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Post by Ninja Warrior Ryan on Aug 10, 2020 14:59:48 GMT -5
I was absolutely shocked when I read this. I guess he is gone forever from ANW. I’m pretty sure you won’t be seeing him at all anymore. SASUKE, NNL, you name it. No one will be inviting him anymore. Oh I promise he won't be. He's left quite a sour taste in the entire community. Been reading different notes from different ninjas close to him and they all are disgusted. Can't imagine how the children supporting him are gonna handle this let alone ANW Jr (which I would imagine they would be going through any tapes they had to see if that behavior was being shown there too). |
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Post by ChiBiJKT48 on Aug 11, 2020 2:03:17 GMT -5
I’m pretty sure you won’t be seeing him at all anymore. SASUKE, NNL, you name it. No one will be inviting him anymore. Mind if I ask what the hell is NNL? Seen this term everywhere, just don't know what it is. |
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Post by Kowai Yume on Aug 11, 2020 2:55:15 GMT -5
National Ninja League. I believe it's the grassroots Ninja tournaments held at gyms across the country.
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Post by ChiBiJKT48 on Aug 11, 2020 9:01:47 GMT -5
National Ninja League. I believe it's the grassroots Ninja tournaments held at gyms across the country. Ah, OK. Thanks for the information. |
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Post by zoran on Aug 11, 2020 9:57:38 GMT -5
What would your reaction be if Drew got the full life to 95 years in prison?
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Post by marsllama on Aug 11, 2020 10:14:14 GMT -5
What would your reaction be if Drew got the full life to 95 years in prison? Based on what he did he's clearly a risk to other young people. The longer he stays where he can't hurt them the better. |
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Post by tyler on Aug 11, 2020 13:34:42 GMT -5
What would your reaction be if Drew got the full life to 95 years in prison? Honestly, I'd be shocked. Don't get me wrong. He deserves jail. But people who have done way worse than what is known he allegedly has done and have faced less time. If more information comes out, of course that changes. But I'd guess he would do time concurrently with a maximum of 20 years total. |
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Post by ChiBiJKT48 on Aug 11, 2020 14:45:59 GMT -5
Sex with Underage is bad, but, to get 95 years of prison? No. Even Murder as I recall only get 50 years. So, no. Probably 30 years.
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Post by madship on Aug 11, 2020 18:28:53 GMT -5
It goes without saying, but this really jeopardizes the entire sport and community. Its very clear in the documents that he did this to far more than one girl -and I'm really hoping there weren't other members doing the same thing. It is beyond gutting and frustrating and enraging. ANW has always sold itself as being inspirational and, for lack of a better word, wholesome. As a society we've made our peace with letting football players commit all sorts of crimes, large and small. But ANW has been different, and I'm really not sure how they glue this back together with any real skill. NBC needs to acknowledge this, on-air, and directly. and we need to hear about ways they're protecting everyone in the community - especially those youngest I agree, NBC or A Smith productions does need to make a statement about this when season 12 airs. They can be forthright about Drew having competed in the season, but that he and his team were excluded from the broadcasts. They can strongly support innocent until proven guilty, but in light of the nature of the charges they cannot promote what may be a false representation of character to the ninja community and the world at large. The producers cannot just ignore the issue, it went on too long (season 6 at least) , and there are competitors who have been victims. They need to address it boldly. I would leave the results as they are and not mention him or his team at all in the results. It will be weird in those episodes where runs that would be condensed or capsuled are shown more fully.\, but the results should stand. If this is a team competition, as rumored, his teammates, assuming they were unaware of his actions, should not be penalized. Until this came to light, who among us would not have had Drew on his team. On that thought. I don't think ANW should go back and edit Drew out of the episodes or strip him of his title. They could add a PSA to the beginning of any episode in which he appears or audio over his runs in support of victims of Child Sexual Abuse. I do think, if they are going toed the episodes, his vinettes should be removed. While they can sever all future ties with him and obviously exclude him from all promotion, which will be very odd for season 12, even if not convicted. Excising Drew from the past productions is like Stalinism. He was there, he was a great competitor, with a series flaw, that was revealed far too late in his participation. Acknowledge and condemn the alleged offense, improve your application and screening processes and move forward with a better product. |
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Post by madship on Aug 11, 2020 18:31:34 GMT -5
This is a horrific situation. How could Drew do something this horrible?This isn't him at all. It is. There are many possible reasons. It is, if true, which it seems to be from the transcripts, then the image was a sham. |
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Post by madship on Aug 11, 2020 18:34:36 GMT -5
"innocent until proven guilty" can go right out the window here. The report itself is damning, and paints a very ugly picture Innocent until proven guilty is a term of art, at least in the court of public opinion. Innocent until proven guilty only applies to the States ability to punish a citizen for offense against the laws of the State. |
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arsenette
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Post by arsenette on Aug 11, 2020 20:36:03 GMT -5
It goes without saying, but this really jeopardizes the entire sport and community. Its very clear in the documents that he did this to far more than one girl -and I'm really hoping there weren't other members doing the same thing. It is beyond gutting and frustrating and enraging. ANW has always sold itself as being inspirational and, for lack of a better word, wholesome. As a society we've made our peace with letting football players commit all sorts of crimes, large and small. But ANW has been different, and I'm really not sure how they glue this back together with any real skill. NBC needs to acknowledge this, on-air, and directly. and we need to hear about ways they're protecting everyone in the community - especially those youngest I agree, NBC or A Smith productions does need to make a statement about this when season 12 airs. They can be forthright about Drew having competed in the season, but that he and his team were excluded from the broadcasts. They can strongly support innocent until proven guilty, but in light of the nature of the charges they cannot promote what may be a false representation of character to the ninja community and the world at large. The producers cannot just ignore the issue, it went on too long (season 6 at least) , and there are competitors who have been victims. They need to address it boldly. I would leave the results as they are and not mention him or his team at all in the results. It will be weird in those episodes where runs that would be condensed or capsuled are shown more fully.\, but the results should stand. If this is a team competition, as rumored, his teammates, assuming they were unaware of his actions, should not be penalized. Until this came to light, who among us would not have had Drew on his team. On that thought. I don't think ANW should go back and edit Drew out of the episodes or strip him of his title. They could add a PSA to the beginning of any episode in which he appears or audio over his runs in support of victims of Child Sexual Abuse. I do think, if they are going toed the episodes, his vinettes should be removed. While they can sever all future ties with him and obviously exclude him from all promotion, which will be very odd for season 12, even if not convicted. Excising Drew from the past productions is like Stalinism. He was there, he was a great competitor, with a series flaw, that was revealed far too late in his participation. Acknowledge and condemn the alleged offense, improve your application and screening processes and move forward with a better product. This is a rough. I'm actually surprised that NBC responded so quickly publicly. They already stated how they are going to deal with Drew in Season 12. He put them in a horrible predicament. It's a family show and bringing this up is sorta opening a can of worms with their Rated G rating. However, they dealt with the delicate situation of Young Flip in a tasteful way explaining why he had a mask and how it was in dealing with his horrible life experiences. I HOPE that they don't tie Young Flip to Drew because they were best friends further dragging Flip into this when clearly he was blindsighted. I do agree they have to show something because editing it out and ignoring it will be a big problem. That said, they already stated they are going to excise him. I'm against deleting his win as well. It reminds me of the Tonya Harding situation where they left the title vacant.. They stripped her title after she pleaded guilty and was convicted. Should that happen then they have another avenue. However until that plays out it is still in the hands of the sponsor to decide about the prize money that was already spent. I do like the idea of the PSA and supporting victims of child abuse. It's a HUGE and IMPORTANT lesson to learn from all of this. We know this happens WAY too often and Drew is not the first nor the last one to abuse his position. It is a lesson that should be taught young because that is how they get abused in the first place. To my knowledge it's already happened to other ANW competitors and abusers have already been exposed but not with this kind of spotlight being current and reigning champion. It will be interesting from a show perspective how they will handle this. From a personal standpoint I hope the others who were abused get their chance to heal and get justice. We know there are more, the complaint already eludes to it, and the "who do I contact" threads from reddit show he has been.. prolific. As for life sentence. It is far better than what I personally want for predators who abuse the young.. but the Supreme Court of the USA has already outlawed capital punishment for child predators so he's lucky. |
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Post by madship on Aug 11, 2020 22:33:59 GMT -5
I agree, NBC or A Smith productions does need to make a statement about this when season 12 airs. They can be forthright about Drew having competed in the season, but that he and his team were excluded from the broadcasts. They can strongly support innocent until proven guilty, but in light of the nature of the charges they cannot promote what may be a false representation of character to the ninja community and the world at large. The producers cannot just ignore the issue, it went on too long (season 6 at least) , and there are competitors who have been victims. They need to address it boldly. I would leave the results as they are and not mention him or his team at all in the results. It will be weird in those episodes where runs that would be condensed or capsuled are shown more fully.\, but the results should stand. If this is a team competition, as rumored, his teammates, assuming they were unaware of his actions, should not be penalized. Until this came to light, who among us would not have had Drew on his team. On that thought. I don't think ANW should go back and edit Drew out of the episodes or strip him of his title. They could add a PSA to the beginning of any episode in which he appears or audio over his runs in support of victims of Child Sexual Abuse. I do think, if they are going toed the episodes, his vinettes should be removed. While they can sever all future ties with him and obviously exclude him from all promotion, which will be very odd for season 12, even if not convicted. Excising Drew from the past productions is like Stalinism. He was there, he was a great competitor, with a series flaw, that was revealed far too late in his participation. Acknowledge and condemn the alleged offense, improve your application and screening processes and move forward with a better product. This is a rough. I'm actually surprised that NBC responded so quickly publicly. They already stated how they are going to deal with Drew in Season 12. He put them in a horrible predicament. It's a family show and bringing this up is sorta opening a can of worms with their Rated G rating. However, they dealt with the delicate situation of Young Flip in a tasteful way explaining why he had a mask and how it was in dealing with his horrible life experiences. I HOPE that they don't tie Young Flip to Drew because they were best friends further dragging Flip into this when clearly he was blindsighted. I do agree they have to show something because editing it out and ignoring it will be a big problem. That said, they already stated they are going to excise him. I'm against deleting his win as well. It reminds me of the Tonya Harding situation where they left the title vacant.. They stripped her title after she pleaded guilty and was convicted. Should that happen then they have another avenue. However until that plays out it is still in the hands of the sponsor to decide about the prize money that was already spent. I do like the idea of the PSA and supporting victims of child abuse. It's a HUGE and IMPORTANT lesson to learn from all of this. We know this happens WAY too often and Drew is not the first nor the last one to abuse his position. It is a lesson that should be taught young because that is how they get abused in the first place. To my knowledge it's already happened to other ANW competitors and abusers have already been exposed but not with this kind of spotlight being current and reigning champion. It will be interesting from a show perspective how they will handle this. From a personal standpoint I hope the others who were abused get their chance to heal and get justice. We know there are more, the complaint already eludes to it, and the "who do I contact" threads from reddit show he has been.. prolific. As for life sentence. It is far better than what I personally want for predators who abuse the young.. but the Supreme Court of the USA has already outlawed capital punishment for child predators so he's lucky. Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It is tough, but this is a horrendous issue in the US and the world. It's odd, how things happen in life. I finally got around to listening to this episode of the Making Sense podcast, which Sam Harris had held for a few months due to the pandemic. Later that day I was scanning Youtube and found William's publication. After listening to Sam's conversation with Gabriel Dance, I think the best thing NBC and A Smith can do is confront it head on. Sugar coating this to protect their image helps no one, including themselves. Families, children and parents, need to be informed about the dangers and the predatory tactics. I had never heard of grooming before the podcast or the use of one victim to attract others. G ratings are for fools, protecting the innocent is a fool's errand. We all need to face these fact soberly and discuss the openly with our children. After letting my wife know about this, we spoke with our son, who idolized Drew as a 10 yo. We have memorabilia, with his signature, we are deciding how to handle. It doesn't exist in a vacuum. Most has other ninjas' signatures. I have lost all respect for Drew, regardless of what the courts decide, the statement in the indictment are too damning. There is what is right and there is what is legal. Whether Drew is found guilty by law, what he did was not right. Unfortunately he is still an American Ninja Warrior Champion, he did it, no matter how we feel about it. If NBC and A. Smith want to sue and rescind his prize money, that is fine. As with Lance Armstrong, he may be a World Class A-hole, but he did it. 7 years of no Tour de France champion and replacement champions for other years don't remove the stench of the offense or make anyone fell better about those years. I know they won't do it, but leave the old competitions results as they are. You only diminish yourself by covering up the past. |
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Post by arsenette on Aug 12, 2020 7:59:22 GMT -5
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It is tough, but this is a horrendous issue in the US and the world. It's odd, how things happen in life. I finally got around to listening to this episode of the Making Sense podcast, which Sam Harris had held for a few months due to the pandemic. Later that day I was scanning Youtube and found William's publication. After listening to Sam's conversation with Gabriel Dance, I think the best thing NBC and A Smith can do is confront it head on. Sugar coating this to protect their image helps no one, including themselves. Families, children and parents, need to be informed about the dangers and the predatory tactics. I had never heard of grooming before the podcast or the use of one victim to attract others. G ratings are for fools, protecting the innocent is a fool's errand. We all need to face these fact soberly and discuss the openly with our children. After letting my wife know about this, we spoke with our son, who idolized Drew as a 10 yo. We have memorabilia, with his signature, we are deciding how to handle. It doesn't exist in a vacuum. Most has other ninjas' signatures. I have lost all respect for Drew, regardless of what the courts decide, the statement in the indictment are too damning. There is what is right and there is what is legal. Whether Drew is found guilty by law, what he did was not right. Unfortunately he is still an American Ninja Warrior Champion, he did it, no matter how we feel about it. If NBC and A. Smith want to sue and rescind his prize money, that is fine. As with Lance Armstrong, he may be a World Class A-hole, but he did it. 7 years of no Tour de France champion and replacement champions for other years don't remove the stench of the offense or make anyone fell better about those years. I know they won't do it, but leave the old competitions results as they are. You only diminish yourself by covering up the past. As you can tell I have VERY strong feelings about it. I'm a survivor myself (child abuse) and ran away from home when I was 15 because of it. Had it not been that I'm the youngest and that I have 2 older sisters I would have been worse off like they were. My own mother, both my sisters were sexually abused by pedophiles. Their pain taught me at a very young age to watch for the signs. I was 4 years old when I got the conversation. That conversation saved me. I knew what was about to happen and managed to get out of the situations (yes with an S). It's the people we KNOW that are the worst because your guard is down. So naturally I'm vehemently against this practice, however I understand the emotions from those who didn't see it and that horrible behavior is attached to someone they loved. I know how it feels. It burns in your soul. You question yourself. How could I have missed it? Was it my imagination? Could I have stopped it? I saw William's post when it happened. He and I used to podcast about a bunch of stuff and my health has made it difficult of late to do much of anything but I still follow my friend. His post was so well done because that is the natural reaction from people who genuinely want to see the best in people. The betrayal and just general shock one feels is raw and quite frankly perfectly normal. I call it part of the grieving process. But I also see the perspective of victim #1. She tried to harm herself after the mother's confrontation when her mother tried to call the police in 2015. THAT is a natural reaction of a newly 15 year old. Grooming is a term I know a little too well. I've seen it happen in real time. To be honest in recent cases I think of R. Kelly. The adult women that were chosen early to live with him were all groomed and more than half still defend him. Another phrase I use is Stockholm Syndrome. Again, my upbringing was unique so I don't expect people to learn this stuff early as I had to. Grooming specifically is insidious. It makes my blood boil and I go almost in an irrational rage. As for the show, they have to look at the legal aspects. They are a corporation. What you and I think they should do is not necessarily what lawyers would given that any parent can sue them for exposing a child to a conversation that by law belongs to the parents. When putting on a rated G show .. hang on lemme check. Nope they are PG. They SHOULD use this as an opportunity to bring this up. I was thinking about this because they did that with Flip in the past. THIS definitely should qualify. As for titles, I agree it should stand with an asterisk (for the person not the result). Wiping him from history only hurts the very audience they are trying to "protect" and the cycle continues. However, I don't see NBC doing this at all. Their statement is pretty clear on Season 12. Will be interesting to see how they tackle it, however I'm not hopeful. |
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Post by greenday61892 on Aug 12, 2020 10:14:36 GMT -5
The Lance Armstrong comparison doesn't really hold because Lance actively cheated to achieve those 7 TdF titles.
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Post by sasukefinnja on Aug 12, 2020 18:14:02 GMT -5
What can I say...
He, was the guy I looked up to.
He, was the guy that got me into training even at those times in my life when I was having anxiety and I was feeling down.
He, was the that gave me strength and inspiration to train for Ninja Warrior, even though there is no Ninja Warrior in my country.
He, was the guy whose ANW victory was one of the best moments of my life.
He, was the guy I wanted to win Sasuke.
He, was the guy that was my role model.
He, just was ''the guy''.
I'm deeply in shock. Drew was the person that motivated me to train. He was the person who motivated me to follow Sasuke. Because of him I have kept myself in great shape, both physically and mentally. I'm in great shape, only because I took my inspiration out of person who I'm talking about right now.
How would I describe it...the person who I looked up to, who was my motivator and role model is the person who uses his strength and power to sexually abuse underage girls. It just simply makes me feel sick, it makes me feel dirty just because that guy was role model to me. For me child predators are the worst people in our society. For me it feels like all the work I've done all these years is just wrong. It feels like everything is just so wrong.
Goodbye Drew. You disgust me. 2020 just sucks even more. Everything just sucks even more. I hope that this doesn't affect too negatively to show itself because Ninja Warrior is a passion to me. Roller coaster of emotions is just going through my mind.
All the love and support for victim, April and baby. I hope that they all will be alright.
I'm sorry if my text was scrappy. English is not my language and also I'm really in shock. But yeah...this just sucks.
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Post by crimson on Aug 12, 2020 18:43:57 GMT -5
Looks like the new season will air in early September, which is a fairly quick timeline given the additional editing they needed to do to cut Drew out. Some marketing materials are featuring other ninja stars, which I'm happy to see.
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Post by crimson on Aug 13, 2020 0:49:57 GMT -5
Does anyone know what is going on with Brent Steffenson? He posted a video responding to the Drew Dreschel situation where he blamed the victim and doesn't think having sex with a 15 year old is wrong. He's also been posting a number of conspiracy theories and other controversial topics. I hope he is no longer invited back to ANW.
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Post by sasukefinnja on Aug 13, 2020 5:03:59 GMT -5
Does anyone know what is going on with Brent Steffenson? He posted a video responding to the Drew Dreschel situation where he blamed the victim and doesn't think having sex with a 15 year old is wrong. He's also been posting a number of conspiracy theories and other controversial topics. I hope he is no longer invited back to ANW. Just watched the video. That was really bad move from him. |
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Post by arsenette on Aug 13, 2020 6:36:34 GMT -5
Yeah victim shaming is not a good look for anyone. There is some of that going around but that's also the fault of bad parenting. If they were never taught this from an early age then they go around thinking this stuff is okay. This is why it is important to use this as a teaching tool on ANW. A good athlete, singer, dancer, actor, artist, philanthropist, etc. NEVER excuses abuse towards children. And this is definitely abuse. Even if she was legal she did not consent to pornography. We have revenge porn laws for that. All in all there will be a small segment of the population who have loose morals and won't see this as abuse. If anything, it says more about THEM than it does on anyone else.
For now it's probably best to not glorify other's stupidity on this thread. Let's keep focus on this particular case and any legal additions (i.e. more victims). As of now it looks like he was extradited to New Jersey. Now that he's in Federal custody we don't see much until formal announcements (trial, hearings, and other legal motions).
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