Cougarboard is generally a fun place, but I can't stand it when a group of people use their confirmation bias and run wild with stupid, unsubstantiated, out-of-context, second- third- and fourth-hand rumors.

We take a rumor, we jump to the worst conclusions, and then make biased generalizations about a large population or the whole institution. Drives me crazy.

Let's break this down:

First: The rumor is second-hand. Meaning, Jacob Hatch is reporting on something Patrick Kinahan said. To my knowledge Kinahan hasn't tweeted or written anything personally along these lines.

Second: But let's assume it's true, and Kinahan really is reporting what Hatch says he's reporting. So BYU denied graduate-school admission to someone who holds a Bachelor's degree from "another academic institution." I'm sorry, but I was not aware that a Bachelor's degree from another academic institution qualified someone for admittance into a graduate program at BYU. Could it be there's more to the story here? Everyone, even athletes, need to meet certain academic criteria to be admitted into graduate programs.

Third: Remember there are two sides of the story here. I know the temptation is to take the bait and shake your fist at the evil people in the BYU admissions office, but just remember guys like PK are preying on your fanaticism to generate buzz around their stories/sites. They make a living out of only telling one side of the story--the most inflammatory side. Don't you think he knows BYU admissions are a hot-button issue with BYU fans? And that telling the story of a player who desperately wants to play football at BYU but can't because the big baddies in the admissions office won't let him will cause all of us to go nuts just like we're doing right now?

Just relax. Take a breath or two before you put an entire institution up in flames.