Y11 Notes: Emoni Bates, Herm Edwards
Very convenient timing for Arizona State to fire Herm Edwards after losing to EMU, wasn't it?
Notes: Monday, Sept. 19, 2022
EMU HOOPS: Emoni Bates arrested on felony gun charges
First, a note on full disclosure. It brings me no pleasure to make this story is the first mention of Emoni Bates on this newsletter. My plans, up until an hour ago, to stay in my lane with the football-only coverage then begin talking Bates and the rest of the men’s basketball team in a few weeks once I’m ready to roll out the expanded coverage for additional sports covered by this newsletter.
Heck, when I woke up this morning, I thought I’d look into a different Emoni Bates situation and something completely unique to basketball star, which is that he recently posed in Nike-logoed EMU jersey and put it on his Instagram. Eastern, of course, is an Adidas-sponsored school but Bates is in business with Nike.
That story’s very, very interesting to me, but that’s not the one people want to hear about today.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office said deputies in Superior Township pulled Bates over after he failed to stop at an intersection on Sunday night.
During the investigation, the sheriff's office said a firearm was discovered and Bates was taken into custody.
Court records show he is charged with two felonies – one for carrying a concealed weapons and one for altering ID marks on a weapon.
Bates, 18, was the No. 1 college basketball recruit in the class of 2021 and transferred to Eastern Michigan University this year. (via Channel 7 WXYZ)
The school has already suspended Bates as the situation develops, and that’s basically what we’re left with for now.
We are aware of a situation involving men's basketball student-athlete Emoni Bates. Eastern Michigan University takes all allegations of this nature very seriously. Per department policy, he has been suspended automatically from practice and playing privileges until the legal process is resolved. Because this is an on-going legal matter, the University will have no further comment at this time. (EMU press release)
CFB: Herm Edwards out at Arizona State following Eastern Michigan loss
The official news of Herm Edwards being fired down in Arizona State following the 30-21 loss to Eastern Michigan came on Sunday, and judging by the video it doesn't look like his bosses even let him get off the field before he got the word.
Edwards is the second FBS coach to be fired this season after Scott Frost was let go last week.
Why are schools doing this — kick the can through an offseason just to finally fire their coach in September? I don’t know. I don’t make nearly enough money to relate to writing huge buyout checks that Nebraska and Arizona State get to sign off on. I’m a poor boy writing about rich people problems.
But logically this seems like such a waste of time for both the people who make decisions at these schools and players who still have to play the rest of their seasons. It’s also a huge point of stress for everybody else around the program (assistants, support staff) whose livelihoods depend on whoever the head coach is.
Arizona State’s been in the headlines because Herm Edwards was caught sneaking recruits through the doors of its campus facilities during the complete-and-total Covid lockdowns in 2020 and, earlier this calendar year, the school decided to get rid of half of its assistants rather than the head coach himself. If Edwards was doing a bad enough job at his job, one would think he’d be worth canning amidst the investigation that cost his assistants jobs. Firing Edwards before he got back to his office after the Eastern Michigan game means that he was worth firing months ago, and the school was just looking for a convenient way for the public to be spun into knowing that Edwards was fired because ASU lost to a school it shouldn’t have lost to in the first place.
The whole Emoni thing is timed really poorly if I'm honest. I was somewhat concerned about his maturity in addition to his health for a while. In a sense I think it's good for him that this happened. He's well off enough that I doubt that these charges ruin his life like they do for so many less fortunate people in this country, so this could just function as a wake up call. When you're being projected to be a potential hall of famer at 15, the fame can destroy you if you're not ready. I think that part of the criticism goes towards his father and the other folks in his circle who fed (and profited off of) the hype machine, and Emoni's ego instead of letting him just be a normal teenager. Emoni needs to get some blame too, but I don't see how someone living the life he's had for the last 4-5 years is going to not be somewhat screwed up by it. I thought Stan Heath was the right guy for him to join up with though. Heath could give him structure, tell him "no" when he needs to hear it, get him to the NBA, and get his dad to let go. The only issue is that this wasn't ever going to happen because the narrative was that we needed him (Bates) more than he needed us. Someone in Ypsi needed to tell him "no" and it shouldn't have been the police.
The whole Herm situation was one that is hardly a surprise. He coached like a guy who's just showing up to collect a paycheck, and he already had a significant chunk of the fanbase turned against him. Leadership didn't want to fire him until they realized there'd be a revolt if they didn't. The cellar dwellers of the P5 are in the most precarious position in College Football right now (especially in the PAC12). If ASU or Nebraska didn't make these changes, who knows how much money they'd miss out on.