Barker Transfering?!?!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Donate To GopherHole


I think, if it is safe to assume this built up over time, then it is also safe to assume Barker has displayed similar behaviour throughout that same span. Thus, cleary warranting the coaches criticism. However, because of his talent and work he also warranted some second chances.

Additionally, if he did show any similar signs or behavoural patterns consistant with the rant, then it would also not warrant a scholarship. Scholarships should go to men that put the program above themselves and not the other way around.

Barker has no real gripe except that the coach was mean to him. His rant is not that of a psycopath it's one of conceit. He wants to be treated special all the time, like the justice seen in a Children's book; we all want the fairy tale. Consider your own life. Dam'n sure wish I could have transferred when Drill Sargent called me names, or my boss was an unreasonable jerk when I wasn't at my best. Wish I couled get TV interviews to air whatever personal issues I have with not being able to control everything around me. Barker fully admits he's had an attitude problem in the past. If he approaches the situtation as grateful for the opportunity to earn a scholarship, I'll bet he gets one. I have to infer he never earned a scholarship because he was a jerk. The 4,000 word rant goes a long way to prove it.

Ironically, this occurs after playing Nebraska whose walk-on tradition is suppossed to be the picture of selflessness.
 

I still don't see how you don't give your leading receiver BY FAR a scholarship. He has been committed to this program for 3 years, and is finally producing great numbers. One out of the 85 scholarships should be spent on a great WR.
 

mcal24 said:
I still don't see how you don't give your leading receiver BY FAR a scholarship. He has been committed to this program for 3 years, and is finally producing great numbers. One out of the 85 scholarships should be spent on a great WR.
Click to expand...
If you seriously think Barker wasn't going to get a scholarship by the end of the season you're clueless. Kill was likely trying to motivate Barker to do everything he was supposed to do to rehab. Barker is upset he didn't get a scholarship after the first game of the f*cking year.
 


One of the quotes in the video that struck me as interesting was when he was talking about how he wasn't on scholarship, saying that "dad had to pay for my tuition."

Some people think they have it so rough.
 

mcal24 said:
I still don't see how you don't give your leading receiver BY FAR a scholarship. He has been committed to this program for 3 years, and is finally producing great numbers. One out of the 85 scholarships should be spent on a great WR.
Click to expand...

Coach said at the beginning of the year that he wanted AJ to prove he could stay healthy before offering him a scholarship.
 

I listened to the entire Kare11 interview and I was shocked that in a 25 minute interview, these allegations from the letter were never brought up by the interviewer:


But don’t be confused by this explanation into thinking this is a quick/irrational decision based solely around Thursday’s event. Last spring before the spring game I was called a faggot for my spiritual views by Coach Reeves where other players on the team heard him say it.

Then in the same paragraph referring to Coach Kill

You referenced my spiritual views on three different occasions claiming “if I were a bad person I’d hold it against you”. Well, Coach Kill, taking everything into account, the fact you felt the need to say that on three different occasions goes to show that it probably did play a part in your views of me.


I've read through some of this thread and haven't seen them discussed either, but this stuff is absolute garbage if true. We are going to have a crappy team for a long time if only one type of spirituality is tolerated by the coaching staff.

Most of the stuff about the injury and the alleged psychological abuse by Coach Kill seems to fall in to a gray area to me where it's probably not ideal behavior for a Coach, but it doesn't appear to be over the line (which would require a reprimand of some sort). I don't think Barker did himself any favors with the letter (or the Kare11 interview), but he might have a legitimate gripe. Few of us will ever know and I find it kind of sad that some people are attacking him without any way of knowing what's really going on in the program.
 

Bottom line is the kid got pissed and embarrassed about being yelled at during practice and he quit. Minnesota probably wouldn't have any players left if every kid followed suit. Grow a pair and suck it up AJ. He will regret this decision and how he handled it for a very long time. Move on to NDSU and let the real men get back to playing football. Good day Sir!
 



GopherLady said:
I can only imagine what the people are going to think that didn't check the internet all day today, and log onto GH tomorrow to read about the Nebraska loss...and see this instead???
Click to expand...

Speaking of which, where is DPO?
 

Coolew01 said:
AJ talks about players should be free to speak out about coaches? How so? In treatment, playcalling, etc... I wouldn't want my players able talk about their treatment especially if they are angry about playing time or undermine play calling or lack of say throws.
Click to expand...

I thought that was bizarre too. Who taught him that?
 

Absolutely no way he ends up at Wisconsin. Surprised people believe that would happen.
 




I am repeating what I said in the MVP thread:

While I am disappointed that AJ did this so publicly, the timing could have been worse.

He could have done it after the MSU game, leaving this cloud over the bowl preparations. We will see how the team reacts to this on Saturday vs MSU.
 

btowngopher said:
He said he thinks players should be able to go to the media if they disagree with a coach. That says it all.
Click to expand...

You can go to the media, just as he has. It just isn't a good idea. Look at the subtle difference between AJ and SF24. SportsFan24 says he doesn't care for Kill as a person but won't expound on the dirty laundry. Granted he has many years and lots of life experience which should make him more mature, but AJ would have been better to follow the same path.
 

EG#9 said:
I listened to the entire Kare11 interview and I was shocked that in a 25 minute interview, these allegations from the letter were never brought up by the interviewer:


But don’t be confused by this explanation into thinking this is a quick/irrational decision based solely around Thursday’s event. Last spring before the spring game I was called a faggot for my spiritual views by Coach Reeves where other players on the team heard him say it.

Then in the same paragraph referring to Coach Kill

You referenced my spiritual views on three different occasions claiming “if I were a bad person I’d hold it against you”. Well, Coach Kill, taking everything into account, the fact you felt the need to say that on three different occasions goes to show that it probably did play a part in your views of me.


I've read through some of this thread and haven't seen them discussed either, but this stuff is absolute garbage if true. We are going to have a crappy team for a long time if only one type of spirituality is tolerated by the coaching staff.

Most of the stuff about the injury and the alleged psychological abuse by Coach Kill seems to fall in to a gray area to me where it's probably not ideal behavior for a Coach, but it doesn't appear to be over the line (which would require a reprimand of some sort). I don't think Barker did himself any favors with the letter (or the Kare11 interview), but he might have a legitimate gripe. Few of us will ever know and I find it kind of sad that some people are attacking him without any way of knowing what's really going on in the program.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing this morning. Most of the Kill stuff does fit under the pretty standard D1 head coach scope but the comments allegedly made by Reeves if true are a whole different animal. Under no circumstances in this day and age is it ok to refer to someone as a faggot. Again don't know if this is true but to me this is the one truly damning piece of the whole thing if it does turn out to be true. The rest is just bad PR but that is nothing new this season around here.
 

Sparlimb said:
You can go to the media, just as he has. It just isn't a good idea. Look at the subtle difference between AJ and SF24. SportsFan24 says he doesn't care for Kill as a person but won't expound on the dirty laundry. Granted he has many years and lots of life experience which should make him more mature, but AJ would have been better to follow the same path.
Click to expand...

I don't know the background with SF24 but is he Kim Royston's dad?
 

GopherLady said:
I can only imagine what the people are going to think that didn't check the internet all day today, and log onto GH tomorrow to read about the Nebraska loss...and see this instead???
Click to expand...

That's what happened to me yesterday. Completely in communicado driving home across the soul-crushing desolation that is I-35 in northern Iowa, then return the car and find this all over my news feed.
 

Coolew01 said:
+ a *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# ton

Please watch the entire video. A. He seems clearly pissed he didnt' get a scholorshipe after the UNLV game. B. He doesn't like authority (I will say this I agree with West Coast Goapher if he was called a faggot, that is uncalled for), that being said most of what was aimed at him by coach kill in Barkers own words sounded motivational. C. He wants to play in the conference to "prove
he deserved a scholarship". D. Just because your dad runs ten miles a day, and you think the
world of your mom. I'm sorry I don't buy thay your family has no issues, every and I mean every
family has issues, which may or may not *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# up your life. Like you said
nobody is perfect and no family is perfect. To sportsfan24 sorry I came off as harsh, I don't know
Kim's situation, but please watch the entire video and I hope you see it doesn't pass the smell test.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words but you don't owe me a apology. I'm pretty sure none of us were privy to the conversation 1st hand and are only voicing our opinions based on our own personal
experiences. That's all you and i are doing, neither opinion carries more weight than the other and both or only opinions...not fact.
 

afurry91 said:
It may not. Barker might be right in a few of his points, but the University should not reward this type of behavior from Barker. He is gone, and if no one else steps up and expresses issues with coach Kill. It should be left as it appears, an angry player who overreacted and transferred away. The University currently does not have any reason to dig deeper.
Click to expand...

My opinion:

1) Barker needs to move on
2) Everyone should shut up and play football
3) We have a game to play on Saturday; Barker's poison pen is old news.
 

tikited said:
Or you could stop and consider what you are going to post before you do so you don't keep writing the same thing over and over in a nonsensical fashion.
Click to expand...

Or, you could stop being insane by reading as you say "the same nonsensical thing over and over" and expecting different results...how about that? Block my posts most my man if reading comprehension is not your thing.
 

Wow! Wow! Wow! Leave the house to play a little golf. Go to bed early and wake up to this!

Barker was the best receiver on the team and didn't get a scholly. Can we criticize Kill for the decision? Probably, but he had to decide how best to use a small number of available scholarships and he apparently felt this wasn't it. So we lost a receiver.

AJ admitted he didn't completely follow the trainers instructions. Can he be criticized for this? You bet (should I say, "betcha"?). We also learned tat Kill is a manipulative hard a**! What a terrible thing to learn about a football head coach. Did Kill lock him in a room or sexually abuse him? Did AJ steal or get a DUI? If both are "No" then move on, as they say here in the Carolina's, "That's racin'".

But write a letter quoting yo Mamma's friend's judgement of football talent? Yeah, that's the ticket!
 


Somebody said it best (too many pages to find it or credit it with a quote but I tip my hat to thee): Paraphrasing: "Barker's best and worst asset is his big chip on his shoulder."

There are over 100 kids on a college program's roster. That's 100 different personalities. College football coaches need to manage those personalities. Barker may be an immature hothead but Teague needs to tell Kill to get his house in order. Every program has a Barker. Not every program has this sh!tstorm happen. Kill's the program's leader and CEO. He's responsible for the perception.

Get your house in order Kill.
 

Unlike Stoudermire, this kid will not be coming back into the fold. My inner voice says someone for another program has been making him big promises and it can be tough to ignore all types of puffery.
 

Sparlimb said:
Look at the subtle difference between AJ and SF24. SportsFan24 says he doesn't care for Kill as a person but won't expound on the dirty laundry. Granted he has many years and lots of life experience which should make him more mature, but AJ would have been better to follow the same path.
Click to expand...

So in your world, this qualifies as subtle and mature and not expounding:

"Then after the tragic death of GT he turned it into motivational tactic. He posted play hard for Gary stuff up in the locker and training rooms? Dude didn't give a feces about Gary until he saw some benefit for himself."

A.J. posts his dirty laundry on Tumblr and SportsFan24 posts his here. A world of difference.
 

"There's been a pattern in my life where I've had friction at times for me with authority figures" I will likely never know if there is validity to Barker's decision. But, like most people, quotes like this will result in it being very difficult for Barker to gain a believer out of me to his side of the story.

Other thoughts:

What is an athiest doing attending a private Catholic high school?

The "bump" post made me laugh!

I admit to growing weary through the 4000 word write up. But, my understanding is Kill was telling Barker his scholarship wasn't a 'for sure' - this is a long way from flat out announcing to him that he officially isn't getting one. A lot of people may have morphed this into some sort of official 'no scholarship' announcement. Correct me if I am wrong on that one, because I glazed over a bit reading through everything.
 

So what was Barkers motive?

To bring down Coach Kill? If so, then going public with his concerns will have no affect. Wins and losses will determine that.

Or to bring attention to himself? Or that there are other players who have issues with Coach Kill. And Barker's comments may open the door to others, if there are any.

I agree with most that this was a very immature way to address his concerns no matter how much he felt that he was mistreated. A meeting with Mr. Teague would have been the adult way to discuss his concerns in a timely manner.

The story line here is not about Barker vs. Kill but how this will affect team. The players probably know what is going on. Are they with Barker or Coach Kill? This will be the best indicator of any affect this incident will have on the team and their performance against MSU.
 

Just my 2 cents...

#1: If the allegations are true, they are troubling.
#2: AJ will be missed, he is a talented kid and prior to yesterday seemed like a fairy tale story for Gopher football. I think he can play just about anywhere, he is a talented guy and it would essentially be a 1 semester gamble for whatever school he is transferring to. I do wish him luck wherever he goes.
#3: I don't mean to demean him, but he doesn't seem right psychologically. His letter, his tweets and his demeanor come off extremely bi-polar. He is an intelligent guy and that was the concise letter explaining the situation? The entire thing reminded me of a Wren post. I'm not saying this to rip him, but I hope he talks to someone, because he doesn't sound healthy.
#4: If the mistreatment is true, it did take courage for Barker to come out. HOWEVER, the manner in which he gave his side of the story is appalling. The letter is incoherent, his twitter tirade was juvenile, and it was completely all over the place. If he would have written a concise letter and maybe released it after the MSU (for the sake of his teammates), this would be a different thing.
 


Status
Not open for further replies.



Top Bottom