Clearing Up Some "Intent" Questions

I have seen many people question the intent or motive of the series on Lache Seastrunk and his relationship with Will Lyles. Unforutnately, far too may people (spurred on by media) have misinterpreted the direction of the articles as somehow an attempt to "exonerate" Oregon of all wrongdoing.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that this just is not true. First of all, the first 2 articles were simply a compilation of existing information which painted  a picture no one had heard or seen written. It was my belief that this was a valid side of a story that paints the principles in a different light. While reading the many articles, a name jumped out at me and I decided to pursue contacting Deanna.


Another thing I want to make clear. Nowhere do I say that Lyles had "no" influence or that he was inconsequential. I did question the perception that Lyles was a "sole" mentor to Lache Seastrunk; and I think I have effectively shown that Lache had a lot of incredible people in his life that ALL tried to keep him on a straight path...

Lost in the manner with which the article came together, though it was mentioned, is that Deanna Carter most certainly felt that Will Lyles wanted Lache to be successful regardless of where he went to school... and she worked with Will Lyles frequently enough to ensure Lache was staying true to a proper direction.

I could have written the piece to attack someone who was already 'down." But, that's not my style; you don't kick people when they are down, and I did not. The one conclusion I came to was that, while the relationship between Will and Lache, while real, has probably been exaggerated by some... and I stand by that... many, many columnists have written Lyles as a "mentor" to Lache Seastrunk as if he had no other positive role models in his life... I believe I have fairly articulated that this just is not the case... he had an incredible extended family, a cousin already in college, an incredible counselor who felt a strong connection with Lache, a former youth coach who also tried to be a positive role model... that paints a picture of one truly strong community... and not a single "mentor."

Along the way to this discovery, there were some questions raised which are fair given all the facts...

The article is, and should be, about a great group of people who helped raise Lache Seastrunk. Those that choose to make it something it is not simply as a means to ridicule the author, well, that sounds like your issue, not mine.