He pretty much summed up why Koenning is an idiot for not expecting this to blow up in his face on Pawsitive Press:

Darren Carter
August 26, 2008
"When you make a fabricated comment like that about a program that is trying to recover from being absolutely eviscerated by the NCAA for recruiting violations, how do you expect them to take it? Alabama was told that it was "staring down the barrel of a loaded gun" in 2001. They have just gotten back to a full compliment of scholarships after enduring the worst punishment handed down since SMU received the death penalty. Now Koenning makes a ridiculous comment that could:

(1) Potentially get the attention of the NCAA, and
(2) Put 2 true freshmen’s eligibility at-risk,

and he is surprised that what he said was taken the way it was?

Since the Means affair, Alabama has had the cleanest program in the NCAA out of necessity if not genuine desire to do things the right way. They are outside the repeat violator window now, but the NCAA used 10 year old material in 2000 to establish a "pattern," and increase the severity of their punishment.

Honestly, a paid representative of an NCAA member institution doing something so irresponsible as Koenning should be subject to censure, fines, and even termination with show-cause placed on him. The gravity of his accusation – even with his revisionist history applied, is startling when you think about it; he was risking the future of an athletics department, countless millions of dollars to the athletics department and local economy of Tuscaloosa, and the futures of two student-athletes because he wanted to be funny. If you make an accusation without proof, there should be steep consequences. As it is, I would not be surprised if a libel suit by the players would stick."