Former NCAA Shot Put Champion Garrett Johnson (FSU Photo) 

I have to say that when I came across this article, I was surprised for several reasons.  First, it was an update on the cheating scandal that has rocked Florida State and really impacted their past bowl game since a lot of football players were involved in the cheating scandal.  But was interesting to read in this article that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel is that former NCAA shot put champion Garrett Johnson (who is now in graduate school at Oxford) commented on the situation and said that he wasn’t surprised.  Johnson said the following:

“This [academic misconduct] is concerning not because of the negative attention it has brought on Florida State, but because it wasn’t a secret.  People knew what was going on. For people in the institution to take the position that they were unaware of the situation is untrue.  I can’t list specific allegations. I can’t say who knew what. I’m just saying it was no secret. It’s sort of like the Mitchell Report in baseball where the players are the ones being accused of taking steroids when everybody involved in baseball knew it was happening.”

Well, I have to say that it is refreshing to have someone that is honest and upfront with what is going on. 🙂 Johnson does have credibility about talking about this particular issue– he is not the typical student-athlete.  He is not only an excellent athlete by winning a couple of NCAA titles, but he is a Rhodes Scholar and as mentioned earlier in this post, in graduate school at Oxford.

So what does this mean in terms of PR for Florida State?  Not good things by any means!  Everyone knows about the cheating scandal, but I think that people will start asking even more questions that could lead up to more investigations– because who knows how long this has been going on.  Plus, another issue that has to be considered is how this is going to reflect on Johnson.  He is definitely putting himself in a position to be approached by alumni, fans, and other individuals that may not have liked what he said.  But I think that it was good of him to be honest and upfront with everyone regarding this issue– it takes a lot of courage to beh honest and open.  You don’t see it that often — especially in athletics.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen 🙂