Disgraced

I'm not a big sports person, but I saw this documentary and it looked interesting. I didn't know college sports were so corrupt. Lots of money and "gifts" passed under the table. You'd think so called "religious" institutions would hold themselves to a higher standard...but it simply isn't so. This has been demonstrated over and over again. I couldn't figure out the motive for the murder of Dennehy or if the documentary was insinuating there was more to it...was he just the fall guy? Coach Bliss seems caught up in justifying his unethical actions with one excuse after another. I can't believe he didn't think his cover up attempt would stay under the radar. Now I know why I'm not a big sports fan...too much money at stake pushes people in the wrong direction. My heart breaks for Dennehy's family.

Disgraced (2017)

**** (out of 4)

Patrick Dennehy went to Baylor University to play basketball but one day he went missing and weeks later his body turned up. There was a mystery as to what happened but pretty soon details started leaking out including a cover up by head coach Dave Bliss.

Having been a rabid basketball fan all my life, I still remember this ordeal and the shock waves that it sent through the sport back in the day. As someone in the documentary says, this here was much bigger than a sports scandal but I think the film also shows how powerful the NCAA and schools are that to this day there are so many unanswered questions as to what actually happened and why the school and Bliss were so determined to lie.

The documentary interviews friends and family members of Dennehy as well as the man who would eventually be convicted for his murder. There are interviews with various officials, detectives and of course the big one is Bliss himself. The entire mystery that wraps around this story is something that would seem made up because you just can't believe some head coach would try to cover up a murder. What's even more shocking is how Bliss addresses the matter in his interview as well as a bombshell that happens towards the end of the picture.

The documentary does a terrific job at explaining what all happened, when it happened and where we stand today. Like a lot of crime documentaries, this one here also opens up a can of worms by suggesting that there's more to the story than we currently know. There was more to the story as Bliss' interview here eventually came back to haunt him and he lost a job that he was. We shall see what happens going forward but it's clear there's much more going on.

Oh "Disgraced," you curious documentary, you. Imagine a film that swings between eliciting gasps and yawns, like a tennis match between intrigue and ennui. Here lies a tale woven with the threads of scandal, sports, and a smidge too much courtroom drama that could have been replaced with, say, an interpretive dance sequence about the legal system. It's like going on a blind date with someone who promised thrills and mystery but turns out to just be really into their stamp collection. Entertaining? Sure. Earth-shattering? Not so much.

The documentary is okay in the way a sandwich you found in your backpack at 3 PM is okay. Not your first choice, but it gets the job done. "Disgraced" dives into the complex, convoluted, and downright chaotic story behind the Baylor University basketball scandal with the finesse of a cat trying to navigate a bathtub. It's all there: the intrigue, the interviews, the insinuations. But just when you think you're about to get to the juicy center, it pulls back, leaving you feeling like you've been left hanging on a high five. It's the cinematic equivalent of "it's not you, it's me" - a breakup line from a documentary to its audience.

Yet, in its defense, "Disgraced" manages to do what many documentaries aspire to but few achieve: it makes you think, even if it's just wondering whether you left the iron on. Between the lines of its okay-ness, it presents a narrative that's as gripping as it is frustrating, prompting a reflection on broader issues within sports and academia. So, as much as I jest, this documentary, with its 3.5 stars shining modestly, is akin to that one teacher who wasn't particularly inspiring but somehow left you with lessons you'd remember for years to come. It's okay, and sometimes, okay is just enough.

"Disgraced" (2017 release; 101 min.) is a documentary about what happened in the summer of 2003 at Baylor University. As the movie opens, Coach David Bliss has been hired to turn the fortunes of the men's basketball team around. He brings in several blue chip recruits, including Patrick Dennehy, a transfer from New Maxico, and Carlton Dotson, a freshman from Maryland. These two get along great. When Harvey Thomas, a JUCO transfer, arrives on campus in early June, things get out of hand pretty quickly, and on June 13, Patrick Hennehy goes missing... At this point we are a good 10 min. into the movie.

Couple of comments: this documentary is from awarrd winning director Pat Kondelis. Here he looks back at the shocing events of Summer, 2003 when a Baylor basketball player shot and killed another Baylor basketball player, and how the university handled the situation. And let's just say it: it ain't a pretty picture. But did anyone else really expect anything different, when a big time university hires a basketball coach who intends to win at any and all cost. I have to admit that I didn't recall any of the details before watching this fascinating documentary, and things get so bizarre that the saying :facts are stranger than fiction" comes to mmind again. I mean, you can't make this stuff up. Even though this is a sports documentary, you don't have to care about sports one bit in order to appreciate the documentary for what it is, a drama of human relationships. How Dave Bliss sleeps at night with himself is a question that begs to be answered. (He apparently seems to have little trouble with it.)

"Disgraced" premiered on Showtime in March, 2017 (in time for the NCAA tournament, of course), and is now available on SHO On Demand and other streaming services. Please note that "Disgraced" went on to win an Emmy Award for Best Documentary that year, for for good reason. If you have any interest in documentaries or in college sports, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Disgraced was well-received in its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. The film explains the complex issues around the tragic disappearance and ultimate death of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy. The events that led to the arrest and conviction of one of his teammates – Carlton Dotson - are complex and remain confusing since there was little explanation of that player's motivation. The director and his team did an excellent job of laying out the details of that multi-layered investigation.

The web events that played out was complicated and ultimately led to a NCAA investigation of rules violations by Coach Dave Bliss and others. These included extensive allegations that Bliss – likely backed by boosters – paid player tuition and expenses. The director does an excellent job of dissecting this complicated true crime investigation. It reveals a pattern of extensive corruption at the heart of the world's largest Baptist University (which has continued recently with the cover-up of a massive sexual assault scandal). It is clear that Baylor University put winning ahead of the rules of amateur college athletics. As someone who has taught college athletes in Texas, I have to wonder if Baylor was worse than other college or just more careless so that they got caught? I suspect that Baylor may merely be one of the worst offenders in a deeply corrupt system. This is powerful film that asks may important questions about these tragic events and more broadly about the nature of college athletics. It has been picked up by Showtime so it should be widely seen by a wide audience and hopefully adds to a wide debate over college athletics. Oh, by the way, Baylor is #3 seed in the NCAA tournament announced this week.