Mike Krzyzewski is a 1969 West Point grad and later coached the academy’s basketball team before moving down the coast (and up in the AP rankings) to Duke. So when it came time for a team building exercise for his current crop of future NBAers, he marched them back to the home of the Black Knights for a little boom boom therapy. As nesn.com reports, “Freshman sensation Jabari Parker and his teammates were taken through an instructional program on how to properly use the guns, then they were given the go-ahead to get (in)position on the ground with their assigned assault rifles and fire off some rounds for target practice. The players seemed excited by the opportunity, posing with the weapons as if they were getting ready to defend against the zombie apocalypse.” Of course, Coach could never have accomplished the same thing at home in Durham, since owning or possessing firearms at Duke is the devil’s work. But when you have enough high dollar alums willing to throw cash at the hoops program, flying the team to West Point for some fun is really no biggie.
Assault rifles, huh? I wonder if they really were select fire. The bottom photo at the link shows one of them tucked up behind something belt-fed, so I’m sure he had some fun.
The bottom photo in the link looks like M-240’s hooked up to a firearm simulator. Look at the hoses attached to guns.
I see it now. Much less fun that way. Too bad for him.
Looks like an EST2000.
Definitely looks like EST.
Definitely just playin Duck Hunt 3: The U.S. military edition.
That thing sucks. The old pinball machine one was wicked though. We used to crank that thing all the way up and see who could take the most shoulder abuse at the full recoil setting.
Good for Coach K. I’m happy to know that he’s not a hoplophobic @ssh0le.
+1
As a Duke fan and an even bigger Coach K fan, I’m very happy to hear this.
I was doing my best to have an open mind. . . Until I see the FOT on the guy on the far right and probably the guy on his right, and the smirk on the one on the left, and the gang signs in the middle, and the inappropriate expressions, and odd lighting, and the inserted magazines and closed bolts, and the muzzle pointed at the other guys’ legs. . .
What else am I to take away from this photograph? The fact that the photographer wanted to show his subjects in the worst possible light, perhaps?
Or that they are using the army equivalent of the nintendo blaster as for gang signs i didn’t see any, in reference to the lighting the EST rooms are always lit that way the mags hold nothing and the bolts if I recall correctly don’t lock open. oh one more thing the only way to hurt someone with those is to either hit them with it or pinch a nipple in the bolt.
John those weapons are the military version of the nintendo blaster in other words the guns ain’t real the magazines only hold electronics and the bolts don’t lock back if i remember correctly, notice those hoses?? They send air into the weapon to shove the bolt back and simulate firing a round as for the lighting all EST2000 rooms are like that. Again the only way to hurt some one with one of those guns is to hit them with it or pinch your finger in between the chamber and bolt.
I stand humbly corrected. I still don’t like the photograph, as the young men appear entirely too blase’ and undisciplined. Their flavour is irrelevant, by the way. Appearance counts highly in our world.
I don’t like it either yes discipline could be better and I would expect a hell of a lot better from a West Point grad… I must admit I don’t see the gangs signs but what I do see are a group of young men acting as most kids do when they play cops and robbers.
What’s a FOT?
Finger on trigger
These guys have lived lives few of us could dream of… They are litteraly from another realm. Despite this, they are human. Do you honestly expect the majority of semi-pro (no insult intended- they’re just not NBA) players to have the trigger discipline that we are hard programmed to practice? They eat, sleep, and breath basketball. Lighten the heck up- it’s good to see young guys having fun with guns. Also, a peace sign is not a gang sign, jackas$. Stop being anal and see this for the small win it is.
Guy on the left has good trigger discipline. So someone was listening during instruction.
There is one guy on the left most with his F off the T. There may be hope after all.
And two look like they have booger hookers on the bang switches….only the guy on the left showing finger discipline.
Based on my experience at that particular federal institution, I would hazard a guess that all of those truly are assault weapons. We never had anything that wasn’t capable of full auto (aside from the M14s without firing pins we marched with). The belt fed machine gun in the bottom picture is an M60.
No, the belt fed weapon is clearly a M-240.
Dave,
You are correct. I was out before M-240s.
Just another example of a reporter doing a half-a$$ed job. The photo in the link with the students firing off rounds is actually the students using a firearm simulator. Really just a step up from a coin fed arcade game. The lack of eye and ear pro should be a big tip off.
And the hoses going to the weapons.
…and the hoses, but I thought that was too obvious.
I wonder if Duke’s ROTC has a range like my state school’s ROTC program had? Good times .
I’m sure this will get deleted as a flame, but the original (and linked article) talks about how the students were able to hand on with a firearms training simulator. The photo shown and the others in the article only show students with weapons compatible with the simulator. So my question is how is this image incendiary? Who cares if Duke and their alumni want to spend their money this way?
It’s incendiary to the Duke administration and all those people who are scared to death of anything resembling a firearm. Guns! Oh my!
And no, Dave, the pictures aren’t “being completely taken out of context”. It’s taken completely within context.
Some of the students posted the photos to their Facespace without specifically noting that it was a simulator, and a few people lost their minds. I’d call that pretty incendiary.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke-to-use-photo-of-hoops-players-with-guns-as-teaching-moment/12994200/
Blue Devils – 126
Tar Heels – 8
So the Tar Heels beat the Blue Devils 8 to 126. Hooray.
Another bunch of privileged athletes. Yawn. At least they aren’t out murdering or raping. Yet.
FOT = Finger On the Trigger
Several of them look like complete doofuses. Other than that, not too interesting…
How did the tall cop in the background not get recruited?
The guys in the back are standing on a riser.
Oh, I forgot.
Duke sucks.
*Dook
FTFY
Hope Bob Costas doesn’t see this. He’d really have to straighten Coach K. out.
/lol
I want the guy on the left covering my back.
The rest of them not so much.
Nope. He’s the one Voted Most Likely to Shoot His Buddies in the Legs. He can certainly cover my FRONT, though.
That’s like, the coolest picture I’ve seen all day.
“…couldn’t never have…”
wince
Ouch. I missed it too, and I’ve read through it at least a couple times. Text amended.
They didn’t learn much about trigger control
Is the 3rd player on the left showing a gang sign?
Ah Duke. Yes, I remember Duke in the news with how the Administration and many teachers supported the made up accusations of a local black stripper Crystal Mangnum and a corrupt white prosecutor. They claimed a group of white privileged males from the LAX Team raped the stripper at a fraternity party. The innocent men’s names and faces were splashed all over the media. Instigators Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton got lots of media attention. Finally, the truth came out with factual evidence that the players were 100% innocent (not just found not guilty). The woman, who many rushed to automatically believe her rape lie, was later arrested on charges of child abuse and the stabbing murder of a boyfriend.
No, that is a ‘peace sign,’ according to ‘Mitch’ somewhere above this. You, Sir, are a ‘Jackas$’ if you’re not convinced that a pair of ‘sideways peace signs’ isn’t a gang sign.
Of course, ‘OFWGs’ can resort to the Urban Dictionary for translations of ‘sideways peace signs’ if they are not ‘immediately recognized,’ according to ‘Unknown Prosecutor’ above:
2. chunk a deuce
Throw up 2 fingers to mean peace out, later, adios.
Throw up 2 fingers to show a sign of respect and/or greeting.
“I won’t diss my OG so imma chunk a deuce for Paul” – Chamillionaire – “Roll Call” – Mixtape Messiah
“Lean back or throw ya leather, chunk a deuce, and show your grill” – T.I. – “Front Back”
A bit more research reveals that ignorant people in certain high schools, as well as gang-control police officers in certain urban settings, characterize this type of gesture as a ‘gang sign’. Naturally, they are all OFWGs and Jackas&es.
I hope that you are now educated, as am I.
Come on guys this is a good thing.. Go Duke! Libertarian and Gun advocate Senator Rand Paul MD graduated from Duke Med school. Duke is also a tough school academically according to US News and World Report . Ranking #7
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities?int=a557e6
Gang Sign = Any hand gesture made by a black male that an OFWG does not immediately recognize… Since we apparently have so many gang culture experts on this blog, I’m sure someone will tell us which gang a black guy who goes to Duke is in…