who wasn't at the party), she never sees his picture, never sees him period, never knows his name and never accuses him. At the time, she had (reportedly) had no clue who her attacker was, other than being a tall, african-american male ... until her and her friend did a little research. And I do not mean to bash the female by any means. My point is simply being that if Trevor is not a JUCO basketball player, based on some accounts, he never gets accused, simple as that.

If I am at a bar and I see the basketball team there and later a white guy attacks me, it must have been Blake Hoffarber or Colton Iverson ... right? I know this because they are white and on the basketball team.

 

[drinks at Northpoint]

The district attorney in Miami chose not to prosecute. He knew far more about the situation than anyone on this board. Arguing about it on a board is pointless. All it does is smear Trevors name. In the eyes of the law he is innocent.

 

[Gopher Warrior]

She was at a party that the basketball team was also attending.

Left the party.

My man, your understanding of the facts of both situations is all messed up. Tubby has apparently made his decision, you might just want to let it go and move forward. No good can come out of getting yourself more familiar with the facts or continuing to talk about it. If you're in favor of what has transpired (i.e., cleared to play) then be glad and let's get ready for Purdue.

 

[Art Vandelay]

She was at a party that the basketball team was also attending.

Left the party.

Got attacked by a tall black man.

Why did she immediatley assume to look at the basketball roster? Because he was tall? Because he was black? How does she know it was someone from the team even? Maybe it was a random mugger (happens all the time here at the U). Maybe it was a friend of the basketball team? Was Trevor even at that party with the basketball team? She assumed basketball player. Went to the roster. Picked out a tall one, narrowed it down and said let's go with that guy. It's likely not as simple as that, but in the short time I have here, that is how I will desrcibe it. If there is no basketball roster online and no game to go to where she can (pay money too ... celebrity) see the basketball team, Trevor doesn't get accused, and it never happens. Simple as that. If Trevor is some average Joe McDonalds employee (who wasn't at the party), she never sees his picture, never sees him period, never knows his name and never accuses him. At the time, she had (reportedly) had no clue who her attacker was, other than being a tall, african-american male ... until her and her friend did a little research. And I do not mean to bash the female by any means. My point is simply being that if Trevor is not a JUCO basketball player, based on some accounts, he never gets accused, simple as that.

If I am at a bar and I see the basketball team there and later a white guy attacks me, it must have been Blake Hoffarber or Colton Iverson ... right? I know this because they are white and on the basketball team.

I see where you're coming from but he skipped town within hours and eventually took a plea agreement. If I were accused of breaking a woman's face I would do absolutely everything in my power to clear my name not take a plea - but that's just me....

In the end he was exonnerated (sp?) so whatever I guess.....

 

[Art Vandelay]

My man, your understanding of the facts of both situations is all messed up. Tubby has apparently made his decision, you might just want to let it go and move forward. No good can come out of getting yourself more familiar with the facts or continuing to talk about it. If you're in favor of what has transpired (i.e., cleared to play) then be glad and let's get ready for Purdue.

+1

 

[scher215]

The district attorney in Miami chose not to prosecute. He knew far more about the situation than anyone on this board. Arguing about it on a board is pointless. All it does is smear Trevors name. In the eyes of the law he is innocent.

I wasn't attempting to argue about what happened and apologize if it came off that way and I realize this is in the past and done with and he IS innocent in the eyes of the law, and also why I do not agree with Gary Parish saying he has had "two issues with two women" ... if a Duke Lacrosse player suddenly gets charged with rape again or with breaking a restraining order, do we rush to say "Oh he has a past!!!" even though he was never found guilty in the prior charge? Same with Kobe Bryant, never found guilty, but does he have a "History of raping women"? Maybe to the public and the media, but not so much to what really matters in the case ... the law (Unless it ends up a jury trial I suppose)

My only point in bringing up Miami is that it does not happen if he is not on the basketball team, in other words, (since Art doesn't like the word celebrity) he is a public individual for the residents of Miami and fans of the Miami Dade basketball team and easier to pick out than the average person for those individuals.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I wasn't attempting to argue about what happened and apologize if it came off that way and I realize this is in the past and done with and he IS innocent in the eyes of the law

So is O.J.

 

[scher215]

So is O.J.

He is for murder ... not so much though for armer robbery lol

 

[scher215]

My man, your understanding of the facts of both situations is all messed up. Tubby has apparently made his decision, you might just want to let it go and move forward. No good can come out of getting yourself more familiar with the facts or continuing to talk about it. If you're in favor of what has transpired (i.e., cleared to play) then be glad and let's get ready for Purdue.

I am thrilled to know you were in Miami and met with the girl and the DA and Trevor and his lawyer and all of the wittnesses to know the "facts" of that case. I wasn't even arguing the facts of the case and even said that in my post. I was arguing, that if Trevor Mbakwe is not a member of the Miami Dade basketball team, he is not accused of that crime. Do I know that for certain? Absolutley not. Because he WAS a member of that basketball team. So, a hypothetical situation cannot be proven one way or the other, but Gary Parish claimed that since no average person would be accused of both of those incidents, Trevor shouldn't have been either. I am merely claiming that as a basketball player he is under different circumstances and in a different situation than those who are not. I didn't think it was a complicated argument? You can disagree and I am not going to complain that you disagree, but to completelty ignore what the argument was about is what I have an issue with. I wasn't attempting to use the facts of the case for my argument, simply that the case happened. And regardless of what you think are the facts, the law never proved him guilty and I will trust that ruling over whatever facts that you may have.

The facts of this situation I am basing off of what I have read from Nadine's original story and the tweet from Trevor's girlfriend. I can show you that information if you'd like? Please stop acting like I am sitting here making stuff up and acting like I saw it happen and know it all first hand. That's the funny thing with facts, everyone has different ones and everyone interprets them differently.

 

[scher215]

I see where you're coming from but he skipped town within hours and eventually took a plea agreement. If I were accused of breaking a woman's face I would do absolutely everything in my power to clear my name not take a plea - but that's just me....

In the end he was exonnerated (sp?) so whatever I guess.....

I agree here. He never should have skipped town. Were his reasons for doing so acurate? I don't know. I have not interviewed the correct people. Either way I agree it looked bad.

And yes, in the end he was essentially cleared. That was the legal systems decision and that is the decision that matters.

 

[scher215]

My man, your understanding of the facts of both situations is all messed up. Tubby has apparently made his decision, you might just want to let it go and move forward. No good can come out of getting yourself more familiar with the facts or continuing to talk about it. If you're in favor of what has transpired (i.e., cleared to play) then be glad and let's get ready for Purdue.

Mbakwe and his girlfriend, Jenny Belsito agreed to a “no contact order” in August of 2009, according to this source from an ex-girlfriend that Mbakwe had from his freshman year in high school. She had first wanted a restraining order, but because Mbakwe and Belsito wanted no contact with her as well, they changed it to a two year no contact order that would require both parties not to contact each other.

http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1276

And the tweets are no longer available.

Happy? Or should I start adding a bibliography and correct documentation and citations to all of my posts? We already get upset over spelling errors, might as well add in correct source citations.