Heather Fleck Responds to Reusse's Negativity

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Livingat45north said:
Steps up onto soapbox...

"Why does the Star-Tribune have such absolutely terrible sports writers? I mean, really bad. They're not informed on sports, don't add any insight, they aren't entertaining in any way. They're the anti-Elite of writers. It's no wonder that the Trib is having such a hard time selling subscriptions. If you want people to read what you write, get some decent writers."

... And that's all for now
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Well, that’s like your opinion man. Really, the paper makes a profit for its owner.
 

West Fargo Gopher Fan said:
+1

I'd add that almost every article headline he writes is negative. Even going back to the 1980's.

Better off to just ignore and move on. Can't get worked up on stuff like this. It's bad for your health and its what Reusse wants. To get us going.
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He does not write the headlines.
 

Face The Facts said:
Am I surprised Heather responded? Yes.

Does it make her appear bad? Some would say it does.


But why? She's confronting an online bully essentially.

Aren't we telling our kids to not be bullies? Does this make it different somehow that she's the wife instead of the direct target?
If so, why and how?
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Interesting point. I teach my kid to stand up to bullies, and to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. Outside of that I hope he sits on his hands.
 

She is mad that someone was mean to her hubby and decided to pout about it in public? She should go back to tweeting love letters with PJ for everyone to read. Those are actually better than this whining. Heather may want to shut down her social media accounts at this point - trying to act like some victim. A local sports writer is negative toward a coach he views as a clown show getting paid $3.5M. Big deal.


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MissouriGopher said:
Criticism is fine. Reusse is not. Just because PJ Fleck makes a lot of money does not preclude him from being bullied. Just like money and fame don’t prevent depression.

You can deny it all you want but it’s obviously affecting his family emotionally. Harassing an individual to the point of emotional distress is classic bullying and we need to recognize that. Reusse won’t but, as a community, we need to condemn it.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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You make some good points. I have to agree that anyone can be bullied. We are all witnessing the leader of our country using the office of the president to bully everyone who disagrees with him whether they are rich or poor; powerful or weak; famous or anonymous.
 


Spoofin said:
She is mad that someone was mean to her hubby and decided to pout about it in public? She should go back to tweeting love letters with PJ for everyone to read. Those are actually better than this whining. Heather may want to shut down her social media accounts at this point - trying to act like some victim. A local sports writer is negative toward a coach he views as a clown show getting paid $3.5M. Big deal.


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In a battle between a grumpy old man that hates the Gophers and the most promising coach we’ve maybe ever had, Spoofin is on team grumpy old man.


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fraternity2017 said:
In a battle between a grumpy old man that hates the Gophers and the most promising coach we’ve maybe ever had, Spoofin is on team grumpy old man.


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I view it more as a battle between a grumpy old man and a coach's wife who is pouting that said man is being a big meanie to her hubby and she ain't gonna take it anymore. Yep, put me on side grumpy old man.


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Spoofin said:
She is mad that someone was mean to her hubby and decided to pout about it in public? She should go back to tweeting love letters with PJ for everyone to read. Those are actually better than this whining. Heather may want to shut down her social media accounts at this point - trying to act like some victim. A local sports writer is negative toward a coach he views as a clown show getting paid $3.5M. Big deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Reusse is a bully and always has been! Some people just like to complain because apparently are jealous of others' success. You seem to constantly display that trait. You think you are clever and witty. I don't think so.You are a small person for trying to bully Mrs. Fleck.:(
 

Uffda said:
Reusse is a bully and always has been! Some people just like to complain because apparently are jealous of others' success. You seem to constantly display that trait. You think you are clever and witty. I don't think so.You are a small person for trying to bully Mrs. Fleck.:(
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Well, now I feel like you are bullying me with the name calling and negative statements. I thought you were better than that. Shame.


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As far as the "Reusse hates the U" routine -

Reusse has written many very complimentary columns about Gopher volleyball. On the radio, he's called it the best show in town. He has also been complimentary about the softball program.

I've been reading Reusse's stuff for over 40 years. He has been consistent from day 1. He goes after fat cats - rich owners who get public subsidies for stadiums - GM's and front office types who can't or won't give a straight answer to a question - and anyone he deems to be a BS artist. He thinks Fleck is a BS artist.

That is called an opinion. You are free to agree or disagree. But Pat Reusse - just like anyone else, has a right to have his or her own opinion.

And the tweet that kicked this whole thing off - Fleck is supposed to be a great motivator. The Wild are losing - they show a Fleck motivational video - and they go on to lose the game. There is some irony there - unless you believe a college football coach is above criticism.

Bottom line - no matter how angry the coach's wife may be - getting into a public spat with a writer is a no-win situation for her. It's a fight she can't win.

In the end, PJ Fleck will be judged by wins and losses. His players can visit children's hospitals every day of the week and twice on Sunday - but if the Gophers don't win enough games, Fleck will not be the Coach of the Gophers. That is the reality of D1 sports.

Give most fans a choice between a humanitarian who wins 5 games, and a total a-hole who wins 10 games, and they'll take the a-hole. Just win, Baby.
 

I'm standing up to a bully! I'm being honest that I don't find your constant sarcasm and pettiness appealing.
 

Spoofin is Reusse in every way. Of course he’ll defend him.
 

John Galt said:
Spoofin is Reusse in every way. Of course he’ll defend him.
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Exactly. lol. Spoofin is the gopher hole version of Reusse. Grumpy, everything is negative and just unpleasant lol. Best to ignore. To each their own and everyone is entitled to their opinions including Spoofin Pat.
 



Good for Heather though. Nothing she said was wrong. Fleck and his antics aren't for everyone but he's doing great things in the community. Will he win as a football coach in the B10? It's yet to be seen but not everything he's done here is a negative and for clown show Reusse to take yet another shot at him in the dead of the off season because our pro hockey team is inferior to Winnipeg is just pointless.
 

Spoofin said:
I view it more as a battle between a grumpy old man and a coach's wife who is pouting that said man is being a big meanie to her hubby and she ain't gonna take it anymore. Yep, put me on side grumpy old man.


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What part of her tweet is "pouting"?

She's asking why Reusse is after him, when in her view, he's working his butt of to mostly do what she sees as "good".
She's actually trying to confront the issue to determine what the cause is since it's been going on for a solid 16 months in the public eye.

It isn't just a difference of opinion on whether to pass or run, or what player should start at a position, (or if it is, she's asking for details why he's so awful about PJ).

Again, men seem to have a lexicon of words we use to talk down to women. "Pouting", "you mad?", etc., which immediately infers that a female confronting a man verbally / written is emotionally not normal.


We need to stop doing this and acting as if anytime a woman has a complaint, that the woman is pouting, mad, a damsel in distress. What is it that makes us think that versus her being a strong and confident woman who is willing to confront someone directly?
 

I have a grand-daughter in University Masonic Children Hospital and I am very appreciative of all of the visits by both the Gopher and Viking players.I don't buy your BS that these visits are of no consequence.You seem to come off as a 'Know-It-All'. You are always trying to dampen peoples enthusiasm. Why?
 

I don’t say this often but this thread is something. Was Reusse in any way attacking PJ’s charity work, outreach, or character? Reusse made PJ the butt of an analogy of sporting failure after the way the team finished out the season last year. Is criticism of coaches new? Not in my lifetime.

Maybe there has been a lot more to it (personal attacks) but I don’t follow Reusse’s twit feed, I don’t listen to sports radio, and I only read the Reusse articles posted here. I’ve read far worse character attacking trash from the likes of Shipley and a few others at the ST and the PP, and those involved players, not 40 year old grown men earning millions.
 

Spoofin said:
She is mad that someone was mean to her hubby and decided to pout about it in public? She should go back to tweeting love letters with PJ for everyone to read. Those are actually better than this whining. Heather may want to shut down her social media accounts at this point - trying to act like some victim. A local sports writer is negative toward a coach he views as a clown show getting paid $3.5M. Big deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Say someone you work with seems to go out of their way a lot to criticize and make fun of you. Maybe it’s sometimes warranted but you feel like it’s over-the-top and excessive. Finally one day you just ask him, “What’s your problem?” Would you consider that pouting?
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I don’t say this often but this thread is something. Was Reusse in any way attacking PJ’s charity work, outreach, or character? Reusse made PJ the butt of an analogy of sporting failure after the way the team finished out the season last year. Is criticism of coaches new? Not in my lifetime.

Maybe there has been a lot more to it (personal attacks) but I don’t follow Reusse’s twit feed, I don’t listen to sports radio, and I only read the Reusse articles posted here. I’ve read far worse character attacking trash from the likes of Shipley and a few others at the ST and the PP, and those involved players, not 40 year old grown men earning millions.
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This goes beyond one tweet. It's been pretty constant ripping of Fleck from day one.

It's not about strength of recruiting, decisions on game day, or even what PJ says post game to the press when analyzing the game. Majority is directed directly at PJ. What PJ says, how he talk, what PJ's vision for the program is. Reusse pretty much criticize anything PJ, without saying what specifically he doesn't like about the direction PJ is going.

What, you don't want PJ trying to recruit good players?
You don't want him visiting hospitals?
You don't want him holding players somewhat accountable?
Reusse never says, be he takes pot shots constantly with very little actual substance and has treated him disrespectfully by not even addressing Fleck by his preferred name / initials, always referring the PJ as Phil instead of PJ. Much of it's subtle, but it's a bully mentality. Most bullies don't physically beat the hell out of kids, but it's taunts, spitballs, verbal assaults which eventually build up.

It's the ultimate troll job / bully mantra by Reusse at Fleck.

Since Fleck has been here, it's been obvious that Fleck has been enemy number one of Reusse. That's not hard to see. What has PJ done relating to football which would cause this much negative attention? A 5-7 record in your first year? His recruiting class? Anything tangible has not been horrible, so Reusse has gone only negative on any area he can.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
And the tweet that kicked this whole thing off - Fleck is supposed to be a great motivator. The Wild are losing - they show a Fleck motivational video - and they go on to lose the game. There is some irony there - unless you believe a college football coach is above criticism.

Bottom line - no matter how angry the coach's wife may be - getting into a public spat with a writer is a no-win situation for her. It's a fight she can't win.
.
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This 1st paragraph has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve read in awhile. Equating something on a video board at a hockey game to the effect on the players and the game? It’s lmao [emoji23] worthy. It was an absolutely unnecessary, go out of my way, cheap shot. Criticize a college football coach? By all means, in the middle of the off season over a video played at an NHL hockey game? That’s just trying to be the biggest ****** bag you can.

As for the 2nd paragraph, I can almost guarantee that’s not the way she is thinking and that she could give two sh^ts. I’m sure her husband will be diplomatic about it but will also support her and her right to say what she did.


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Face The Facts said:
This goes beyond one tweet. It's been pretty constant ripping of Fleck from day one.

It's not about strength of recruiting, decisions on game day, or even what PJ says post game to the press when analyzing the game. Majority is directed directly at PJ. What PJ says, how he talk, what PJ's vision for the program is. Reusse pretty much criticize anything PJ, without saying what specifically he doesn't like about the direction PJ is going.

What, you don't want PJ trying to recruit good players?
You don't want him visiting hospitals?
You don't want him holding players somewhat accountable?
Reusse never says, be he takes pot shots constantly with very little actual substance and has treated him disrespectfully by not even addressing Fleck by his preferred name / initials, always referring the PJ as Phil instead of PJ. Much of it's subtle, but it's a bully mentality. Most bullies don't physically beat the hell out of kids, but it's taunts, spitballs, verbal assaults which eventually build up.

It's the ultimate troll job / bully mantra by Reusse at Fleck.

Since Fleck has been here, it's been obvious that Fleck has been enemy number one of Reusse. That's not hard to see. What has PJ done relating to football which would cause this much negative attention? A 5-7 record in your first year? His recruiting class? Anything tangible has not been horrible, so Reusse has gone only negative on any area he can.
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I’ll take your word for it, but I think there’s a little oversensitivity. So he doesn’t like PJ, a public figure and a flamboyant one at that. So what?

If PJ literally feels “bullied” and it’s legitimately affecting his daily life he’s done. Next.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
As far as the "Reusse hates the U" routine -

Reusse has written many very complimentary columns about Gopher volleyball. On the radio, he's called it the best show in town. He has also been complimentary about the softball program.

I've been reading Reusse's stuff for over 40 years. He has been consistent from day 1. He goes after fat cats - rich owners who get public subsidies for stadiums - GM's and front office types who can't or won't give a straight answer to a question - and anyone he deems to be a BS artist. He thinks Fleck is a BS artist.

That is called an opinion. You are free to agree or disagree. But Pat Reusse - just like anyone else, has a right to have his or her own opinion.

And the tweet that kicked this whole thing off - Fleck is supposed to be a great motivator. The Wild are losing - they show a Fleck motivational video - and they go on to lose the game. There is some irony there - unless you believe a college football coach is above criticism.

Bottom line - no matter how angry the coach's wife may be - getting into a public spat with a writer is a no-win situation for her. It's a fight she can't win.

In the end, PJ Fleck will be judged by wins and losses. His players can visit children's hospitals every day of the week and twice on Sunday - but if the Gophers don't win enough games, Fleck will not be the Coach of the Gophers. That is the reality of D1 sports.

Give most fans a choice between a humanitarian who wins 5 games, and a total a-hole who wins 10 games, and they'll take the a-hole. Just win, Baby.
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Difference between opinion and being a jerk or bully. The “just win” mentality without substance or character is empty and is part of the problem with our culture today.
 

Spoofin said:
She is mad that someone was mean to her hubby and decided to pout about it in public? She should go back to tweeting love letters with PJ for everyone to read. Those are actually better than this whining. Heather may want to shut down her social media accounts at this point - trying to act like some victim. A local sports writer is negative toward a coach he views as a clown show getting paid $3.5M. Big deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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C'mon man, you're better than this. Fleck treats everyone with dignity and respect. He treats Sid Hartman with respect while everyone in MN sports seems to be laughing at him. Heather has been listening to Reusse's bull**** for over a year and I have no problem if she wants to call him out for being a jerk, which he is. My guess is that he won't back down and this further escalates.

That fact is, Reusse could be part of the solution but he has always been part of the problem. He could write some flattering articles and possibly help get kids interested in U of M sports, but instead he goes out of his way to make U of M sports his punchline, every time.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
I’ll take your word for it, but I think there’s a little oversensitivity. So he doesn’t like PJ, a public figure and a flamboyant one at that. So what?

If PJ literally feels “bullied” and it’s legitimately affecting his daily life he’s done. Next.
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“Someone is abusing you? Who cares? Get over it, you p****.”

That’s essentially what you’re saying. Again, it’s clearly affecting Heather emotionally. She literally put it in writing. You’re excusing inappropriate behavior because Fleck is famous even though he and his family are impacted by others in the same way everyone else is.

Your response is a part of the problem. We don’t respect mental health in our society. Instead of supporting someone who puts their pain out there, you attack them instead. Incredibly disappointing.


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So is Donald Trump being bullied by the media? If his wife came out telling CNN to lay off would we get "good for her" posts. Sorry folks, some public jobs come with the fact that you will be ripped on publicly. To say Pat is bullying PJ is one of the most ridiculous claims I have seen on here in years.


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short ornery norwegian said:
As far as the "Reusse hates the U" routine -

Reusse has written many very complimentary columns about Gopher volleyball. On the radio, he's called it the best show in town. He has also been complimentary about the softball program.

I've been reading Reusse's stuff for over 40 years. He has been consistent from day 1. He goes after fat cats - rich owners who get public subsidies for stadiums - GM's and front office types who can't or won't give a straight answer to a question - and anyone he deems to be a BS artist. He thinks Fleck is a BS artist.

That is called an opinion. You are free to agree or disagree. But Pat Reusse - just like anyone else, has a right to have his or her own opinion.

And the tweet that kicked this whole thing off - Fleck is supposed to be a great motivator. The Wild are losing - they show a Fleck motivational video - and they go on to lose the game. There is some irony there - unless you believe a college football coach is above criticism.

Bottom line - no matter how angry the coach's wife may be - getting into a public spat with a writer is a no-win situation for her. It's a fight she can't win.

In the end, PJ Fleck will be judged by wins and losses. His players can visit children's hospitals every day of the week and twice on Sunday - but if the Gophers don't win enough games, Fleck will not be the Coach of the Gophers. That is the reality of D1 sports.

Give most fans a choice between a humanitarian who wins 5 games, and a total a-hole who wins 10 games, and they'll take the a-hole. Just win, Baby.
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He goes after pro team owners? No way. That can't be true. I was told here that he wants the pro teams to make as much profit as possible - because reasons.
 

Uffda said:
I'm standing up to a bully! I'm being honest that I don't find your constant sarcasm and pettiness appealing.
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Well, I found you post negative. Expect to hear from my wife.


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John Galt said:
Spoofin is Reusse in every way. Of course he’ll defend him.
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I'll have to think about this one. I don't read most of Pat's articles, but based on the ones that get posted here I suspect you are right. Well done JG.


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Some good takes here by many different posters. A few things I'm thinking about...
Public job in a highly viewed and extremely high pressure position is going to get criticism. If the attacks are personal...I.e his wife, kids, etc. that's wrong no matter how much money he makes. It's completely irrelevant. If it's his coaching, in game performance, etc. it's 100% relevant how much he makes. Would Ruesse's attack be considered personal here? I think there is some of both, so I think Heather has a point to make with her response. Of course with who she's dealing with that won't be his last response so she'd be wise to just not respond again. For such positive people I'm surprised they (or at least her) has chosen to focus on the negative regarding him and the job he's been doing. I would say the vast majority has been positive.
 

I think pretty much everyone here knew that from day 1 PJ was hired that Reusse would thoroughly enjoy having him as Gopher football coach. I am not a Reusse fan and can't stand the constant negativity, but people need to just ignore him until he goes away. And PJ - if you want to keep Reusse quiet - just win.
 

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