Fleck said the Gophers have developed a program to address racism and he wants to be “the most empathetic head coach in America.”

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Catechol said:
The initiative itself is great. Fleck saying “I want to be the most empathetic head coach in America” makes it, again, mostly about him and what he’s doing.
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Yawn, some people just don't get it.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
I guess this is where I am -
If Fleck wants to be "the most empathetic head coach in America," fine. He is the head coach and can set whatever goals for the program he wants to set.

My question is why this needs to be publicized. Is this going to help the team recruit better players? (I suppose that's possible) or win more games?

This is where Fleck becomes a rorschach test of sorts. Some people look at this, and they see Fleck setting standards for his program and improving the team's culture. Other people look at this, and they see Fleck promoting how "woke" he is and making it about himself and not about the team.

I just want to know who the bleep is going to start at WR and whether the run defense is going to be better. Screw empathy - give me a nose tackle who can control the line of scrimmage.
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Fleck prides himself on culture and feels building positive culture is part of winning.
 


If this results in better players and more wins, I'm all for it.
 

I’m curious why this needed to be stated. Seems like trying to earn points with the minority communities. Can’t you just DO it and LIVE it? Did Fleck ever give off a vibe that he wasn’t already attempting this? Seems like an unnecessary thing to even say. Fans and recruits should be able to just see it through the way he coaches and the way his team handles themselves in public.
 

Because the most powerful tool a leader has at their disposal is often the words they use - both spoken and written. I get what you're saying about actions delivering a message, and yes, that is certainly important. But I’d argue that even more important – for a leader, at least - is being a voice to those that otherwise don't have one, to the ones that feel unempowered, disillusioned, downtrodden, or helpless. Kudos to you for asking the question, though. Many in your shoes won't even bother asking the question, or perhaps even feel frustrated that a coach/leader they support feels compelled to make these types of statements.

Just a friendly reminder to all that Coach Fleck is vowing to become more empathetic, and empathy goes beyond mere understanding. It means stretching your comfort zone to the point where you're asking difficult questions and attempting to place yourself in the other person's shoes. It means making an honest to God good-faith effort to see how the other person might perceive the world based on **their** experiences…experiences that will likely (definitely?) seem incredibly foreign and bizarre based on our own biases. It goes beyond relying upon our collective and tired knee-jerk reaction/understanding of any given situation or event at hand.

Sorry (not sorry) about the long-winded response, especially on a forum where I've had to block more than a few folks...but I remain incredibly hopeful for the future so long as people continue to speak and act courageously, just like TheRealMcCoy. Respectful discourse is *always* a good thing.
 

Not sure where it came from but early on his tenure the term "difficult conversations" got associated with Coach.

This certainly qualifies for him and all of us.
 




We are seeing progress with the well-being of good program. This being the fifth year of Fleck's tenure. Fans expect more as they should.

Progress is not always linear. His famous zig-zag chart illustrates it best. Patience is not always our best virtue. I am seeing better things about the program post Mason Era (I wished he'd hired a good defensive coordinator).

He is quite creative no doubt.

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one more try to express my opinion:

Let's say you have two friends, and each one goes on a diet.

One friend doesn't talk about it publicly - they just go on the diet.

another friend talks about it all the time - constantly bringing it up and reminding everyone that they're on a diet.

Which friend would you rather be around?

again, if Fleck wants to make this a goal for the program, fine. It's his program. he can run it any way he wants. I just question why he has to make a public deal of it. for me, it's a little bit too much of the "look at me" aspect of Fleck's personality.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
one more try to express my opinion:

Let's say you have two friends, and each one goes on a diet.

One friend doesn't talk about it publicly - they just go on the diet.

another friend talks about it all the time - constantly bringing it up and reminding everyone that they're on a diet.

Which friend would you rather be around?

again, if Fleck wants to make this a goal for the program, fine. It's his program. he can run it any way he wants. I just question why he has to make a public deal of it. for me, it's a little bit too much of the "look at me" aspect of Fleck's personality.
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I don't think PJ is talking to you bro....
 



short ornery norwegian said:
one more try to express my opinion:

Let's say you have two friends, and each one goes on a diet.

One friend doesn't talk about it publicly - they just go on the diet.

another friend talks about it all the time - constantly bringing it up and reminding everyone that they're on a diet.

Which friend would you rather be around?

again, if Fleck wants to make this a goal for the program, fine. It's his program. he can run it any way he wants. I just question why he has to make a public deal of it. for me, it's a little bit too much of the "look at me" aspect of Fleck's personality.
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As I recall SON, you're a recovering alcoholic, right? If not, stop reading and I apologize.

So part of the program is to state publicly that you're an alcoholic. Why is that? You know the answer SON. So when your friend who has gone on a diet and falls at his (or her) diet, who knows? Who cares? Your friend has faced nothing nor challenged himself at all. Just another empty promise made to no one.

Now the boring friend, he has gone public. So what happens if he fails? Well, we will all know and judge him by his failure. So by going public he will try with to succeed and not face public shame. The difference between your boring friend and fun friend is character.

Want to stop a bad habit, tell 50 people. Want to fool yourself, tell no one.
 

Behind the scenes things is all we have heard. PJ wants to toot his horn about it and leave the fans in the dark about the important stuff.

But What I want is some news about how the team is doing this Spring. Will there be a Spring Game? Who is looking good? Why all the silence?

Seems odd
 

PJ Fleck: "Average teams, coaches lead. Elite teams players lead."
 

Dances With Gophers said:
Because the most powerful tool a leader has at their disposal is often the words they use - both spoken and written. I get what you're saying about actions delivering a message, and yes, that is certainly important. But I’d argue that even more important – for a leader, at least - is being a voice to those that otherwise don't have one, to the ones that feel unempowered, disillusioned, downtrodden, or helpless. Kudos to you for asking the question, though. Many in your shoes won't even bother asking the question, or perhaps even feel frustrated that a coach/leader they support feels compelled to make these types of statements.

Just a friendly reminder to all that Coach Fleck is vowing to become more empathetic, and empathy goes beyond mere understanding. It means stretching your comfort zone to the point where you're asking difficult questions and attempting to place yourself in the other person's shoes. It means making an honest to God good-faith effort to see how the other person might perceive the world based on **their** experiences…experiences that will likely (definitely?) seem incredibly foreign and bizarre based on our own biases. It goes beyond relying upon our collective and tired knee-jerk reaction/understanding of any given situation or event at hand.

Sorry (not sorry) about the long-winded response, especially on a forum where I've had to block more than a few folks...but I remain incredibly hopeful for the future so long as people continue to speak and act courageously, just like TheRealMcCoy. Respectful discourse is *always* a good thing.
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Agree. Many people don't want to get involved as it is uncomfortable for them. Let the problem die, or perhaps not my problem and so on. Fleck is heading this problem straight on stronger than the strongest linebacker we've ever had. I admire him for tackling this problem.

If you look at American History as to what really happened from the beginning until now. You'll realize that we've had a huge problem on our hands right off the band that no one would address and it is getting more out of hand by the day. Problem is, people don't care about knowing the truth. For if they knew the truth they would have to change and they don't want to change.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
one more try to express my opinion:

Let's say you have two friends, and each one goes on a diet.

One friend doesn't talk about it publicly - they just go on the diet.

another friend talks about it all the time - constantly bringing it up and reminding everyone that they're on a diet.

Which friend would you rather be around?

again, if Fleck wants to make this a goal for the program, fine. It's his program. he can run it any way he wants. I just question why he has to make a public deal of it. for me, it's a little bit too much of the "look at me" aspect of Fleck's personality.
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Again, did Fleck ask Shama to write this, or did Shama seek out the story?
 

TheRealMcCoy said:
I’m curious why this needed to be stated. Seems like trying to earn points with the minority communities.
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Yea I can't think of any reason for a D1 football coach to care about minority communities....
🙄
 

Wally said:
Yea I can't think of any reason for a D1 football coach to care about minority communities....
🙄
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You’re missing what I’m saying. trying to earn points with a group doesn’t necessarily mean you care
 




PMWinSTP said:
247sports.com

Everything Minnesota coach PJ Fleck said on March 25

Everything Minnesota coach PJ Fleck said on March 25
247sports.com 247sports.com
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So, he responded to a question in a press conference when asked "HOW YOU WOULD OVERALL ASSESS THE 2020 SEASON AND WHAT ARE SOME WAYS YOUR PROGRAM GOT BETTER?" and people who don't like Fleck take a portion of his response as making it all about him.

haters gonna hate


​

 

Unregistered User said:
So, he responded to a question in a press conference when asked "HOW YOU WOULD OVERALL ASSESS THE 2020 SEASON AND WHAT ARE SOME WAYS YOUR PROGRAM GOT BETTER?" and people who don't like Fleck take a portion of his response as making it all about him.

haters gonna hate


​

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wgfbe2D.gif
 

Unregistered User said:
So, he responded to a question in a press conference when asked "HOW YOU WOULD OVERALL ASSESS THE 2020 SEASON AND WHAT ARE SOME WAYS YOUR PROGRAM GOT BETTER?" and people who don't like Fleck take a portion of his response as making it all about him.

haters gonna hate


​

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You asked where it came from, I provided the source. He does specifically say it's more for himself in the section where he brings up what Shama referred to in his article.

"I said at the beginning of that, I want to be the most empathetic head coach in America, I'll say that more for myself, not to tell you that and have you judge that. But for me to make sure that I can find a way to be even better every single day, and not just tell everyone else to be that and we've challenged everybody inside our room to do that."
 

WoodburyTim said:
Empathy without action is worthless.
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Nonsense.

Spoken like a person who has never phoned a friend to offer well wishes.


Then you'll say "a phone call is action".

Then I'll say "you said he should quit his job ... not at all the same thing".

So skip to that part next.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I just question why he has to make a public deal of it.
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Your analogy is invalid, because neither of the friends are trying to recruit other people to their team.

All of Fleck's public song and dance is to attract recruits and put out a great public perception of the (his) program.
 


If PJ ends racism this season, I'm willing to accept a down year.

But eventually you have to win.
 

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