BleedGopher
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per his ESPN Q&A:
@KyleFjetland: @BennettESPN how much damage will Minnesota's situation cause for the program long term?
Brian Bennett: That's an excellent question.
Had the Golden Gophers gone through with their National Funding Holiday Bowl boycott, I think there could have been some serious lasting damage. The players may have been well-intentioned and had some legitimate complaints about due process. But the allegations against the 10 suspended players are pretty ugly. At the very least, there was some illicit and inappropriate behavior happening, if you read the school's full EOAA report. Being known as the team that boycotted a bowl game while standing up for teammates involved in that kind of activity, regardless of the complexity of the story, would not have been a great look for the program.
Obviously, this is a complicated story that involves more than just football. But for the Gophers moving forward, potentially losing 10 players -- many of whom were underclassmen being counted on to produce in the future -- won't be easy to absorb. There's also the matter of coach Tracy Claeys' relationship with his bosses after he publicly supported the boycott. And the potential stain this whole episode causes in recruiting.
The cloud may pass a little more quickly now that the boycott is over. But the challenges for Minnesota football certainly are tougher today than they were a week ago.
http://www.espn.com/blog/bigten/pos...ycott-for-minnesota-top-5-big-ten-teams-in-17
Go Gophers!!
@KyleFjetland: @BennettESPN how much damage will Minnesota's situation cause for the program long term?
Brian Bennett: That's an excellent question.
Had the Golden Gophers gone through with their National Funding Holiday Bowl boycott, I think there could have been some serious lasting damage. The players may have been well-intentioned and had some legitimate complaints about due process. But the allegations against the 10 suspended players are pretty ugly. At the very least, there was some illicit and inappropriate behavior happening, if you read the school's full EOAA report. Being known as the team that boycotted a bowl game while standing up for teammates involved in that kind of activity, regardless of the complexity of the story, would not have been a great look for the program.
Obviously, this is a complicated story that involves more than just football. But for the Gophers moving forward, potentially losing 10 players -- many of whom were underclassmen being counted on to produce in the future -- won't be easy to absorb. There's also the matter of coach Tracy Claeys' relationship with his bosses after he publicly supported the boycott. And the potential stain this whole episode causes in recruiting.
The cloud may pass a little more quickly now that the boycott is over. But the challenges for Minnesota football certainly are tougher today than they were a week ago.
http://www.espn.com/blog/bigten/pos...ycott-for-minnesota-top-5-big-ten-teams-in-17
Go Gophers!!
