Former Gopher A.J. Barker arrested UPDATED 5/9: Sid says AJ wants back on team

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GophersInIowa said:
Forgiveness is not the same as getting another opportunity. You can forgive while moving on at the same time. There's different levels of mistakes too. Your wife throwing out your favorite t-shirt is not the same as if she cheated on you. You can forgive in both situations but I don't think you'll treat both mistakes the same.

From what we know from the outside, I wouldn't let him back on the team. I wouldn't be surprised either way though.
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So you must believe me to be an idiot for forgiving?
 

Sportsfan24 said:
So you must believe me to be an idiot for forgiving?
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I do not believe that, 24. To forgive is a divine act. I am easy to forgive, but I have a memory, therefore it is hard to forget.


I forgive AJ, but will never forget, so to me, he should take a hike.
 

Kill is more then happy to forgive him, even through public forums. However forgiveness only goes so far. Both Kill and Kaler would be fools to ever allow this kid near a football field ever again.
 

Go4Broke said:
Give me a break. Randy Moss was one of the most selfish and divisive players in the history of football. Here is how many second chances he was given because of his receiving skills and nothing else:

Minnesota Vikings (1998–2004)
Oakland Raiders (2005–2006)
New England Patriots (2007–2010)
Minnesota Vikings (2010)
Tennessee Titans (2010)
San Francisco 49ers (2012)

You guys are making way too much out of what a 20-year old kid did on the internet because he felt humiliated by his football coach in front of his teammates. Since he worked with kids all of his life Kill should have known exactly what to say and do to resolve the situation. Most football coaches with his experience would have been able to figure it out. Kill failed totally.
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Moss also had a scholarship to Notre Dame and lost it. He attended Florida State for his freshmen year before getting in trouble and getting kicked off the team.

So here you go. Even Moss, one of the greatest wr's of all time, was kicked off of his college teams for his actions. The NFL teams also refused to cope with his attitude and actions and traded/released him after they tired of him.

AJ can be like Randy Moss and go find a new home.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
You really put yourself in a box.

Zero of the wr's Kill gave scholarships too, has proven to be better than Barker so based on your analogy Kill isn't a good coach and I guess you should already be questioning the decision making skills of the coach?

The truth of the matter is just like the NFL where free agents or lower drafted players out perform higher drafted players, receipt of a scholarship doesn't guarantee that some walk-on player won't eat your lunch.

Medical staff? They couldn't find their ass with both hands so who cares what their opinion is.....it would be wrong anyway?

AJ is a cancer? You certainly are entitled to your own opinion but I sure would like to know how arrived there?

Question? Assume AJ was misdiagnosed and the extent of his injury minimized. Assume he knew his injury was much more severe than putting some freaking ice on it. Assume that he had teammates who had had positive results from acupuncture so he went that route because the U was not helping.
Assume he believed he was being pressured to play hurt in lieu of a scholarship that in his opinion he had already earned by being the best wr on the roster.

My question is; based on that, while we would still agree that he was wrong wouldn't you also agree that it wasn't his mistake alone and that a second chance would not be so out of he question?
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1. Barker was a Jr. that still had not been given a scholarship (for obvious reasons), not a red shirt freshman.

2. Medical staff is trained in injuries and if you follow what the coach and medical staff want you to do in rehab, you wouldn't be getting your butt ripped for trying to get acupuncture, when you have been directly instructed to do something else. (Part of being a team is working with the team, not doing your own thing. If you want to do your own thing, go get your own team.) Oh, did I forget to mention that the Uof M has one of the top medical schools in the country?.

3. I had actually heard about problems with AJ last summer from a Gopher coach, but during the season 2 current players that I am acquaintances with commented on his weekly drama, before he blew up on twitter, shredded the university, coaches, team, medical staff and ran off to Texas to smoke pot. By the way, how many D-I offers did this super talented, top rated receiver have coming out of high school? The answer is none, because his character was in question even before he went to college and other coaches didn't want to deal with it either.

4. Mistake? No, he does NOT deserve a second chance after publicly ridiculing his coaches, teammates, medical staff and the university on a national platform. Even if he was the most talented receiver, he doesn't deserve a second chance. AJ needs to and is in the process of learning one very hard lesson, "what you do and say today, will affect you for the rest of your life".

Let me ask you a question....... what kind of message would be sent to the rest of the team, along with the fans, if they allowed a drama queen like AJ to rant like a teenage girl across a public forum, get arrested for drugs, then welcome him back with open arms for the sake of winning? Should they then also reward this behavior with a $35,000 scholarship?
 


Sportsfan24 said:
You really put yourself in a box.

Zero of the wr's Kill gave scholarships too, has proven to be better than Barker so based on your analogy Kill isn't a good coach and I guess you should already be questioning the decision making skills of the coach?

The truth of the matter is just like the NFL where free agents or lower drafted players out perform higher drafted players, receipt of a scholarship doesn't guarantee that some walk-on player won't eat your lunch.

Medical staff? They couldn't find their ass with both hands so who cares what their opinion is.....it would be wrong anyway?

AJ is a cancer? You certainly are entitled to your own opinion but I sure would like to know how arrived there?

Question? Assume AJ was misdiagnosed and the extent of his injury minimized. Assume he knew his injury was much more severe than putting some freaking ice on it. Assume that he had teammates who had had positive results from acupuncture so he went that route because the U was not helping.
Assume he believed he was being pressured to play hurt in lieu of a scholarship that in his opinion he had already earned by being the best wr on the roster.

My question is; based on that, while we would still agree that he was wrong wouldn't you also agree that it wasn't his mistake alone and that a second chance would not be so out of he question?
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#1: You're acting like the only thing that matters is how someone produces on the field. AJ Barker has an atrocious attitude. Do you think it's a coincedence that he had problems in HS? That not a single school has offered him anything? That he had to resort to fibbing about the Houston situation and crawling back here? It's not surprising because he is a headache (or at least the perception of him is that he's a headache). You're not going to earn a scholarship as a walk on with a terrible attitude.

#2: Why did this only happen with AJ? Kill had no problem awarding walk on Caleb Bak and Christensen scholarships in lieu of his guys getting more PT (McAvoys and even Foster Bush)? Why was Wettstein kicking instead of Hawthorne? Why is AJ the only guy on the team who didn't get his credit because he's a walk on?

#3: Maybe the training staff is terrible, you would know better than I would. However, I don't think it's fair for you to compare Kim's situation with AJs. You saught out a second opinion, I'm sure Kim did everything any trainer was asked of him. I never heard a single report of Kim refusing to ice. I never heard a single report of Kim ignoring a doc to get accupuncture. AJ didn't merely seek a second opinion, HE chose not to ice (according to him) and HE chose to get accupuncture.

#4: AJ being a cancer? He obviously is. He wrote a letter in the middle of the season, a couple days before a game in which he cried about his situation to the press. Regardless of whether he was right or not, those actions were malignant. They were dismissive of his teammates and ALONE without any more first hand knowledge, his manner of which he wrote that letter made him a cancer. IT was completely and utterly out of line.

#5: He hadn't earned the scholarship! He had two catches going into the year. Did you want the staff to hop into a time machine and say "Well, AJ will have a huge year, he deserves a scholarship". If your scenario played out the exact way you said (besides of course earning a scholarship), AJ should have left the team like a man. He should have quit shut it down "medically" ala Percy Harvin and chose not to come back to the U. He could have written out a normal letter explaining how he didn't trust the medical staff and been on his way. The issue would have been completely different if AJ went that route. But he didn't. His route, even if rubbing chicken bones and doing a raindance could fix his ankle, was wrong.
 

If I was Kill, I would meet with AJ. Forgive him. Write nice flowery recommendation letters to all other D1 coaches on his behalf and wish him good luck in the future.

Absolutely no way should Kill allow him back on the team. It sets a bad precedent and makes him look weak.

Yes having him back might be beneficial in the short term, but Kill has to think long term here.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
#1: You're acting like the only thing that matters is how someone produces on the field. AJ Barker has an atrocious attitude. Do you think it's a coincedence that he had problems in HS? That not a single school has offered him anything? That he had to resort to fibbing about the Houston situation and crawling back here? It's not surprising because he is a headache (or at least the perception of him is that he's a headache). You're not going to earn a scholarship as a walk on with a terrible attitude.

#2: Why did this only happen with AJ? Kill had no problem awarding walk on Caleb Bak and Christensen scholarships in lieu of his guys getting more PT (McAvoys and even Foster Bush)? Why was Wettstein kicking instead of Hawthorne? Why is AJ the only guy on the team who didn't get his credit because he's a walk on?

#3: Maybe the training staff is terrible, you would know better than I would. However, I don't think it's fair for you to compare Kim's situation with AJs. You saught out a second opinion, I'm sure Kim did everything any trainer was asked of him. I never heard a single report of Kim refusing to ice. I never heard a single report of Kim ignoring a doc to get accupuncture. AJ didn't merely seek a second opinion, HE chose not to ice (according to him) and HE chose to get accupuncture.

#4: AJ being a cancer? He obviously is. He wrote a letter in the middle of the season, a couple days before a game in which he cried about his situation to the press. Regardless of whether he was right or not, those actions were malignant. They were dismissive of his teammates and ALONE without any more first hand knowledge, his manner of which he wrote that letter made him a cancer. IT was completely and utterly out of line.

#5: He hadn't earned the scholarship! He had two catches going into the year. Did you want the staff to hop into a time machine and say "Well, AJ will have a huge year, he deserves a scholarship". If your scenario played out the exact way you said (besides of course earning a scholarship), AJ should have left the team like a man. He should have quit shut it down "medically" ala Percy Harvin and chose not to come back to the U. He could have written out a normal letter explaining how he didn't trust the medical staff and been on his way. The issue would have been completely different if AJ went that route. But he didn't. His route, even if rubbing chicken bones and doing a raindance could fix his ankle, was wrong.
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AMEN BROTHER!!!
 

Sportsfan24 said:
If someone wrongs you be the better man by not holding a grudge, excepting their appology, admitting your own role in the disagreement and give them a 2nd chance.
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Bwahahaha!! Seriously?? Is this a joke??
 




EliteHSscout said:
1. Barker was a Jr. that still had not been given a scholarship (for obvious reasons), not a red shirt freshman.

2. Medical staff is trained in injuries and if you follow what the coach and medical staff want you to do in rehab, you wouldn't be getting your butt ripped for trying to get acupuncture, when you have been directly instructed to do something else. (Part of being a team is working with the team, not doing your own thing. If you want to do your own thing, go get your own team.) Oh, did I forget to mention that the Uof M has one of the top medical schools in the country?.

3. I had actually heard about problems with AJ last summer from a Gopher coach, but during the season 2 current players that I am acquaintances with commented on his weekly drama, before he blew up on twitter, shredded the university, coaches, team, medical staff and ran off to Texas to smoke pot. By the way, how many D-I offers did this super talented, top rated receiver have coming out of high school? The answer is none, because his character was in question even before he went to college and other coaches didn't want to deal with it either.

4. Mistake? No, he does NOT deserve a second chance after publicly ridiculing his coaches, teammates, medical staff and the university on a national platform. Even if he was the most talented receiver, he doesn't deserve a second chance. AJ needs to and is in the process of learning one very hard lesson, "what you do and say today, will affect you for the rest of your life".

Let me ask you a question....... what kind of message would be sent to the rest of the team, along with the fans, if they allowed a drama queen like AJ to rant like a teenage girl across a public forum, get arrested for drugs, then welcome him back with open arms for the sake of winning? Should they then also reward this behavior with a $35,000 scholarship?
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Response to 1.
I believe you misunderstood my point and the obvious reasons you referrence are not so obvious to you. Like a guy living with his girlfriend who is no hurry to mary her (the old milk for free thing). A coach will stretch a walk-on all the way out to his senior season before awarding him a scholarship.

Reponse to 2.
You fail to recognize/acknowledge what I have said about the medical staff....THEY MISDIAGNOSE PLAYERS INJURIES. THEY SEND INJURED PLAYERS BACK ONTO THE FIELD, AT SOME POINT PLAYERS NO LONGER TRUST THEIR MEDICAL JUDGEMENT. DR. ELIZABETH ARENDT (U of M staff and one of the best in her field) DOES NOT SEE THE PLAYERS. With that being shouted, please address that, say that I'm wrong or you disagree but don't ignore it.

Response to 3.
Rumors about AJ's behavior? I heard some of the same things but nothing I was overly concerned about or usual.
No offers coming out of high school because of character issues? Other to say "you pulled that out your arse" I have no response.

Response to 4.
Fair point, but I will ask you this. Should Kill be forgiven? He made some very public accusations about his team that weren't true (he admitted it to his players). Only ask to see if you are consistent in your rigidity. My answer would be it depends; maybe this isn't one of those instances put I need more than the swiss chesse argument you have offered up.

Answer to your question:
Fair question and points' particular the drug arrest but I have to say....your are extremely naive if you think drug arrests haven't occured in recent history. I will agree that coupled with the public rant, Kill wouldn't be off base to not allow him to come back. Kind of message? One of forgiveness. I would like to think that there is room for that sort of thing.
 

All of this discussion and yet still no actual confirmation that Barker is trying to get back on the team and that Kill is considering it. makes for interesting reading though.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
#1: You're acting like the only thing that matters is how someone produces on the field. AJ Barker has an atrocious attitude. Do you think it's a coincedence that he had problems in HS? That not a single school has offered him anything? That he had to resort to fibbing about the Houston situation and crawling back here? It's not surprising because he is a headache (or at least the perception of him is that he's a headache). You're not going to earn a scholarship as a walk on with a terrible attitude.

#2: Why did this only happen with AJ? Kill had no problem awarding walk on Caleb Bak and Christensen scholarships in lieu of his guys getting more PT (McAvoys and even Foster Bush)? Why was Wettstein kicking instead of Hawthorne? Why is AJ the only guy on the team who didn't get his credit because he's a walk on?

#3: Maybe the training staff is terrible, you would know better than I would. However, I don't think it's fair for you to compare Kim's situation with AJs. You saught out a second opinion, I'm sure Kim did everything any trainer was asked of him. I never heard a single report of Kim refusing to ice. I never heard a single report of Kim ignoring a doc to get accupuncture. AJ didn't merely seek a second opinion, HE chose not to ice (according to him) and HE chose to get accupuncture.

#4: AJ being a cancer? He obviously is. He wrote a letter in the middle of the season, a couple days before a game in which he cried about his situation to the press. Regardless of whether he was right or not, those actions were malignant. They were dismissive of his teammates and ALONE without any more first hand knowledge, his manner of which he wrote that letter made him a cancer. IT was completely and utterly out of line.

#5: He hadn't earned the scholarship! He had two catches going into the year. Did you want the staff to hop into a time machine and say "Well, AJ will have a huge year, he deserves a scholarship". If your scenario played out the exact way you said (besides of course earning a scholarship), AJ should have left the team like a man. He should have quit shut it down "medically" ala Percy Harvin and chose not to come back to the U. He could have written out a normal letter explaining how he didn't trust the medical staff and been on his way. The issue would have been completely different if AJ went that route. But he didn't. His route, even if rubbing chicken bones and doing a raindance could fix his ankle, was wrong.
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Response to 1.
I only mentioned ability when others used them to disagree with me....like you did in the same paragragh you accused me of "acting like the only thing that matters is production" Ironic huh? He didn't fib about the Houston thing, it's just your lack of knowledge on how scholarships work. His attitude only became an issue when he had an issue with being misdiagnosed and went public with his feelings.

Response to 2.
Fair points....I don't agree 100% but not enough to argue them. I would say however that you are conveniently not mentioning the medical situation which may make AJ's situation "slightly" different. But overall I think you make a good point.

Reponse to 3.
Yes Kim did everything they asked....and look at what he has to show for it? 3 surgeries to place titanium rods in both legs (the one surgery the U did was done incorrectly and the one in is other leg was caused by those same medical people misdiagnosing another injury that was made worse.) You also are correct he did not refuse to ice. He iced a leg that was in need of corrective surgery to fixed what they had messed up. That ice didn't do a damn thing. Funny; the acupuncture did provide some relief. The corrective sugery by someone who knew what they hell they were doing worked best. Fair to compare? Two players being seen by the same people and both being misdiagnosed.......I think it's a fair comparison.

Reponse 4.
I don't agree with what he did but I have seen the result of someone who went the opposite direction. It didn't work out for either. His team mates? I gotta tell you, they don't seem to be upset with him. The day they cleaned out his locker the team jokingly taped the equipment mananger and chanted AJ. AJ was wrong, he should have addressed it in a different manner. I don't believe he gave Kill the opportunity to get all the facts. AJ should have took the public verbal thrashing and the explained the situation after cooler heads prevailed (I'm assuming he didn't).

Reponse to 5.
I agree with you on the scholarship prior to the start of the season but in AJ's defense so did he. His concern was that he wouldn't receive one for the FOLLOWING season if he didn't play hurt (I have no idea if that was the case, I'm going by the 4000 word manifesto!). A letter about the medical staff? Institutions love for you to go away quitely; that way they can sweep their mistakes under the rug. Remember the coach who came on here and said Kim's "dad" should keep his complaints "in-house?" What he didn't tell you (and I'm sure he didn't know) at the time was NOBODY from the U had called and offered up any kind of appology, the only contact was a threat not to pay for corrective medical surgery if it became public or the surgery was not performed by the same guy who messed up. Kim's dad found this hilarious because this amounted to a $15 co-pay. To be clear; coach Kill had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.
 



It has become fairly obvious that Sportsfan24 is a friend or relative of AJ Barker. If he is not, then he has a serious "man crush" on a extremely average WR. Maybe, it is AJ himself trying to explain away his terrible judgement, lack of respect toward his team and coaches and accusing the medical staff of sabotaging him with icing his sprained ankle so that he wouldn't get a scholarship.
Maybe Sportsfan24 (AJ) has a lack of drama in his diet and has devised a plan to create more drama over something that nobody truly cares about.
 

EliteHSscout said:
It has become fairly obvious that Sportsfan24 is a friend or relative of AJ Barker. If he is not, then he has a serious "man crush" on a extremely average WR. Maybe, it is AJ himself trying to explain away his terrible judgement, lack of respect toward his team and coaches and accusing the medical staff of sabotaging him with icing his sprained ankle so that he wouldn't get a scholarship.
Maybe Sportsfan24 (AJ) has a lack of drama in his diet and has devised a plan to create more drama over something that nobody truly cares about.
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Almost nailed it except for everything.
 

Barker should have been concerned that he might not have gotten a scholarship next year, if getting one was so important to him. He isn't/wasn't OWED one though. Kill and the program may be better served by giving the scholarship to a freshman. Barker does deserve to see if another program will give him a scholarship and leave if he wants. If Kill wants to take the chance and possibly hurt his walk on program, he has every right to do that.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Response to 1.
I believe you misunderstood my point and the obvious reasons you referrence are not so obvious to you. Like a guy living with his girlfriend who is no hurry to mary her (the old milk for free thing). A coach will stretch a walk-on all the way out to his senior season before awarding him a scholarship.

Reponse to 2.
You fail to recognize/acknowledge what I have said about the medical staff....THEY MISDIAGNOSE PLAYERS INJURIES. THEY SEND INJURED PLAYERS BACK ONTO THE FIELD, AT SOME POINT PLAYERS NO LONGER TRUST THEIR MEDICAL JUDGEMENT. DR. ELIZABETH ARENDT (U of M staff and one of the best in her field) DOES NOT SEE THE PLAYERS. With that being shouted, please address that, say that I'm wrong or you disagree but don't ignore it.

Response to 3.
Rumors about AJ's behavior? I heard some of the same things but nothing I was overly concerned about or usual.
No offers coming out of high school because of character issues? Other to say "you pulled that out your arse" I have no response.

Response to 4.
Fair point, but I will ask you this. Should Kill be forgiven? He made some very public accusations about his team that weren't true (he admitted it to his players). Only ask to see if you are consistent in your rigidity. My answer would be it depends; maybe this isn't one of those instances put I need more than the swiss chesse argument you have offered up.

Answer to your question:
Fair question and points' particular the drug arrest but I have to say....your are extremely naive if you think drug arrests haven't occured in recent history. I will agree that coupled with the public rant, Kill wouldn't be off base to not allow him to come back. Kind of message? One of forgiveness. I would like to think that there is room for that sort of thing.
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1. You have to be AJ's relative to be blind to the fact that he had NOT earned a scholarship to that point.

2. how do you misdiagnose a sprained ankle? Do you know what ice does when applied? You CAN'T rehab when it is swollen, so icing it needs to be done regardless of the treatment.

3. Since AJ was a top receiver coming out of high school and was NOT offered a scholarship by any D-I program, then why do you suppose that happened? Answer: poor character

4. Kill does not need to be forgiven, he did nothing wrong (not perfect, but not wrong). Kill answered the media after the rant as professionally as he could and did not say a bad word about AJ. I would like to know which accusations you are referring to, since you know that he admitted something to players (be careful of the trap I am setting for you on this one).

5. Naive??? Did I say drug arrests never happen to football players? NO! I said that nobody wants a average WR that publicly rips everyone on the way out, gets arrested for drugs and then welcome him back with open arms, a scholarship, apologies and sing his praises from the mountain tops.

I am done commenting on a pointless topic. There is ZERO chance that AJ will play football for the Gophers, but a very good chance he will get to do some community service in Texas.
 

EliteHSscout said:
It has become fairly obvious that Sportsfan24 is a friend or relative of AJ Barker. If he is not, then he has a serious "man crush" on a extremely average WR. Maybe, it is AJ himself trying to explain away his terrible judgement, lack of respect toward his team and coaches and accusing the medical staff of sabotaging him with icing his sprained ankle so that he wouldn't get a scholarship.
Maybe Sportsfan24 (AJ) has a lack of drama in his diet and has devised a plan to create more drama over something that nobody truly cares about.
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Could he be his mom's best friend?
 

"He made some very public accusations about his team that weren't true (he admitted it to his players). "

Please elaborate
 


OK OK, you are right............ Bring AJ back, give him a scholarship, host a press conference and have Kill apologize, fire all medical staff, introduce a new policy that all players are allowed to rehab at their own pace and practice at their leisure.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Reponse to 3.
Yes Kim did everything they asked....and look at what he has to show for it? 3 surgeries to place titanium rods in both legs (the one surgery the U did was done incorrectly and the one in is other leg was caused by those same medical people misdiagnosing another injury that was made worse.) You also are correct he did not refuse to ice. He iced a leg that was in need of corrective surgery to fixed what they had messed up. That ice didn't do a damn thing. Funny; the acupuncture did provide some relief. The corrective sugery by someone who knew what they hell they were doing worked best. Fair to compare? Two players being seen by the same people and both being misdiagnosed.......I think it's a fair comparison.
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I have a little bit of an issue with the claim that AJ was misdiagnosed. As I recall the manifesto, he stated that the staff wanted him to get an MRI right away, but he refused since they said it was a relatively minor sprain and AJ felt it was unnecessary, even though the staff recommended it.

So, if they tell you that you need an MRI but you don't get it, but they didn't tell you something that would only be apparent with an MRI, that's misdiagnosis?

If he had gotten the MRI right away we might not be talking about this at all.

I can't speak to the competancy of the staff or to what happened with Kim. Maybe they would have misdiagnosed if they did an MRI. But by choosing not to get one in the first place, AJ was as responsible as anyone else for any "misdiagnosis".

And as others had mentioned, there is a huge difference between getting a second opinion and doing alternate treatment. If he felt his sprain was more serious and had gotten a second opinion, the doctors could have had a discussion and possibly changed treatment and/or work schedules. But by just disregarding the recommendations and seeking alternate treatment you are saying you know more than any doctors. Again, not saying the staff was for sure correct in their recommendations, but disregarding that with no basis isn't right.

Honestly, I don't care if AJ is allowed back or not. If he is allowed to come back, I definitely think he owes the team an apology and I think he owes the staff and Kill an apology. Even if the staff was wrong, the way AJ handled it wasn't right. If after that the team is ok with it, then let him back as a walk on and move on. But if Kill doesn't want to let him back that's ok too.

Assuming he wants to come back at all. Even if they met, it could just be to air grievances and try to mend fences, not to reunite.
 

EliteHSscout said:
OK OK, you are right............ Bring AJ back, give him a scholarship, host a press conference and have Kill apologize, fire all medical staff, introduce a new policy that all players are allowed to rehab at their own pace and practice at their leisure.
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I like it. The only thing you left out is that Kill has to promise never to do it again.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Reponse to 5.
I agree with you on the scholarship prior to the start of the season but in AJ's defense so did he. His concern was that he wouldn't receive one for the FOLLOWING season if he didn't play hurt (I have no idea if that was the case, I'm going by the 4000 word manifesto!). A letter about the medical staff? Institutions love for you to go away quitely; that way they can sweep their mistakes under the rug. Remember the coach who came on here and said Kim's "dad" should keep his complaints "in-house?" What he didn't tell you (and I'm sure he didn't know) at the time was NOBODY from the U had called and offered up any kind of appology, the only contact was a threat not to pay for corrective medical surgery if it became public or the surgery was not performed by the same guy who messed up. Kim's dad found this hilarious because this amounted to a $15 co-pay. To be clear; coach Kill had absolutely nothing to do with any of this.
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I'm not saying that AJ shouldn't have said anything, I'm saying that because of his method of delivering his message, he should be completely ignored.

He should have went away with class and dignity. I'm NOT saying quietly. AJ no longer made it about improper medical treatment and he made it about himself. He's a smart enough guy, if he sat down and wrote a clear letter that wasn't some attempt to get himself attention. He could have tried to fix the problem. He could have brought the issue to light. When people act like AJ acted when he tried to relay a message they get ignored and they SHOULD be ignored.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
I have a little bit of an issue with the claim that AJ was misdiagnosed. As I recall the manifesto, he stated that the staff wanted him to get an MRI right away, but he refused since they said it was a relatively minor sprain and AJ felt it was unnecessary, even though the staff recommended it.

So, if they tell you that you need an MRI but you don't get it, but they didn't tell you something that would only be apparent with an MRI, that's misdiagnosis?

If he had gotten the MRI right away we might not be talking about this at all.

I can't speak to the competancy of the staff or to what happened with Kim. Maybe they would have misdiagnosed if they did an MRI. But by choosing not to get one in the first place, AJ was as responsible as anyone else for any "misdiagnosis".

And as others had mentioned, there is a huge difference between getting a second opinion and doing alternate treatment. If he felt his sprain was more serious and had gotten a second opinion, the doctors could have had a discussion and possibly changed treatment and/or work schedules. But by just disregarding the recommendations and seeking alternate treatment you are saying you know more than any doctors. Again, not saying the staff was for sure correct in their recommendations, but disregarding that with no basis isn't right.

Honestly, I don't care if AJ is allowed back or not. If he is allowed to come back, I definitely think he owes the team an apology and I think he owes the staff and Kill an apology. Even if the staff was wrong, the way AJ handled it wasn't right. If after that the team is ok with it, then let him back as a walk on and move on. But if Kill doesn't want to let him back that's ok too.

Assuming he wants to come back at all. Even if they met, it could just be to air grievances and try to mend fences, not to reunite.
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I think the manifesto also mentioned that he tweaked something during warmups of the Michigan (not sure if I have the correct game) game and after that it got worse and didn't heal or respond like it had previously.

I'm not saying the medical staff is completely without fault, I know guys that sought alternative treatment a long time ago.
 

EliteHSscout said:
It has become fairly obvious that Sportsfan24 is a friend or relative of AJ Barker. If he is not, then he has a serious "man crush" on a extremely average WR. Maybe, it is AJ himself trying to explain away his terrible judgement, lack of respect toward his team and coaches and accusing the medical staff of sabotaging him with icing his sprained ankle so that he wouldn't get a scholarship.
Maybe Sportsfan24 (AJ) has a lack of drama in his diet and has devised a plan to create more drama over something that nobody truly cares about.
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You must admit AJ does look "fetching" in his uniform?
 

btowngopher said:
Barker should have been concerned that he might not have gotten a scholarship next year, if getting one was so important to him. He isn't/wasn't OWED one though. Kill and the program may be better served by giving the scholarship to a freshman. Barker does deserve to see if another program will give him a scholarship and leave if he wants. If Kill wants to take the chance and possibly hurt his walk on program, he has every right to do that.
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Well said, I agree. It's all about suppy and demand; unlike scholarship players AJ was free to leave and play immediately anywhere he chose....or would have him.
 

Curseislifted33 said:
"He made some very public accusations about his team that weren't true (he admitted it to his players). "

Please elaborate
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I was attempting to make a point not a atatement.

All coaches make public statements they may not necessarily believe or are untrue for a multitude of reasons (motivations for one). What I was referencing was Kills statment about the quality of player he inherited. Those comments were made to quell expectations so he could have the time he (any coach) needed to rebuild the program. His comments had some negative results on some of his players but I don't believe it was done maliciously. It's life....crap happens.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
I have a little bit of an issue with the claim that AJ was misdiagnosed. As I recall the manifesto, he stated that the staff wanted him to get an MRI right away, but he refused since they said it was a relatively minor sprain and AJ felt it was unnecessary, even though the staff recommended it.

So, if they tell you that you need an MRI but you don't get it, but they didn't tell you something that would only be apparent with an MRI, that's misdiagnosis?

If he had gotten the MRI right away we might not be talking about this at all.

I can't speak to the competancy of the staff or to what happened with Kim. Maybe they would have misdiagnosed if they did an MRI. But by choosing not to get one in the first place, AJ was as responsible as anyone else for any "misdiagnosis".

And as others had mentioned, there is a huge difference between getting a second opinion and doing alternate treatment. If he felt his sprain was more serious and had gotten a second opinion, the doctors could have had a discussion and possibly changed treatment and/or work schedules. But by just disregarding the recommendations and seeking alternate treatment you are saying you know more than any doctors. Again, not saying the staff was for sure correct in their recommendations, but disregarding that with no basis isn't right.Honestly, I don't care if AJ is allowed back or not. If he is allowed to come back, I definitely think he owes the team an apology and I think he owes the staff and Kill an apology. Even if the staff was wrong, the way AJ handled it wasn't right. If after that the team is ok with it, then let him back as a walk on and move on. But if Kill doesn't want to let him back that's ok too.

Assuming he wants to come back at all. Even if they met, it could just be to air grievances and try to mend fences, not to reunite.
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They would not tell him to get an MRI. They would schedule one. If he would have blown off an MRI they believe they needed to make an accurate diagnoses....they never would have cleared him to play and not getting an MRI versus not icing would have been the main topic. Remember; coach was under the impression AJ should be playing.

In fairness, I do not have full knowledge of what did or did not happen in AJ's case. I'm only responding in a definitive manner to those who are being definitive in their belief AJ is completely wrong and nobody else shares the blame.....plus the primary (I don't want someone’s mom to beat me up in public) people in the training department suck (I like saying that...it's somehow cleansing).

In reference to the bold piece. It's my understanding he did do that and it resulted in a heated argument. I would still agree with you however all AJ needed to do was say thanks but not thanks because this is what the other doc said. And even if the medical staff had an issue with that, coach Kill wouldn't have heard AJ arguing with them and went off and AJ wouldn't have been embarassed in front of the team, plus Kill would have "evidence" that AJ had a reason to be upset, AJ would never have published the manifesto and I wouldn't be annoying yall!
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I'm not saying that AJ shouldn't have said anything, I'm saying that because of his method of delivering his message, he should be completely ignored.

He should have went away with class and dignity. I'm NOT saying quietly. AJ no longer made it about improper medical treatment and he made it about himself. He's a smart enough guy, if he sat down and wrote a clear letter that wasn't some attempt to get himself attention. He could have tried to fix the problem. He could have brought the issue to light. When people act like AJ acted when he tried to relay a message they get ignored and they SHOULD be ignored.
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Why do you have to be the grown-up person in the room? You would never get picked to go on the Maury Povich show.
 

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