Stanford’s David Shaw says he wasn’t taking a shot at SEC states

On Monday, as the discussion surrounding the NCAA’s satellite camp ban was still buzzing around the internet like a most annoying mosquito, this quote from Stanford head coach David Shaw appeared. And a lot of people got really mad.

The reaction to this was pretty intense, mostly because Shaw’s admittedly forceful words were taken out of context in a number of ways. Regardless, Shaw went on Paul Finebaum’s show on Tuesday just to clarify that no, he wasn’t specifically taking a shot at the collective intelligence of the American South.

“The conversation wasn’t about holding satellite camps in SEC country,” Shaw said. “That’s not what we were talking about. That was not the context of the conversation. It would be ridiculous to insinuate that that was the conversation, considering especially that my mother is from Alabama, my dad is from Louisiana.”

“I’m not going to take shots at the south, that’s ridiculous. You’ve heard me say repeatedly how much respect I have for the SEC and what they’ve accomplished and the coaches in the SEC.”

Shaw continued: “What I was referring to, honestly, was the expense and the effort that it takes to have a satellite camp to where our admissions process for student-athletes is very, very difficult now. What I could have said, if you look at it, is that we’re talking about football players, where one football player in a particular state. That’s where I could’ve used different words.”

So really, Shaw wasn’t nonchalant to the idea of satellite camps because he thinks entire states are stupid, but because the camps cast a wide net while the Cardinal need to use a more pinpoint approach to recruiting due to their admissions standards. This is very reasonable, and probably something that shouldn’t get people up in arms.