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Travis Ford, word-for-word, on Marshall Moses
Published: 1/6/2010 10:27 AM
Last Modified: 1/6/2010 11:53 AM

After a Tuesday night game against Coppin State, Oklahoma State basketball coach Travis Ford essentially participated in a press conference after his “normal” press conference.
A group of writers huddled in a hallway outside the interview room and asked Ford about his decision to suspend Marshall Moses for only one game following the junior forward's marijuana-related arrest. The length of the suspension was a hot topic Tuesday in public opinion forums.
Because of time and space constraints, not all of Ford’s comments appeared in Wednesday editions of the Tulsa World.
Full disclosure? Following is a transcript of Ford's press conference that followed the press conference:

Question: What all do you weigh when you decide what a player’s punishment should be?
Ford: I hear that people are upset (that) I’ve only done it one game. People have no clue everything else we’re doing. I could stand up here and list it all of everything he has got to do.... but he probably wishes he was suspended for three games.
I’m around these young men every single day. I know what Marshall Moses is about. I know this is the first thing he’s done to get in trouble. I’ve heard it all. People, I guess, need something to talk about. And they can talk. But people have no idea what else he’s doing. He would probably like to be suspended more, I can just tell you. If they are thinking I need to suspend him more because he needs to be punished, they don’t have to worry. They can relax and sleep at night. I don’t want to keep them up at night, worried that he’s not suspended more. They can relax and sleep at night.
Other than that, I don’t know why we would need to do it more.

Question: If you suspend him for more games, are you punishing other players because you may lose games during his absence?
Ford: No question. No question. Marshall fully understands what he’s done. He fully understands it and he knows where we stand and he knows his punishments and where we stand from this day forward. We’re dealing with this, no question. I’m not happy about it.
People are (saying it was a one-game suspension because OSU played Coppin State). I don’t care who was next. He would have been suspended a game. That has nothing to do with it.

Question: You haven’t dealt with a lot of these-type issues since you have been here. Do players know what your rules are?
Ford: Absolutely. They know. And, again, I just get tired (of people second-guessing disciplinary matters). Walk in our shoes a little bit. We’ve got to deal with these young men every day. It’s difficult decisions when you start trying to figure out what you are going to do to guys -- punishments. There are other things. Guys have done things that people don’t know about.
We’re dealing with it. Believe me. We’re doing everything we can to punish him to make him not want to do it again. Our job is to make sure he learns his lesson. That’s what it’s about, whether we suspend him one game or 10 games.
It’s not like I made a quick decision. I sat and thought about it. I’m the one who went and got him out and sat there with him and tried to mentor this young man. I tell you, Marshall has come a long way. No question, I’m telling you. I’ve been around this kid for a long time. Am I disappointed in him? He knows I am. But he feels bad about it. So hopefully, as I told him, you can try to make a negative into a positive the best way you can. Mentoring him and doing some things we’re doing to hopefully make him a better person, to hold him accountable for his mistakes, I can guarantee you 100 percent (those things) are being done, so everybody can rest assured of that.

Question: What kind of learning experience is that when his coach comes to pick him up?
Ford: I think it shocked him a little bit. The word family when, you’re around teams, is used very loosely all the time. I look at it that way. These are my kids. When I got the phone call I went straight there immediately. I wanted him to know that he’s going to be held accountable by me. And also we’re going to support him as well. He is hearing everything else that everybody is hearing.
But I told him, ‘I’m not going to just throw you out in the middle of the sea and let you swim by yourself. We’re going to make you learn your lesson. And you need to become a better person for this.’ And sometimes you need a kick in the head. There’s no excuse what he did. He just needs to learn from it. But he’s learning his lesson.

Question: Is that standard that it’s the coach who gets the phone call?
Ford: Yes. He knew who to call.


Reader Comments 3 Total
The Masked Assassin (3 years ago)
"Do players know what your rules are?" You seriously asked that? What's he gonna say, "No I haven't told them what my rules are. I'm keeping that a secret."? Or, "Yes, I made it clear that driving with a suspended license while high and having weed on you will not be allowed and if you get put in jail for it you will have to miss one game." I'm sure that's in his code of conduct. Good thing he's learning his lesson. What is he, 13? Holder needs to get off his butt and get his coaches together and come up with some guidelines for punishment. Death penalty for Cox for runnin' late. Slap (a verrrry soft one) on the wrist for Moses' situation. Typical backwards aggie mentality, just like their season ticket policy, molded after Iowa State's.
ken7 (3 years ago)
Hey Masked steff M or whatever your little name is now.... we are glad u don't like our season ticket policy or how we handle our player's punishments. It keeps punks like u and their mommies away from our school!!
The Masked Assassin (3 years ago)
Keep drinkin' the orange Kool-Aid, kenny.
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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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