A Few Thoughts On The Mike Morgan Situation
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, April 22, 2009
In case you haven’t heard, Morgan and ISP, the multi-media rights holder for Gamecock athletics, have parted ways.
After reports first surfaced Monday night, ISP issued a press release on Tuesday announcing Morgan had “resigned his duties as the play-by-play announcer for the South Carolina men’s basketball and baseball, effective immediately.”
Since then, the case has been the subject of heavy scrutiny on both the internet and the airwaves of local radio and TV stations.
Do I believe Morgan “resigned” as alleged in the ISP release formally announcing the move? No.
I have three reasons to feel this way.
First, I’ve been alive long enough to understand that play-by-play announcers for major league teams or major Div. I programs do NOT resign in the middle of the season. Those jobs are too tough to come by to give up that easily.
Remember, Morgan had been the play-by-play voice of the Gamecocks for a decade, as well as USC basketball for several seasons. Knowing Morgan a little bit, I seriously doubt he would have walked away from Ray Tanner with 15 games remaining in the season.
Has he “resigned” July 1, it would have made more sense? But April 20? Just when USC is involved in the SEC East race and facing their biggest series of the year? You’ll have to convince me.
Second, it’s apparent right now Morgan did not have another job lined up when he departed ISP. Do I expect him to land on his feet? Yes, because he is too talented of a broadcaster.
Third, Morgan was forced to vacate his position as a co-host of an afternoon sports talk show on 107.5 FM in addition to his play-by-play duties. As far as I know, ISP doesn’t own the station, so what’s the connection between the two?
So, what really happened? I’m afraid we’re never going to hear the entire story. It might come out piece-by-piece over the next few weeks, but that won’t satisfy some people hungering for the whole truth.
Yes, the famous words of Jack Nicholson from “A Few Good Men” when he was being questioned on the stand by Tom Cruise apply to this situation.
While I have heard some broadcasters the last couple of days express concern about the rampant speculation on the internet, it’s clear that won’t end until ISP management and/or Morgan step forward and explain exactly what happened.
Until then, rumors will continue to fly. Press releases with words that appear like they were written by company lawyers will not suffice when a popular figure leaves the public eye.
Obviously, Morgan wants to burn as few bridges as possible on his way out of Columbia, which is why he has said little about the situation directly except for an open letter thanking Gamecock fans for support.
In that regard, he’s the anti-David Reaves.
Is this a situation where one party is totally innocent and other is completely culpable? No. Based on what I’ve been told, neither party is blameless.
I actually heard a broadcaster today offer a number of things that the dispute wasn’t about. OK, if it wasn’t about those things, what was it?
In my opinion – again, based on my conversations with people around the situation - Morgan and ISP had different views of his responsibilities under the terms of his contract.
Of course, how that led to one of the most popular USC announcers out there “resigning” his post will probably remain one of the great mysteries of our time.
In the meantime, don’t expect much from USC officials either. AD Eric Hyman told a small group of reporters bluntly, “Mike Morgan works for ISP,” while acknowledging USC was consulted on the move.
But the final decision to let Morgan walk away was ISP’s. Will they come to regret that decision? Only time will tell.
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Few things in life, unfortunately, are black and white. Instead, there is a lot of gray. Those words work as a perfect segue to the Mike Morgan situation.
In case you haven’t heard, Morgan and ISP, the multi-media rights holder for Gamecock athletics, have parted ways.
After reports first surfaced Monday night, ISP issued a press release on Tuesday announcing Morgan had “resigned his duties as the play-by-play announcer for the South Carolina men’s basketball and baseball, effective immediately.”
Since then, the case has been the subject of heavy scrutiny on both the internet and the airwaves of local radio and TV stations.
Do I believe Morgan “resigned” as alleged in the ISP release formally announcing the move? No.
I have three reasons to feel this way.
First, I’ve been alive long enough to understand that play-by-play announcers for major league teams or major Div. I programs do NOT resign in the middle of the season. Those jobs are too tough to come by to give up that easily.
Remember, Morgan had been the play-by-play voice of the Gamecocks for a decade, as well as USC basketball for several seasons. Knowing Morgan a little bit, I seriously doubt he would have walked away from Ray Tanner with 15 games remaining in the season.
Has he “resigned” July 1, it would have made more sense? But April 20? Just when USC is involved in the SEC East race and facing their biggest series of the year? You’ll have to convince me.
Second, it’s apparent right now Morgan did not have another job lined up when he departed ISP. Do I expect him to land on his feet? Yes, because he is too talented of a broadcaster.
Third, Morgan was forced to vacate his position as a co-host of an afternoon sports talk show on 107.5 FM in addition to his play-by-play duties. As far as I know, ISP doesn’t own the station, so what’s the connection between the two?
So, what really happened? I’m afraid we’re never going to hear the entire story. It might come out piece-by-piece over the next few weeks, but that won’t satisfy some people hungering for the whole truth.
Yes, the famous words of Jack Nicholson from “A Few Good Men” when he was being questioned on the stand by Tom Cruise apply to this situation.
While I have heard some broadcasters the last couple of days express concern about the rampant speculation on the internet, it’s clear that won’t end until ISP management and/or Morgan step forward and explain exactly what happened.
Until then, rumors will continue to fly. Press releases with words that appear like they were written by company lawyers will not suffice when a popular figure leaves the public eye.
Obviously, Morgan wants to burn as few bridges as possible on his way out of Columbia, which is why he has said little about the situation directly except for an open letter thanking Gamecock fans for support.
In that regard, he’s the anti-David Reaves.
Is this a situation where one party is totally innocent and other is completely culpable? No. Based on what I’ve been told, neither party is blameless.
I actually heard a broadcaster today offer a number of things that the dispute wasn’t about. OK, if it wasn’t about those things, what was it?
In my opinion – again, based on my conversations with people around the situation - Morgan and ISP had different views of his responsibilities under the terms of his contract.
Of course, how that led to one of the most popular USC announcers out there “resigning” his post will probably remain one of the great mysteries of our time.
In the meantime, don’t expect much from USC officials either. AD Eric Hyman told a small group of reporters bluntly, “Mike Morgan works for ISP,” while acknowledging USC was consulted on the move.
But the final decision to let Morgan walk away was ISP’s. Will they come to regret that decision? Only time will tell.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.