12 Iowa players hospitalized

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After the way Iowa 'internally handled' that sexual assualt case, if I were one of these kids' parents I'd hire a PI.
 

Maybe I'm old and mean, but unlike Rittenberg, I believe Ferentz should have been at the first press conference. He's the guy in charge of the program from top-to-bottom. Even if he wouldn't have uttered a word, I still believe he should have been there with the strength coach.

I have a ton of respect for Ferentz, but when 13 kids go to the hospital after a workout, the top guy should be there. This isn't like 12 guys stubbed their toes.
 

My afternoon class got canceled and I am bored so I thought I would try and dig up some info on this Iowa issue. I went to some of the Hawkeye forums to gauge their reaction (I'm not sure what the most popular Hawkeye message board is). Most posts are reasonable but I found one which made me sick to my stomach and thought needed to be shared with you guys

http://www.hawkeyehideout.com/showthread.php?t=25089

This is from a poster:

"First of all, the steroid allegations are the epitomy of ignorance! I train athletes professionally and I have had plenty of them who have had 'issues' post workout. I live in Columbus, Oh. (born and raised in Iowa) and have worked with many former OSU athletes many currently in the NFL and they too have experienced the same symptoms. While it doesn't and shouldn't happen regularly, it does happen. I think they just had a brutal workout (being a Hawkeye fan I am glad they are getting after it) and felt the effects. I am not sure when they began the current off season strength and conditioning cycle, but they probably were not in the condition they were a mere 2-3 weeks ago, and susequently went a little further than their bodies would normally tolerate (through no one's fault). I think Iowa is blessed to have Doyle. I want a coach who was embarrased by what he saw on the field this year (in certain circumstances at the end of games conditioning wise) and is working hard to correct the problem. Would you rather see them babying the athletes and not pushing them to become the best? His job is to get everything out of them in whatever they are trying to accomplish in the weight room that day (and no I don't mean intentionally causing medical issues or fufilling his own ego). When you do that, occassionally issues like these guys getting sick will happen....just part of the process. People get hurt everyday in athletics trying to push themselves to greater heights and be the best...if this is something one is not willing to risk then it may be better for them to turn their scholarship and pads back in. GO DOYLE.....GO HAWKEYES!!! "


I bolded the part where I almost threw up

Absolutely unreal.....football is simply a game (although I love it)
 

HermanBoone said:
My afternoon class got canceled and I am bored so I thought I would try and dig up some info on this Iowa issue. I went to some of the Hawkeye forums to gauge their reaction (I'm not sure what the most popular Hawkeye message board is). Most posts are reasonable but I found one which made me sick to my stomach and thought needed to be shared with you guys

http://www.hawkeyehideout.com/showthread.php?t=25089

This is from a poster:

"First of all, the steroid allegations are the epitomy of ignorance! I train athletes professionally and I have had plenty of them who have had 'issues' post workout. I live in Columbus, Oh. (born and raised in Iowa) and have worked with many former OSU athletes many currently in the NFL and they too have experienced the same symptoms. While it doesn't and shouldn't happen regularly, it does happen. I think they just had a brutal workout (being a Hawkeye fan I am glad they are getting after it) and felt the effects. I am not sure when they began the current off season strength and conditioning cycle, but they probably were not in the condition they were a mere 2-3 weeks ago, and susequently went a little further than their bodies would normally tolerate (through no one's fault). I think Iowa is blessed to have Doyle. I want a coach who was embarrased by what he saw on the field this year (in certain circumstances at the end of games conditioning wise) and is working hard to correct the problem. Would you rather see them babying the athletes and not pushing them to become the best? His job is to get everything out of them in whatever they are trying to accomplish in the weight room that day (and no I don't mean intentionally causing medical issues or fufilling his own ego). When you do that, occassionally issues like these guys getting sick will happen....just part of the process. People get hurt everyday in athletics trying to push themselves to greater heights and be the best...if this is something one is not willing to risk then it may be better for them to turn their scholarship and pads back in. GO DOYLE.....GO HAWKEYES!!! "


I bolded the part where I almost threw up

Absolutely unreal.....football is simply a game (although I love it)
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Thanks for posting this. What a friggin' chucklehead this clown is. I, too, love sports and love to see athletes work hard and compete. Guys like this elevate it to the level of life-or-death and it really sickens me to no end.

I also love it when someone writes something like "epitomy of ignorance." Spell check is your friend.
 


I'm really surprised at the amount of support Ferentz and the program are getting from the fans.
It's almost like they think the media reports are lies and everyone is out to get Iowa football.
Unreal.
 

Ole said:
I'm really surprised at the amount of support Ferentz and the program are getting from the fans.
It's almost like they think the media reports are lies and everyone is out to get Iowa football.
Unreal.
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I'm not surprised to be honest. Just about every iowa fan I've talked to about it has downplayed it which is amazing to me. It's like if you criticize the program in any way, you're not a fan to some people. 13 players have been in the hospital for 5 days now. I know we don't know the facts and it may turn out to be no one's fault but it's still a very serious situation.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I'm not surprised to be honest. Just about every iowa fan I've talked to about it has downplayed it which is amazing to me. It's like if you criticize the program in any way, you're not a fan to some people. 13 players have been in the hospital for 5 days now. I know we don't know the facts and it may turn out to be no one's fault but it's still a very serious situation.
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Can you imagine the uproar targeted at Brewster if this had happened under his watch? Whoa:eek:
 

So...no throwing kidney beans on the field next time we play them, right?
 



As a Hawkeye fan first/Gopher season ticket holder (yeah, hard to believe, huh), I think this is a HUGE deal. I am not so quick to point fingers and rush to judgment, and I think the majority of fans are taking everything the media is reporting with a grain of salt. The one thing that is hard for me to comprehend is why KF didn't respond earlier to the situation at hand. I know there are HIPPA rules, and in the world where everyone is sueing just to sue, I think the University and KF thought real hard about how and when to respond. It's too early for me to make a call on what is going on, but yes, it is concerning to me as a fan.
 

Ole said:
I'm really surprised at the amount of support Ferentz and the program are getting from the fans.
It's almost like they think the media reports are lies and everyone is out to get Iowa football.
Unreal.
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I think that many Iowa fans are just tired of the rush to judgment that seems to occur when Kirk Ferentz and his team make the news. Ferentz does not run to talk to the media at the drop of a hat. He never has. He also takes privacy and confidentiality rules and laws very seriously. Iowa fans have watched him remain silent while his character is smeared by media types, opposing fan bases, and even a fair number of other Iowa fans, only to have all the details come out later and for Kirk and his team to be cast in a far better light by the facts as opposed to speculation and rumors. My personal opinion is that he is a man of integrity, and hopefully I will feel that way a few months from now as well when more is known.

Personally, I am worried about the long term health of these young men. Like most, I don't have many facts to base my opinion on, just a bunch of speculation and rumors from many who would love nothing more than to see Kirk Ferentz fail and be run out of Iowa City. I will wait until the facts come out before forming an opinion on whether anyone should be fired, reprimanded, or whatever. Experience has taught me to give Kirk Ferentz the benefit of the doubt until more is known.

As for whether Kirk Ferentz should have canceled his recruiting trip and rushed back to Iowa City, I personally think far to much is being made of that, but I can see where people will have their opinions one way or another. He is a busy man, and he has a short window of time to do in-home visits to people he has promised he will spend time with. He has those people and the future of the football program to think of. That program includes those players in the hospital right now. He was in frequent telephone contact with the players who had fallen ill, the doctors and the parents. Rushing back to Iowa City so that he can superficially appear to care more may be necessary to some, but it wouldn't actually mean he cared any more. On the other hand, if my son were in the hospital, I may feel differently, at least until things calmed down.
 

Highwayman - Your reading comprehension is at a 3rd grade level. You made some comment that I came here to start trouble and then run like a child when confronted?!? Look again at the initial post in this thread started by a gopher fan that simply said "bad weed". That really ticked me off considering that tests showed NO illegal drugs in these players. Secondly, where am I running and hiding to as I have posted here several times. It's posters like you and Handsome Pete that know nothing of what you post on this matter. You are like the "shock jocks" in the media trying to make a name for themselves. I prefer to wait until all the details are out. I'm a paying member of a Hawkeye site which keeps shedding additional information on this matter (which I'm not giving out for free) that is revealing more and more how overblown this entire situation is. Do I agree on how everything with the PR was handled in this case, no. In hindsight, perhaps Ferentz should have came back immediately. However, if my car stops working I want to immediately see a mechanic, rather than the president of the car company.
 

Hawksfan81 said:
Highwayman - Your reading comprehension is at a 3rd grade level. You made some comment that I came here to start trouble and then run like a child when confronted?!? Look again at the initial post in this thread started by a gopher fan that simply said "bad weed". That really ticked me off considering that tests showed NO illegal drugs in these players. Secondly, where am I running and hiding to as I have posted here several times. It's posters like you and Handsome Pete that know nothing of what you post on this matter. You are like the "shock jocks" in the media trying to make a name for themselves. I prefer to wait until all the details are out. I'm a paying member of a Hawkeye site which keeps shedding additional information on this matter (which I'm not giving out for free) that is revealing more and more how overblown this entire situation is. Do I agree on how everything with the PR was handled in this case, no. In hindsight, perhaps Ferentz should have came back immediately. However, if my car stops working I want to immediately see a mechanic, rather than the president of the car company.
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Worst analogy in the history of analogies
 



Hawksfan81 said:
It's posters like you and Handsome Pete that know nothing of what you post on this matter. You are like the "shock jocks" in the media trying to make a name for themselves. I prefer to wait until all the details are out.
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Nice try, buffoon. My issue with you is that your position is "move along, nothing to see here" (your quote not mine.) Clearly there IS something to see here as we have just learned today that some kid's kidneys may be permanently impaired. You have no inerest in the details coming out. You judged it right off the bat as some kind of sensationalism and decreed "move along, nothing to see here."

I am actually a huge Kirk Ferentz fan and have zero idea if anyone at the University of Iowa has done anything wrong. My issue is with idiots like you claiming there is "nothing to see here" when 13, that's right THIRTEEN, football players all are sent to the hospital with symptoms of failing organs. You claim that anyone drawing attention to the matter is a "shock jock" when THIRTEEN kids are hospitalized with symptoms of rhabdo (which I have demonstrated I am quite familiar with, thank you very much.)

Let's look a couple years down the road when the Iowa-Nebraska rivalry is nice and steamy and suppose (God forbid) that 13 Cornuskers are suddenly and mysteriously hospitalized because of a workout regimine perhaps imposed by Bo Pelini. I highly doubt that if that ever happened, the Hawkeye fans would be saying, "move along here folks, nothing to see here" let alone, "let's wait for all the facts to come out before we examine Bo Pelini or the Nebraska program." Give me a break.
 

MplsHawk said:
I think that many Iowa fans are just tired of the rush to judgment that seems to occur when Kirk Ferentz and his team make the news. Ferentz does not run to talk to the media at the drop of a hat. He never has. He also takes privacy and confidentiality rules and laws very seriously. Iowa fans have watched him remain silent while his character is smeared by media types, opposing fan bases, and even a fair number of other Iowa fans, only to have all the details come out later and for Kirk and his team to be cast in a far better light by the facts as opposed to speculation and rumors. My personal opinion is that he is a man of integrity, and hopefully I will feel that way a few months from now as well when more is known.

Personally, I am worried about the long term health of these young men. Like most, I don't have many facts to base my opinion on, just a bunch of speculation and rumors from many who would love nothing more than to see Kirk Ferentz fail and be run out of Iowa City. I will wait until the facts come out before forming an opinion on whether anyone should be fired, reprimanded, or whatever. Experience has taught me to give Kirk Ferentz the benefit of the doubt until more is known.

As for whether Kirk Ferentz should have canceled his recruiting trip and rushed back to Iowa City, I personally think far to much is being made of that, but I can see where people will have their opinions one way or another. He is a busy man, and he has a short window of time to do in-home visits to people he has promised he will spend time with. He has those people and the future of the football program to think of. That program includes those players in the hospital right now. He was in frequent telephone contact with the players who had fallen ill, the doctors and the parents. Rushing back to Iowa City so that he can superficially appear to care more may be necessary to some, but it wouldn't actually mean he cared any more. On the other hand, if my son were in the hospital, I may feel differently, at least until things calmed down.
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MplsHawk,

1. There is no need for Kirk Ferentz to leave now. In fact, I think the rest of the Big Ten conference will be absolutely content if he remains in place. From this incident forward, Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes are going to be handicapped in every recruiting battle, even with Indiana. It is really quite irrelevant what Hawkeye fans think. What matters is what the parents of the kids who are being recruited think. Parents are not obliged to publicly state their own honest opinions, but they are likely to communicate them privately and forcefully to their sons.

2. The Hawkeye football program may well find itself dying a slow death by snipers. You and I both know that every other Big Ten coaching staff as well as any other Division 1A (or whatever the new NCAA name is) staff is going to snipe at Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa football program when they are in the living room of a potential recruit.

3. Even the in state recruits with fierce loyalty to the State of Iowa are going to lean toward Ames rather than Iowa City. At this point, Kirk Ferentz just greatly and suddenly increased the liability side of his general ledger accounting system. The question is whether it results in bankruptcy or insolvency. Spin doctoring at this juncture is an exercise that is likely to yield little traction for the black and gold.

Winona Phantom we salute you!
Michigan – 0
Minnesota – 22
24 October 1953
SKI-U-MAH!
http://www.vva.org/testimony/2010/092910.html
http://www.dol.gov/ocia/congressionaltestimony/20090514_OFCCP.htm
 

Will this allow Iowa to cancel Captain Kirk's contract? He is signed for like ten more years. They couldn't afford to buy him out could they?
 


6 Nov 1999 said:
MplsHawk,

1. There is no need for Kirk Ferentz to leave now. In fact, I think the rest of the Big Ten conference will be absolutely content if he remains in place. From this incident forward, Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes are going to be handicapped in every recruiting battle, even with Indiana. It is really quite irrelevant what Hawkeye fans think. What matters is what the parents of the kids who are being recruited think. Parents are not obliged to publicly state their own honest opinions, but they are likely to communicate them privately and forcefully to their sons.

2. The Hawkeye football program may well find itself dying a slow death by snipers. You and I both know that every other Big Ten coaching staff as well as any other Division 1A (or whatever the new NCAA name is) staff is going to snipe at Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa football program when they are in the living room of a potential recruit.

3. Even the in state recruits with fierce loyalty to the State of Iowa are going to lean toward Ames rather than Iowa City. At this point, Kirk Ferentz just greatly and suddenly increased the liability side of his general ledger accounting system. The question is whether it results in bankruptcy or insolvency. Spin doctoring at this juncture is an exercise that is likely to yield little traction for the black and gold.
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Wow. Did you wish all that upon a shooting star or something?
 

Hawksfan81 said:
Highwayman - Your reading comprehension is at a 3rd grade level. You made some comment that I came here to start trouble and then run like a child when confronted?!? Look again at the initial post in this thread started by a gopher fan that simply said "bad weed". That really ticked me off considering that tests showed NO illegal drugs in these players. Secondly, where am I running and hiding to as I have posted here several times. It's posters like you and Handsome Pete that know nothing of what you post on this matter. You are like the "shock jocks" in the media trying to make a name for themselves. I prefer to wait until all the details are out. I'm a paying member of a Hawkeye site which keeps shedding additional information on this matter (which I'm not giving out for free) that is revealing more and more how overblown this entire situation is. Do I agree on how everything with the PR was handled in this case, no. In hindsight, perhaps Ferentz should have came back immediately. However, if my car stops working I want to immediately see a mechanic, rather than the president of the car company.
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You crack me up. 8 guys still in the hospital and you flame a Minnesota Gopher website. You have 9 posts here, liar. You are an apologist through and through, and you are only here to cause trouble. Crawl back into your hole.

I think "bad weed" is funny, considering you came over here just to find something like that. Shows you were looking for trouble from the start.

As for education, you should look before you leap. Ferentz should have "come" back. Overblown? We'll see. When the blood tests come back, we'll see.
 

Ferentz is just lucky he has never really rocked the boat. What do you think Texas Tech would have done to Leach if he put 13 kids in the hospital?
 

90 days seems like plenty of time to sweep things under the rug.:p
But in all seriousness I hope that these kids can get better and I don't see Ferentz or Iowa coming out of this unscathed.
 

Whether Kirk is responsible or not, he's the CEO of the program. When dung hits the fan, the CEO is blamed. If he survives, he's heavily wounded.

13 players in a hospital related to program activites, some of which reportedly have severe kidney damage, is a big enough wart on the program's junk that I don't see how Kirk is ever the same. Leaders get paid the big bucks because they assume the risk. Well...the bill just came due.
 

Highwayman - the blood tests did come back, they were clean. It's no use in trying to discuss this situation with you as I wouldn't want facts to get in the way of your speculation. As far as recruiting goes, I haven't heard of any de-commits from Iowa's good group of recruits this year. I guess that's another fallacy that goofer fans are slinging against a wall to see what sticks. Lastly, I have checked discussions of this topic on various other B10 and national boards and there is no other fanbase that has displayed the same degree of hatred toward another football program as evidenced on this board. :clap:
 

Pewterschmidt said:
Whether Kirk is responsible or not, he's the CEO of the program. When dung hits the fan, the CEO is blamed. If he survives, he's heavily wounded.

13 players in a hospital related to program activites, some of which reportedly have severe kidney damage, is a big enough wart on the program's junk that I don't see how Kirk is ever the same. Leaders get paid the big bucks because they assume the risk. Well...the bill just came due.
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This, and Arbogast's post, hit it on the head. At this point it doesn't really matter WHY this occurred, because the Iowa Athletic Department reaction to it has become the most visable issue (the primary issue is that the physical health of young men in the Iowa football program has been compromised, although the extent is still uncertain).

As a mother and a college football fan, I cannot comprehend why the Iowa Athletic Department was not more forthcoming. I greatly admire Kirk Ferentz, but this one circumstance could change his image for years, if not forever. I also cannot comprehend the Iowa fans that think this is a routine occurrence (I was glad to see a few rational Iowa minds chime in recently.)

It is a very sad situation.
 

TAW said:
This, and Arbogast's post, hit it on the head. At this point it doesn't really matter WHY this occurred, because the Iowa Athletic Department reaction to it has become the most visable issue (the primary issue is that the physical health of young men in the Iowa football program has been compromised, although the extent is still uncertain).

As a mother and a college football fan, I cannot comprehend why the Iowa Athletic Department was not more forthcoming. I greatly admire Kirk Ferentz, but this one circumstance could change his image for years, if not forever. I also cannot comprehend the Iowa fans that think this is a routine occurrence (I was glad to see a few rational Iowa minds chime in recently.)

It is a very sad situation.
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It is a sad situation. Out of curiosity, what is it that you feel the Iowa Athletic Department should be disclosing to the public about the private health information of these young men in order to be properly forthcoming?
 

MplsHawk said:
It is a sad situation. Out of curiosity, what is it that you feel the Iowa Athletic Department should be disclosing to the public about the private health information of these young men in order to be properly forthcoming?
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Nice try. What he is saying is that they should be forthright about what caused the health problem, not violate HIPAA by describing the health problems themselves. You and the rest of the Iowa faithful keep pretending like nothing happened because there are privacy laws.
 

Handsome Pete said:
Nice try. What he is saying is that they should be forthright about what caused the health problem, not violate HIPAA by describing the health problems themselves. You and the rest of the Iowa faithful keep pretending like nothing happened because there are privacy laws.
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How can the Iowa Athletic Department be forthright about what caused the health problem when the cause hasn't been determined? Some are reporting that these were the hardest workouts ever. Others are reporting that these workout have gone on this time of year most of the time Ferentz has been coach. Was it the workout alone? Was it the workout combined with a supplement? If a supplement was involved, was it a supplement given by the coaches, or one the players obtained and took on their own. How can they possibly have all these answers within days?

I have not pretended like nothing happened. I just chose not to rush to judgment until the facts come out. I would rather be concerned for the players than play gotcha. We will know soon enough. In the meantime, you will have done your best to hang the coach you are now such a big fan of, and you will of course do it based on extremely incomplete and often inaccurate information.

FWIW, TAW is a Mom per her post, not a he.
 

Hawksfan81 said:
Highwayman - the blood tests did come back, they were clean. It's no use in trying to discuss this situation with you as I wouldn't want facts to get in the way of your speculation. As far as recruiting goes, I haven't heard of any de-commits from Iowa's good group of recruits this year. I guess that's another fallacy that goofer fans are slinging against a wall to see what sticks. Lastly, I have checked discussions of this topic on various other B10 and national boards and there is no other fanbase that has displayed the same degree of hatred toward another football program as evidenced on this board. :clap:
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You know NO facts, you are a liar. The blood tests have not been released. If you know they are clean, you are one of the criminals that stole the players medical records. I thought you were all concerned about "medical privacy"?

You are a bum. Iowa is on the downhill slide.

Go back to your board and please, please don't come back. You are a pathetic apologist. I shouldn't have gotten in this battle with you. As a troll, your only mission is mis-information and flaming. You and your other "howks fans" are on my ignore list. Bye bye, and bye bye.
 

Iowa will die from the wounds of 26 kidneys. You might want to call them paper cuts, but they are far more than that. Kiss Iowa goodbye.
 

MplsHawk--Yes, Ferentz is a busy man. I can't think of a head coach at a major football program who isn't a busy man at this time of year. The Iowa administration must be cutting back on the travel budget because, if for nothing other than PR purposes (and PR purposes can either be flimsy or important), Ferentz should have flown back and issued a brief statement if nothing else. Is such an action substantive? Probably not, but as Pewterschmidt and TAW wrote, he is the CEO of the program.

Hawksfan81--Try this analogy. If the brakes failed on a significant number of a certain model of automobile, do you think the CEO of the company that manufactured the automobile should issue a statement regarding a recall? This isn't about one car breaking down. It's about an unfortunate circumstance that reaches a level requiring some type of statement from the top. The statement may simply be perfunctory, but it would indicate that Ferentz is on top of the situation.

Pewterschmidt and TAW hit it out of the park for me.
 

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