Here's a post from Bamaonline, I thought it had some good thoughts:
Capstone
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Post #1603 OK Jeff, here is the bottom line. This trial is 500% more important Reply
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than one football season. Why? Because if someone didn't stand up for Alabama and try to get to the bottom of this, we were dead. From these proceedings we have found out that your fat head coach was not satisfied with just hanging us out to dry on the Memphis affair. He was not satisfied with a two year bowl ban and 21 scholarship reduction. He wanted to kill us off. After our sanctions were announced, the scumbag was already trying to dig up dirt on Dennis Franchoine. He wanted some new allegations to run to the NCAA with so that the NCAA would be forced to give us the death penalty. With the way the NCAA has treated us the past 10 years, there is no doubt in my mind they would be able to find something somewhere over the next five years to shut us down. Had Gallion not started his cruisade, the NCAA process would have never been exposed. We would have never known that Fulmer was a secret witness against us. And, the NCAA would have kept us in the dark. Remember, it wasn't until Jim Neal received the ability to make documents public that we FINALLY RECEIVED AN ALL-CLEAR MESSAGE FROM THE NCAA. Now, keep in mind, we had already been punished for the Memphis mess, but the NCAA felt it necessary to leave us twisting in the wind for nearly two more years. Hopefully, the NCAA will be forced to answer to their unfair practices. Gene Marsh's affidavit will be very revealing. Did you hear any of it on Finebaum yesterday?
If you did, you heard Marsh say that Rich Johanigmeir flat out told Marsh that Tom Culpepper's testimony would not be used in the NCAA's case. So, since they were told the NCAA would not use that evidence, Marsh did not address it in his written response. What happens when Marsh and Robbins show up for the pre-hearing conference? The NCAA expresses disappointment and shock that Marsh did not address Culpepper's testimony in his official response. Do you see the kind of games the NCAA was playing? We were supposed to be operating under the cooperative principle and yet, the NCAA pulled crap like this.
To sum up, Alabama, through this lawsuit filed by Ronnie Cotrell and Ivy Williams, is fighting for its life. Had they not filed suit, we were dead. Fulmer and his UT cronies were going to make sure of that. So, forgive us if we do not spend the majority of our time contemplating the 2004 football season. We know what is in store for us. We know we are going to struggle for the next few years. The Cotrell case is just way too important for our survival.