Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Embree Explains Decision To Stick With Wright
February 01, 2012 | Football, B.G. Brooks
News of Wright's commitment to CU broke on Tuesday, Jan. 24. On Thursday, Jan. 19, the day after Wright was expelled from Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, N.J., the Buffaloes' head coach spoke with him.
At issue for administrators at Don Bosco and reportedly at least one school recruiting Wright were Wright's series of objectionable tweets. Michigan reportedly halted its recruitment of the high-profile defensive back - and for the record, the high-profile tag applied long before the unsettling national Twitter account saga - when Wright's unflattering words went public.
When they spoke, Embree said he could tell Wright "had been crying" and termed their talk "a hard conversation to go through, because this kid, his whole world has possibly been ripped from him. He's not a bad kid. His opportunity to get an education and do something he loves doing was hanging in the balance."
When Embree recruits, as he did for CU and UCLA as an assistant coach and does now in his first head coaching job, his immediate objective is the obvious one. Not far behind, though, is forming relationships that frequently last even if a recruit signs with another school. Embree told Wright that no matter where the prospect landed, the best he could hope for was having learned a lesson.
Recalled Embree: "I told him that whatever ends up happening, just be ready for your opportunity. It's a hard lesson to learn and tough to go through now, but you've got to understand what you did, you can't do (in the future). This doesn't necessarily define you as a person; you're 17. Hopefully you live another 60-70 years, so you've got a lot of time left to show people who you are and what you're about. You have to think about that every day when you wake up; this is another day for you to not necessarily reclaim your character, but to show people the true Yuri Wright. That's all I said to him; that was it - nothing else."
It might have been enough to factor into an apology Wright issued on Wednesday, Jan. 25 - the day after his commitment to CU went nationwide. Interviewed by ESPN.com's Greg Biggins, Wright admitted to making "a huge mistake," said he "learned a valuable lesson," and pledged "nothing like that will ever happen again. Everyone that knows me knows that's not my true character or who I really am. I'm not going to sit here and try and make excuses for what I did. I'm just going to be a man and say I was wrong and I learned from it."
Wright also said he hoped what he experienced in the very public world of social media would serve as an example to other prospects or players: "My days with social media are over, I promise."
As for his connection with Embree, Wright acknowledged his future coach for standing by him and offering a fresh start. He also claimed Embree knows his true character "and what kind of person I am . . . . It was tough to get kicked out of school, but I'm going to finish up and then I can't wait to get out to Colorado and start that new chapter of my life. Hopefully, people won't judge me and will give me the same second chance coach Embree did. I'm not going to blow it again."
Two days before National Signing Day, Embree wasn't sure where Wright would finish his senior year of high school. Embree said an appeals process was underway at Don Bosco, a private Catholic secondary school, but he added that Wright has an alternative high school to attend if he is not readmitted to Don Bosco. Embree does not expect Wright's admission to CU to be jeopardized "as long as he continues his work. I expect him to be qualified."
For Embree, the Yuri Wright/Twitter episode stampeded his growing social media concerns to the forefront. At a team meeting on Monday, Embree addressed his returning players about being smart with their tweets. "I don't want to ban it; it's part of their lives," he said. "But there have to be guidelines, an understanding of what's right and wrong. Some kids we get, we have to raise them - and that's just a part of it. Maybe in their world (objectionable tweets) that's normal. But there's a different definition of normal; we have to dialogue and manage it."
When the Wright/Twitter issue made national news and the Buffs continued to recruit him, eventually getting his verbal commitment, Embree said he followed CU's chain of command as high as was necessary to vouch for Wright and clear him to be signed.
"It went up there . . . it went all the way up there (to Chancellor Phil DiStefano)," Embree said. "I was letting them know what kind of kid he was. I think in my time here I've shown I'm a pretty good judge of character with these kids. When something's not right, I think I've come down with appropriate punishment.
"There's been other talented players that I've recruited in two classes that at one point or another I felt like they weren't good fits here and weren't the kind of people our fans would be glad to be Buffaloes. So I didn't take them. Trust me, that's one of the components as we go through this recruiting process . . . trying to get the guys who will do what you want off the field.
"Are you right every time? No. You have a hundred and something kids there. But I feel like our staff does a good job of dealing with these kids and issues. If we feel like a kid has (serious) issues we're not going to bring him in here."
Before Wright arrives on campus this summer, Embree doesn't believe he needs to forewarned about being in the spotlight. "He knows, trust me," Embree said. "But it's not me; he knows everybody is looking at him. Trust me. He's very aware of everything."
Embree said as difficult as it might be for some to believe, Wright is "a shy kid. His teammates seem to like him. He's competitive. He's a good kid. Having been around the kid, people who have been around him for years - different coaches - they vouch for the kid. They see how he is around his parents, his situation, how he is with his sisters . . . by no stretch of the imagination do I feel like he's a bad kid.
"Did he make a mistake? Yeah. But there a lot of 17-year-old kids who make mistakes. Some aren't as public as his. It was unfortunate. But part of my job as a coach is to help these kids, raise them . . . so they can be something in life, be successful. You can't just label someone then throw them in the trash."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
