"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.
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.