New Mexico Daily Lobo
URL: http://www.dailylobo.com/index.php/article/2011/10/locksley_claims_good_reputation_shifts_blame
Current Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 11:03:07 -0600
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UNM’s Lamaar Thomas tries to evade NMSU’s Ben Bradley on Saturday at University Stadium. The Lobos lost their fifth straight game of the season to the Aggies, 42-28, and now have lost to the Aggies for the past three years.
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Locksley claims good reputation, shifts blame
Last week, Locksley gave fans a delusional post-firing interview that yet again embarrassed everyone involved with the Lobos.
The smug, no-emotion attitude that we have been graced with for the past three years was on display as he shared his thoughts on his tenure with KRQE sports director Van Tate.
I firmly believe that a team’s success, or lack thereof, can always be attributed to its coaching.
In the interview, Locksley said he could sleep at night knowing that the team — which won 2 games and lost 26 in the time he was the head coach — is now better than it was when he first took over.
In the ’08 season, the team was 4-8. Last time I checked, four wins in one season is much better than two wins in a two-and-a-half year career.
He said he came into the program with good standing, character and reputation, and that his reputation was the only thing tarnished after his firing.
To say that he has good standing now is a lie.
His first action as a head coach and role model was to have his secretary, Sylvia Lopez, sue him in May ‘09 because he allegedly said she was “too old,” and she felt this had caused her to be fired. A group of team members soon followed Locksley’s superb moral standing by getting in a bar fight downtown the following month.
The headlines kept rolling in. In September ’09, Locksley one-upped his players by allegedly choking and punching his wide receivers coach, J.B Gerald, during an altercation at a meeting.
Locksley must have learned from his mistake after a “harsh” 10-day suspension was handed down by Athletics director Paul Krebs.
The team once again made headlines in August 2010 when a player robbed another player’s dorm room, and, you guessed it, got into another downtown bar fight.
Amid the off-field distractions, the team went 1-11 two seasons in a row.
Locksley said later in the interview that he was proud of the team that he put on the field, and thought that the fans and everyone involved should agree.
That any fanbase would be proud watching its team lose nearly every game is comical.
Locksley lost 12 of his 28 games by more than 33 points, including a 72-point loss to Oregon.
Locksley embarrassed not only himself, but UNM, the fans and anyone involved in Lobo Athletics.
The most logical thing he said was that he did the best he could with the team that was given to him.
Way to throw your team — the team who stuck by you during your terrible coaching — under the bus and take no responsibility for any of your losses.
Locksley is walking away with a cool half-million dollars for all of the hard work he put in over the past two-and-a-half years. I guess winning two games is something to be proud of.
From base pay and his buy-out clause, he walks away from UNM with at least $1.1 million dollars from his coaching career. That’s $550,000 dollars per win. UNM also had to pay $50,000 in fees for lawyers and settlement costs for the Lopez and Gerald disputes.
Athletics lost an estimated $800,000 in revenues from ticket sales this year.
In total, UNM lost at least $2 million for hiring a coach who had never before been a head coach and whose claim to fame was being a good recruiter.
All that the money bought for us was more embarrassments than any athletics program should ever have to deal with.
If only I could find a job that would pay me millions of dollars to do a mediocre job.
Former defensive coordinator George Barlow is now the interim head coach, and things don’t look much better. The team’s defense has been terrible, giving up over 42 points in all but one game this season.
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10 comments
Tony B.
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Since my graduation in 1966 I have suffered year after year of losses and disgrace. It has never been as bad as this year. I have given up and cancelled my Nevada and San Diego Trips. I sincerely think that UNM should give up football. It will never be competitive. The Mountain West Conference will be a second rate conference and will lose its only good teams to other conferences. There is nothing to be optomistic about.
Robbie B
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I am suire you inadvertently left out the facts that Lockley raised a lot of money for the Boys Club as well as built houses for habitat for humanity. He has done more to help the community than any other coach UNM has had. Agreed, his record is nothing to brag about but he given back to the charities id Albuquerque.
As some point players have to make the blocks and tackles. Coaches can’t play for them.
Tim
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Come on, Robbie B, your joking, right. This guy was a circus clown and a thug and deserved to be fired long ago. If he were the humanitarian you suggest, he would donate the $1.1 million dollars he stole from UNM to Habitat instead of embarassing them with his veiled association to the group. Hell, UNM should sue him for theft and impersonating a coach!
Devin
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I’m fairly certain that this story belongs in the opinion section, not the sports section. I know fans are upset about what is happening but there is no reason that your negative and cynical thoughts need to show through in your NEWS story. That was taught in your 100-level journalism course.
Mike
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Well maybe Tony B you should donate that money to UNM to help build up the program. The reason bcs schools have great programs is money and the great fans that don’t show up to games are hurting the program more then any coach ever could.
Soryy Timmy but Robbie is 100% correct. How much have you done for Albuquerque community? I bet Caoch Locksley has done more then 90% of Lobo fans put together.
Devin, I am more embarrassed about UNM journalism then I am about any bad years of any sport and that includes Lobogate in basketball. I thought we got rid of bad journalism when Issac left but I guess that is what they teach at UNM. Very sad.
Brad
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There’s 5 minutes of my life I’ll never get back… The DL strikes again. I’m not trying to defend Locksley’s record, but this is 6th-grade journalism at its finest. And where is the “Editorial” title for this article? Accusing someone of being delusional, lying, or throwing players under the bus ARE NOT FACTS. THIS IS AN OPINION PIECE! Please, say what this is and don’t try to pass this off as “news.” Absolutely horrible…
Jeremiah
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Nathan Farmer is the Mike Locksley of journalism.
Horrible Journalist
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Even the most dense person can clearly tell this is a column, not a news story. Why is it so difficult for bloggers to distinguish between the two?
Tim
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Mikey- I really do not care if Locksley is Humanitarian of the year, his endorsement will not encourage others to follow, unless Habitats demographic target for donors and volunteer, is violent, sexual discriminators who encourage bad behavior and drunken driving. Any charity involved with this turd, should says thanks, but please do not refer your friends.
Dissapointed Lobo
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Watching Locksley coach makes me wanna put a bag over my head or wear the oposing teams colors to save myself from shame. He had no emotion(in the most emotion-driven game there can be), he appears dumbfounded in the most common of circumstances, and recruits players that frankly care as little as he does and walk around campus like they deserve something for playing on the worst team in college football. I seriously think that there might be a high school team somewhere in the country that could beat the Lobos. I can’t believe Locksley thinks the team is better than before he got here. The players look like lost puppies out there. It is SAD.
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