(left) Questions have been raised about the ages of Colorado College latest recruitsThe WCHA has ordered an investigation into mounting allegations that Colorado College hockey adminsitrators are covering up the true age of their Freshmen recruiting class because they are too young to compete.
A WCHA official told LetsGoDU that because of "discrepancies" that have come to light about the age of Colorado College's recruiting class, an official inquiry has been launched that could result in CC being stripped of scholarships.
The investigation was triggered as a DU computer expert claimed yesterday to have uncovered Canadian government documents that he says prove many of the incoming Freshmen are only 16 - making them ineligible to compete in the NCAA - rather than 18, as officials in Colorado Springs insist are their age.
Mike Walker, a computer security expert, told LetsGoDU how he tracked down two documents that he says had been removed from a college hockey recruiting website.
There were also concerns about their mental health, because of the pressure of competing in the NCAA playoffs at such a young age, and that they were vulnerable to exploitation and even physical abuse by CC's coaches. Not to mention the pressure of trying to win CC's first National Championship in 52 years.
"They are obviously kids," WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod said. "15, 16 max - and they’re telling the world they are 18? What arrogance." Although DU has deliberately steered clear of the controversy, McLeod suggested the CC players were still losing their baby teeth. "One of the players has a missing tooth," he said.
Yet Giselle Davies, an NCAA spokesperson, said tonight that because of troubling new developments, the committee had instructed the WCHA, to investigate.
"More information has come to light that did point to discrepancies," Ms. Davies said. "We have asked the WCHA to look into it further. If there is a question mark, and we have a concern - which we do - we ask the conference to look into ... as to why there is a discrepancy."
The man who uncovered the allegations about the underage athlete, told LetsGoDU that he was not even a sports a fan, but decided to investigate the issue to determine if Colorado College authorities were lying. He eventually discovered two Excel spreadsheets on Chris Heisenberg's List of 2008 Recruits, that mentioned their names had recently being removed.
"There was a conclusion here," Mr Walker said. "These documents existed, on a nationwide recruiting website, and now they don’t exist, and this change has taken place recently. I was interested because these were documents that no-one could find. If there’s information to be found on the internet I’m a citizen journalist - it was a challenge."
He turned to a Canadian search engine, Slapshot.com. In its cache he found both documents. "The listing in there, quite clearly, their birth dates," Mr Walker said.
Colorado College officials responded immediately by providing LetsGoDU with Canadian passports, but still doubts lingered, not least because the athletes look barely past puberty.
A WCHA official told LetsGoDU that because of "discrepancies" that have come to light about the age of Colorado College's recruiting class, an official inquiry has been launched that could result in CC being stripped of scholarships.
The investigation was triggered as a DU computer expert claimed yesterday to have uncovered Canadian government documents that he says prove many of the incoming Freshmen are only 16 - making them ineligible to compete in the NCAA - rather than 18, as officials in Colorado Springs insist are their age.
Mike Walker, a computer security expert, told LetsGoDU how he tracked down two documents that he says had been removed from a college hockey recruiting website.
There were also concerns about their mental health, because of the pressure of competing in the NCAA playoffs at such a young age, and that they were vulnerable to exploitation and even physical abuse by CC's coaches. Not to mention the pressure of trying to win CC's first National Championship in 52 years.
"They are obviously kids," WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod said. "15, 16 max - and they’re telling the world they are 18? What arrogance." Although DU has deliberately steered clear of the controversy, McLeod suggested the CC players were still losing their baby teeth. "One of the players has a missing tooth," he said.
Yet Giselle Davies, an NCAA spokesperson, said tonight that because of troubling new developments, the committee had instructed the WCHA, to investigate.
"More information has come to light that did point to discrepancies," Ms. Davies said. "We have asked the WCHA to look into it further. If there is a question mark, and we have a concern - which we do - we ask the conference to look into ... as to why there is a discrepancy."
The man who uncovered the allegations about the underage athlete, told LetsGoDU that he was not even a sports a fan, but decided to investigate the issue to determine if Colorado College authorities were lying. He eventually discovered two Excel spreadsheets on Chris Heisenberg's List of 2008 Recruits, that mentioned their names had recently being removed.
"There was a conclusion here," Mr Walker said. "These documents existed, on a nationwide recruiting website, and now they don’t exist, and this change has taken place recently. I was interested because these were documents that no-one could find. If there’s information to be found on the internet I’m a citizen journalist - it was a challenge."
He turned to a Canadian search engine, Slapshot.com. In its cache he found both documents. "The listing in there, quite clearly, their birth dates," Mr Walker said.
Colorado College officials responded immediately by providing LetsGoDU with Canadian passports, but still doubts lingered, not least because the athletes look barely past puberty.
14 comments:
I love you. Hilarious.
Glad you like it. :-)
dg
The Denver media keeps asking about it and it really makes us upset and affected our preparation for the season.
CC's team is very strong compared with the DU team. That's why they keep asking.
Wow CC's a lot like China except they can't win for squat.
7 National Championships compared to 2? And 0 in the past 50 years? Wow. CC really seems stronger to me.
I am not sure they are going to compete this year, won't they have to be in bed by 8PM with milk and cookies?
Yeah that is funny and I suppose your getting Hate male from C.C. fans? :)
You are rounding into mid-season form :-)
Its quite a satisfying moment when your girlfriend looks over at your computer, reads the headline, and disgustingly says "they would..."
DG,
Great stuff.
Typical shotty journalism by LetsGoDU. If you would have researched the topic, you would find that a vast majority of the Colorado College players FIRST graduate high-school and THEN play of year or two of juniors in the US or Canada BEFORE coming to Colorado College. This would make it impossible for the players to be 15 or 16!!!
Tools.
obviously the last guy is a CC graduate, I didn't get the joke.
Talk about being a tool!!!!!
We stand by our story. Besides how else can you explain the "missing tooth?"
If CC is going to the trouble of forging birth certificates and passports, who's to say they're not also forging high school diplomas when the kids are 14.
1:05.....you must be dumber than a box of rocks. Go back to playing with your GI Joe.
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