Editorial: Jeremy Fears’ dirty play is a symptom of a bigger problem

Let’s get this out of the way early:

Tom Izzo earned his Hall of Fame ring. 

He has been a model of both excellence and consistency in the Big Ten. His track record of making runs into the second weekend of the tournament and beyond is the envy of almost every other program in the country.

Several of his former players went on to successful NBA careers. 

So to be clear, this editorial is not an attempt to diminish Coach Izzo’s history and legacy as a basketball coach. It’s to openly question why there is such a large contingent of Illinois fans who have such reverence for his character.

Let’s start with recent events.

That is Jeremy Fears, aka the Floor General. He’s Izzo’s starting point guard and the tip of his defensive spear.

That spear is infected.

Is Fears’ dirty play Izzo’s fault? I think we should hold the young man accountable for his behavior.

However, until recently, Izzo defended Fears’ behavior as “Intense.”

So perhaps Izzo is responsible for encouraging this kind of behavior.

Seeing how cowardly Fears’ play can be, the “Spartan Dawg” is acting like a spoiled, whiny, rabid little bitch.

Sure, it could be a coincidence. But do you know who else is a serial groin knocker?

Is it a coincidence that Tom Izzo is the coach who found the black Grayson Allen?

Perhaps. But it can’t be a coincidence that the two most prolific genital attackers in modern basketball both played their college ball at MSU.

Seriously, did you all forget about Ayo?

St. Thomas of East Lansing and his program are responsible for double grievances on Illini legend Ayo Dosunmu.

The most significant one involved Michigan State forward Mady Sissoko breaking Ayo’s nose on a flagrant-two shot to the face.

To make matters worse, just a reminder that when Michigan State fans aren’t blaming the refs for every basketball loss, they are defending dirty, goonish behavior. 

The second offense was when Tom Izzo butchered the pronunciation of Ayo’s name.

Let’s ignore the potential racial undertones of Izzo not feeling the need to learn the kid with a West African name’s proper identity. But the young man was approaching First-Team All-American status. If you are a Big Ten head coach too ignorant to know the pronunciation of a young man who has been a first-team player in your own conference, you are either a negligent buffoon or a bigoted doofus. 

But Izzo does things the right way. He only recruits high-character players, and he never cheats.

On one hand, Izzo does a great service to his colleagues as the “Dean” of Big Ten coaches. He always takes aggressive, compassionate stands on behalf of coaches who lose their jobs. Remember the level of true kindness he showed Bruce Weber and John Groce upon their respective ousters.

At the same time, he can’t sportswash or scumbag launder some of the goofs he’s allowed in his program. 

Remember when Michigan State fans swore Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker were scumbags for picking Duke? 

They regaled us all with “Izzo will win a natty without them. We don’t need thugs from Chicago to win.”

Parker, a top student in his class at Simeon, and Okafor, an honors graduate of the elite Whitney Young Magnet. 

Do you know why Izzo wins with less? Because he can’t sign more, that’s why.

Now, Izzo has signed some monster recruits. Jaren Jackson Jr. was a superstar prospect and has had an excellent NBA career.

But he has also signed some recruits who are monsters.

I’ve already mentioned Draymond Green: penis hunter and Jeremy Fears: mercenary general.

But let’s talk about some of the other wonderful humans around whom Mr. High Character Saint Thomas has recruited. 

Keith Appling

Adreian Payne

Miles Bridges

Additionally, Mateen Cleaves was acquitted of sexual assault. 

All of these players were recruited, signed, and coached by Tom Izzo. The guy who is exalted by the college basketball world as the ultimate good, tough guy. He’s viewed as the moral compass of a sport where too many young black men have too much power thanks to NIL and the Transfer Portal. Izzo’s the guy who only recruits kids who “play for the love of the game” and “work hard to get better.” He doesn’t like the pampered, entitled athletes inhabiting most progams.

And some of the sycophancy from the mouths and social media accounts of Illini fans baffles me. Why do you want the Illlinois program to be dirty? Do you want Underwood and company to start recruiting violent, criminal scumbags? Do you want players who trip and crotch hunt?

This Saturday, Illini fans, remember that Illinois is in a tremendous place. Keaton Wagler is going to get every single team’s best effort for the rest of his college basketball career. Breslin is a tough place to win, but this team has proven that they can overcome difficult in-conference road matchups.

Tom Izzo clearly knows his Spartans are in for a battle, and winning a matchup against a top-5 opponent after dropping an embarrassing effort in Minneapolis would go a long way towards assuring his seeding trajectory. 

He says he may bench Jeremy Fears for his “intensity.” Let’s see if he’s a man of his word or just a giant, pseudo-sanctified hypocrite.