Other side of Andy Kennedy story

[Beaverfever]

Got this from an Ole Miss board.

From David Brandt's blog-

"The team had its normal team meeting at about 11 p.m. and then the coaches went out for a late-night dinner with some friends that Andy had when he was in Cincinnati. After they were done, they were leaving dinner and hailed a taxi. The taxi driver pulled up and the coaches (Kennedy, Bill Armstrong, Michael White, Owen Miller and Torrey Ward) piled into the car. Kennedy was in the front. The cab driver decides that he won't take all five guys, he'll only take four, and he started calling coach Ward (who is black) the 'N' word, so Kennedy says they'll get another cab. The cab hadn't moved, but the driver demanded that six dollars be paid. At this point, Kennedy got out of the cab and went to another cab directly behind them and asked the second driver if he would take five people. That cab driver said yes. But when the coaches tried to get out of the first cab, the cab driver locked the back doors and drove about 100 feet with the four assistants in the back. Kennedy was standing on the curb. Apparently, some words were said in the cab and the cops were called. When the police showed up, the cab driver said Kennedy punched him and called him racial slurs. So the cops, who Andy said were nice, but had to do their jobs, put him in handcuffs and put him into the squad car. At that point, Armstrong started saying stuff like this is bull s--- and he ended up getting arrested as well. But Andy never touched the cab driver or called him any names. They spent six hours in jail for this. It's amazing that someone can just make an accusation and someone gets thrown into jail."

[webbgem]

Even if it is Ole Miss, I will give someone the benefit of the doubt.....Innocent until proven guilty, unless your OJ.  Glad a judge finally got one right with him.

[blacksuit]

This report may or may not be true, but it goes to show that you can't take what you hear on the news at face value, situations like this are complex, only the people who were there really know what went on, etc.

[Biggus Piggus]

This shows you how responsible some people are about reporting the news.  ESPN made Andy Kennedy sound like Hitler, based solely on a wire report, which itself was poorly written.  They are friggin idiots.

[Hogimus Prime]

yeah honestly that story sounds alittle more reasonable than the one that was first reported.

[hawgsav1]

However, there was a witness who has come on record saying that he saw Kennedy drunk, using racial slurs, and punching him.  At this point, I have no idea who to believe and I don't really care.  I just want Ole Miss to somehow suffer for this.

[HawgAdvocate]

However, there was a witness who has come on record saying that he saw Kennedy drunk, using racial slurs, and punching him.  At this point, I have no idea who to believe and I don't really care.  I just want Ole Miss to somehow suffer for this.

Very true. I don't see a Middle Eastern cabbie cussing one black coach (who's with a bunch of white men) for no reason whatsoever. Being basketball coaches, these guys are probably not all small people either.

Granted, I wasn't there. But Ole Miss' story has me scratching my head.

[Pignominious]

If its Andy Kennedy's word over some random caby and a 'witness' then I would take Kennedy to the bank.  My dad and I are Cincinnati fans and followed the team closely when Kennedy coached them a couple of years ago.  Kennedy is complete class and is a church going man.  If there was anyone who I would expect not to be involved in something like this its Andy Kennedy.  Also, did anyone notice how quickly he was on tv releasing a statement?  Not a sign of a guilty person.

[hawgsav1]

Very true. I don't see a Middle Eastern cabbie cussing one black coach (who's with a bunch of white men) for no reason whatsoever. Being basketball coaches, these guys are probably not all small people either.

Granted, I wasn't there. But Ole Miss' story has me scratching my head.

Also, the police reported a big shiner and swelling on one side of the cabbie's head.

[hawgsav1]

If its Andy Kennedy's word over some random caby and a 'witness' then I would take Kennedy to the bank.  My dad and I are Cincinnati fans and followed the team closely when Kennedy coached them a couple of years ago.  Kennedy is complete class and is a church going man.  If there was anyone who I would expect not to be involved in something like this its Andy Kennedy.  Also, did anyone notice how quickly he was on tv releasing a statement?  Not a sign of a guilty person.

I agree, if it's just between the word of Andy Kennedy and a cabbie, then it's innocent until proven guilty.  However, if there are other pieces of evidence, then those have to be considered.

[3kgthog]

Things just got worse for AK with their best player, Chris Warren, blowing out his ACL against the 'Ville. He's gone for the year and the chances of us winning more games this season just went way up.

[rude1]

Wait a minute now. This is coming from an Ole Miss board, I am sure there will be bias on their story of the incident. Best thing to do is wait for more information, and even with that, we will probably never know what actually happened. With that said, seems a bit premature to arrest someone based on a verbal allegation. Don't know what to believe at this point, so much conflicting information. First I read the police did notice a bruise on the cab drivers face, then there wasn't a bruise. Who the hell knows?

[Biggus Piggus]

However, there was a witness who has come on record saying that he saw Kennedy drunk, using racial slurs, and punching him.  At this point, I have no idea who to believe and I don't really care.  I just want Ole Miss to somehow suffer for this.

His whole staff was there with him.  He has witnesses.

[Biggus Piggus]

http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=283566&pub=1&div=Sports

sounds like the head of basketball ops has problems.  He was arrested after being thrown out of a bar?

http://www.wapt.com/news/18320871/detail.html

Kennedy has filed a slander/defamation suit against the cabbie and a valet who claimed to be a witness.

[Biggus Piggus]

This whole thing has to be embarrassing for the city of Cincinnati.  Makes it look like their police grossly overreacted to the cabbie's allegations.

[southeasthog]

http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=283566&pub=1&div=Sports

sounds like the head of basketball ops has problems.  He was arrested after being thrown out of a bar?

http://www.wapt.com/news/18320871/detail.html

Kennedy has filed a slander/defamation suit against the cabbie and a valet who claimed to be a witness.

Seems kind of far fetched for Kennedy to be calling the driver hussein and bin laden. Sounds like something a foreigner would make up to make something sound racial.

[hawgsav1]

Seems kind of far fetched for Kennedy to be calling the driver hussein and bin laden. Sounds like something a foreigner would make up to make something sound racial.

Why would a foreigner make something up to make something sound 'racial'?  If he's not a citizen of the U.S., he has to worry about having his visa revoked and having his ass kicked back to Mauritania if he does something stupid, like falsely accusing the Ole Piss basketball coach of assault and racial taunting.  Getting deported isn't worth risking a few dollars, notoriety, and possible prison time over.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Also sounds like Kennedy and Co. could be making up a good story to cover their a$$es. 

Some could argue that the cabbie has a reason to lie, but why the valet?  He has nothing to gain.  And really why the hell would the cabbie lie?

I can give you 800,000 why Kennedy would try to get out of it.

And big damn deal if practice didn't end til 11:00 it's called room service.  When I go out of town on business and we prepare all night for a meeting the next day, I don't go out and eat and drink at 11:00, not getting back until 1:00.  Because I want to be sharp and on top of my game the next day.  When the athletes get in trouble late at night we all apply the old adage nothing good happens after X.

http://www.wlwt.com/video/18315892/index.html

[southeasthog]

Why would a foreigner make something up to make something sound 'racial'?  If he's not a citizen of the U.S., he has to worry about having his visa revoked and having his ass kicked back to Mauritania if he does something stupid, like falsely accusing the Ole Piss basketball coach of assault and racial taunting.  Getting deported isn't worth risking a few dollars, notoriety, and possible prison time over.

I would bet that the cab driver wasn't aware of who Kennedy was. It could have been that he thought it was just a bunch of drunks and it escalated out of his hands by the time it was said and done. Or, Kennedy could have cussed him and punched him in the eye. I don't know and really don't care. I just think it would be strange for Kennedy to call him both hussein and bin laden.

[jry04]

I believe the police report said the left side of the cab driver's face was swollen around the cheek. If that is the case, how did it get swollen? Did the police make that up, or did he punch himself?

[hawgsav1]

I would bet that the cab driver wasn't aware of who Kennedy was. It could have been that he thought it was just a bunch of drunks and it escalated out of his hands by the time it was said and done. Or, Kennedy could have cussed him and punched him in the eye. I don't know and really don't care. I just think it would be strange for Kennedy to call him both hussein and bin laden.

I agree that he probably wouldn't have known who Kennedy was, but even still, the attitude of most foreigners who come here legally is that they just want to stay out of trouble, especially because it could lead them to be deported/kicked out/etc (I'm not taking sides btw, I'm just playing a little DA).  Also, just out of curiosity, unless the cabbie is one of those crazy aggressive types (he might be), why would he start talking trash against 6 drunk guys, most of whom are probably a lot bigger and stronger than he is?

Another poster mentioned that the police initially said that the cabbie had a bruise, but retracted the statement.  Is there a link to the retraction?

[1CavHog]

I doubt a foreign cabbie would want to make a scene and get the cops involved just for the hell of it. As long as it hurts Ole Miss recruiting its OK with me.

[jgphillips3]

Perhaps the cabbie was really HDN in disguise and he was just trying to insure that the basketball team won't steal any of his glory in Oxford.

[pharm]

This is just my opinion. I think Kennedy punched the guy, and the story of the cabbie using the N word sounds like BS...

[hawgsav1]

Perhaps the cabbie was really HDN in disguise and he was just trying to insure that the basketball team won't steal any of his glory in Oxford.

Jeez...I knew SOMEONE was going to bring up Houston Nutt here and try to make it his fault...we all know he and Danny were getting ice cream at Sonic. 

[broken legs]

This whole thing has to be embarrassing for the city of Cincinnati.  Makes it look like their police grossly overreacted to the cabbie's allegations.

isn't living in cincy embarrassing enough?

[kingofdequeen]

several people i know have seen andy kennedy try to fight a bouncer at a club in oxford w/ that bouncer wouldn't let underage players in.

this story has real legs.

[Razorvet]

So from what Ive read so far Kennedy is a racist churchgoing skinhead drunk who rols with a large black entourage. He went to a town for a game and ended up calling a cabbie Hussien. BTW does anyone know if the cabbies name was Hussien? It may not be appropriate but if I was trying to geuss the name of a middle eastern immigrant hussien would be the first name on my tongue.

[pharm]

several people i know have seen andy kennedy try to fight a bouncer at a club in oxford w/ that bouncer wouldn't let underage players in.

this story has real legs.

I was listening to a guy on Bo Mattinglys show try to tell the story about this, but Bo cut him off.

[RedSatinHog]

It's amazing that someone can just make an accusation and someone gets thrown into jail."

I'm sure we'd all be surprised at how common this kind of thing is.

[RedSatinHog]

Some could argue that the cabbie has a reason to lie, but why the valet?  He has nothing to gain. 

It's called having his buddy's back.  Those middle eastern folks will lie just like anyone else.

I didn't like this whole thing from the start.  Something about why Kennedy was ever arrested in the first place stinks to the high heavens.  Perhaps it's the fact that with all the hullaballoo raised over Kennedy's arrest and alleged criminal acts which led to a cabbie having a shiner, not one single photo has been publicized showing the cabbie's condition.  That is normally one of the first things which is made public.

[kingofdequeen]

It's called having his buddy's back.  Those middle eastern folks will lie just like anyone else.

WOW...and them coloreds sure do like fried chicken, Huh?

[RedSatinHog]

WOW...and them coloreds sure do like fried chicken, Huh?

The two don't even equate. 

[jry04]

It's called having his buddy's back.  Those middle eastern folks will lie just like anyone else.

I didn't like this whole thing from the start.  Something about why Kennedy was ever arrested in the first place stinks to the high heavens.  Perhaps it's the fact that with all the hullaballoo raised over Kennedy's arrest and alleged criminal acts which led to a cabbie having a shiner, not one single photo has been publicized showing the cabbie's condition.  That is normally one of the first things which is made public.

He was arrested. They handcuffed him right there, and they said he spent 6 hours in jail.

[RedSatinHog]

He was arrested. They handcuffed him right there, and they said he spent 6 hours in jail.

And let me guess.  Any time you're arrested in this world automatically equates to you being guilty?

I could have sworn we were taught a concept called "innocent until proven guilty" in American Civics in HS.  Yes, I'm quite certain I've read that somewhere before.

[aristotle]

I find the Ole Miss cover story to be a bit farfetched. Especially, if the facts show that the Dir of Ops was already tossed from the bar and the cabbie has a shiner. That doesn't bode well for AK. He's got a lot at stake, so the cover story, backed with the defamation suit is their "all in" move here. Should be fun to watch, that's for sure.

[IronHog]

Moral:  Nothing good happens after midnight.


If the coaches were out, who was with the team?

[pharm]

It's called having his buddy's back.  Those middle eastern folks will lie just like anyone else.

I didn't like this whole thing from the start.  Something about why Kennedy was ever arrested in the first place stinks to the high heavens.  Perhaps it's the fact that with all the hullaballoo raised over Kennedy's arrest and alleged criminal acts which led to a cabbie having a shiner, not one single photo has been publicized showing the cabbie's condition.  That is normally one of the first things which is made public.

So why didn't Kennedy's four buddies have his back?

[hawgsav1]

It's called having his buddy's back.  Those middle eastern folks will lie just like anyone else.

I didn't like this whole thing from the start.  Something about why Kennedy was ever arrested in the first place stinks to the high heavens.  Perhaps it's the fact that with all the hullaballoo raised over Kennedy's arrest and alleged criminal acts which led to a cabbie having a shiner, not one single photo has been publicized showing the cabbie's condition.  That is normally one of the first things which is made public.

The other guy who verified the cabbie's story was not Middle Eastern.  His name was Michael Strougher.  I highly doubt he was also from Mauritania. 

[stronguard]

Who was the Iowa St. coach a few years back that was busted for drinking and feeling up coeds?

Whoever it was,  I've heard a few tall tales regarding CAK and drunken behavior that would fit right in with that.    It looks like to me like this loser finally got caught.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Who was the Iowa St. coach a few years back that was busted for drinking and feeling up coeds?

Whoever it was,  I've heard a few tall tales regarding CAK and drunken behavior that would fit right in with that.    It looks like to me like this loser finally got caught.

Larry Eustachy now at USM

[Hogimus Prime]

combine both stories and you have the truth.

[98hogs]

Ship the arab camel jockey out of the country now!

[RedSatinHog]

So why didn't Kennedy's four buddies have his back?

They were locked inside the taxicab with the driver who claimed he was pummeled by Kennedy.

[RedSatinHog]

The other guy who verified the cabbie's story was not Middle Eastern.  His name was Michael Strougher.  I highly doubt he was also from Mauritania. 

I want to see pics of the cabbie who is claiming to have been beaten to a pulp by Andy Kennedy.  At that point, I will recant what I said and yell for Kennedy to be thrown under the Cincinnati jail.  Until then, I have a hard time believing any of it.

[pharm]

I heard the cabbie was spotted later that night with a missing shoe.

[k.c.hawg]

The Lodge Bar is not necessarily a "dinner spot". It advertises itself to be a "party bar" and most of the pictures of it, has it full of 20's to early 30's with 20 beer bottles on their table. In one report the police had stated that they had been kicked out of the bar. The bottom line is...in a time when college players continually get in trouble for being in the wrong places doing the wrong things AK should have followed the old saying that these coaches tell the kids....nothing good happens after midnight. I am not in  anyway insinuating that he is guilty but to be on a road trip with his team and to have an issue arise after reportedly being kicked out of a "party bar" he put himself in a compromising position.

[elksnort]

isn't living in cincy embarrassing enough?

Cincinnati is a nice city. At least it seemed like it the times I was there.

What about your avitar. What is that gal trying to say? I've been wondering for a while. Is she saying "Hello Rorry"?

[elksnort]

WOW...and them coloreds sure do like fried chicken, Huh?

oh, the ole LOL has to apply!

[GO]

I may be wrong but I am pretty sure I read when this all broke that the cabbie is an American citizen, maybe not born here but someone who came here legally and is trying to make a honest living. Also seems I read he is not of middle east assent but is actually from Africa.

Where there is smoke there is usually fire! Time will tell.