Pitino and Coyle press conference regarding the suspension of Reggie Lynch

[justthefacts]

These are former students who are posting about these rumors. Sure, a coach is going to talk to HS coaches and administrators, but obviously they didn't say "Reggie's a bit rapey." Surely you understand that a college coach is not going to walk the halls of a HS or sneak into teenage parties to try and research what teenagers are saying about each other. Again, PLEASE get real

Except Larry Eustachy.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

Looking at Olson's bylines lately, it seems her beat is the Super Bowl and weather. With a couple of obits thrown in.

Rochelle Olson

 

[Lakers612]

Then why do I know about her take from this board? I must be a real insider. Is she a real journalist or an activist of some kind that crashed the presser? Can anyone go into those things?

because this is a board dedicated to gopher athletics so of course we would share it here? that doesn't necessarily imply that her schtick worked. not even sure if it is fair to call her line of questions a schtick. they were relevant and fair in this instance.

 

[BleedGopher]

FWIW - Even if you believe Mark Coyle is handling this the right way, and he is 100% correct in his actions, the U needs to find a way to keep him off camera and away from any microphones.

The guy is not a good communicator, and he just doesn't come off well in public situations.

Some people can stand at a podium, tell bald-faced lies, and come off as believable. Coyle, unfortunately, is one of those people who can stand at a podium, tell the truth, and come off as insincere or not believable. It's a combination of his body language, attitude, tone of voice - everything. He may very well be a capable behind-the-scenes administrator, but as a front man for the athletic department, he's a liability. The Gophs need to find someone in the athletic department to handle public situations, and keep Coyle away from the media.

I agree that Coyle is horrible with the media and he handled this press conference very poorly today. It's media relations 101 to start a situation with an opening statement as its the ONLY part of the press conference that he 100% owns, after that and he is just reacting to the questions.

But you are wrong if you think anyone other than Coyle and Pitino should have been talking today. No way should an SID be handling this publicly. The U has long needed strategic communications and crisis management, not an SID but unfortunately they haven't invested in it that much, and when they did (Chris Werle), it wasn't a great fit.

Go Gophers!!

 

[Keyser Söze]

I have no crusade.

It has come to light that Lynch was known on at least the two Minnesota high school campuses for what he was. Why wouldn't (or shouldn't) a coach be able to ask around, about that? Not an official background check .... call it personal due diligence. That is not against the law. Maybe you ask the high school coaches "hey I heard such and such ... what do you think about that?". Maybe you call up some parents. Etc.


Now it's a question of if Pitino simply didn't do that, or did and ignored it. And if he didn't, was that negligence or just a mistake?

Things that are well known or rumored to be true among students aren't necessarily well known among teachers, administration, coaches, etc. How are you supposed to know to ask questions about rumors if you haven't heard them?

 

[bizzle22]

"Why were the football players suspended? With our process that's in place, with any student athlete, if there's a criminal investigation taking place, they cannot take place. "

There is no criminal investigation. This is an investigation by the EEOA.

Listen to the audio or watch the video. He actually explained that part pretty well.

 

[howeda7]

I'm not sure what the timetable is for the appeal process is, but the one thing the University could do that seems fair to all sides is to expedite the process. It appears that this is basically a he said, she said situation. The incident was not reported or investigated until much later after it occurred, so there can be little, if any physical evidence. Since the incident happened in a private dorm room there are likely no direct eyewitnesses. So let's get both parties involved together with whatever board hears the appeal, and let them decide which side they believe to be more credible. Letting Lynch continue to practice and be with the team for weeks or months while this drags on is not a good situation for anyone involved. So lets get this decided quickly, and let everyone move on regardless of what the decision is.

This is a good point. The football situation was far more involved with so many people. There's no reason this should take 'weeks or months' but it probably still will.

 

[Holy Man]

This is a good point. The football situation was far more involved with so many people. There's no reason this should take 'weeks or months' but it probably still will.

The issue for Reggie and the program is that we are now in the post Harvey Weinstein era. Even if an appeal has the decision on punishment reversed and is done quickly, the PR will be horrible if he is back on the court. I'm not for running people off without their chance to defend themselves, but I cannot see any possibility that he returns to the team.

 

[RickDornsby]

He’s got a mountain to climb. Maybe it gets reduced to 6 months, but what does it matter at that point?

 

[WriterGoph]

The issue for Reggie and the program is that we are now in the post Harvey Weinstein era. Even if an appeal has the decision on punishment reversed and is done quickly, the PR will be horrible if he is back on the court. I'm not for running people off without their chance to defend themselves, but I cannot see any possibility that he returns to the team.

Yes, because of all the social media "convictions" and people talking about "rumors" and "whispers", this seems like a lose-lose situation. Gonna be a tough one.

 

[Pete smith]

As a former PR professional, this response from Pitino made me cringe. It sounds like he pulled it directly from his dad's Q&A playbook, and that's not a good thing. He needs to be more aware of how a response like this can be construed as flippant and arrogant, which doesn't help him or the program.

I don't see semblance of being flippant and/or arrogant. How was he suppose to respond knowing this columnist always has the last say?

 

[JCK]

As a former PR professional, this response from Pitino made me cringe. It sounds like he pulled it directly from his dad's Q&A playbook, and that's not a good thing. He needs to be more aware of how a response like this can be construed as flippant and arrogant, which doesn't help him or the program.

Maybe the word 'former' has relevance in reference to yourself. Do you understand that these policies cover all the students not just the athletes. Could it be that this journalist was overreaching, and Patino understood this. It would be foolish to believe that the basketball coach would be utilized to write policy for some 50,000 students.

 

[Halsey Hall]

Check out her (Rochelle Olson) twitter feed. Is she a reporter or a columnist? She's going hard after Pitino.

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Isn't Rochelle a woman's name???

 

[howeda7]

The issue for Reggie and the program is that we are now in the post Harvey Weinstein era. Even if an appeal has the decision on punishment reversed and is done quickly, the PR will be horrible if he is back on the court. I'm not for running people off without their chance to defend themselves, but I cannot see any possibility that he returns to the team.

Probably. But if he wins the appeal (unlikely) I would think the U would have some legal exposure if they don't let him play.

 

[hyaluronic]

Probably. But if he wins the appeal (unlikely) I would think the U would have some legal exposure if they don't let him play.

I think there is legal exposure, but they mitigate that if they do not deviate from established policies and procedures that are sound. Coyle basically stated they have been well-vetted, and I'll go with that for now.

Also, not trying to be contrarian to your points of view, my apologies if I'm coming across as such. Cheers.


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[EG#9]

A lot of really dumb questions in that press conference. What is Mark Coyle supposed to do with allegations that "Abby" relays to him about a member of his basketball team? He's supposed to open an investigation without a willing victim participating in the process? He's supposed to suspend or discipline him based on what "Abby" told him? He's an athletic director, not the chief of police or a prosecutor. Then you had a question about people on Twitter "not being surprised" by these allegations about Lynch because he had a "reputation"? WTF. Many high profile people get gossiped about, some of that is truth, some of that is fiction. None of that is relevant to Mark Coyle's job...again what is he supposed to do? I saw a lot of the stuff on Twitter and didn't see a single person claim they were also a victim of Reggie Lynch only people claiming they've "heard stories" about him and thought that it was a good time to share that information. Then there were a couple of questions that lead with he was accused of Sexual Assault twice within a month span in 2016 and was allowed to play all of last year and then in to this year. This shows a complete lack of even basic understanding of the timeline of events. Reggie faced charges for one event, was briefly suspended while a criminal case was opened then reinstated when it was closed due to lack of evidence. This second case although the event in question occurred during the same period wasn't even brought to attention until this Fall. Again what would you like Mark Coyle to do? How is he "cleaning up" anything by suspending a player who was not found responsible in the first case? Now this case comes up X number of months later and it's not a criminal case so the U's policy is to let that student participate. Are you really suggesting that he shouldn't be allowed to participate because someone filed a EOAA complaint against him? So just "F" any sort of due process AND in doing so you know that it will come out why he's not playing further tarnishing his image before anything is decided? That's how you think these things should go?

Mark Coyle handled the press conference poorly, but he hasn't handled the Reggie Lynch situation poorly.

 

[MinnGopher]

A lot of really dumb questions in that press conference. What is Mark Coyle supposed to do with allegations that "Abby" relays to him about a member of his basketball team? He's supposed to open an investigation without a willing victim participating in the process? He's supposed to suspend or discipline him based on what "Abby" told him? He's an athletic director, not the chief of police or a prosecutor. Then you had a question about people on Twitter "not being surprised" by these allegations about Lynch because he had a "reputation"? WTF. Many high profile people get gossiped about, some of that is truth, some of that is fiction. None of that is relevant to Mark Coyle's job...again what is he supposed to do? I saw a lot of the stuff on Twitter and didn't see a single person claim they were also a victim of Reggie Lynch only people claiming they've "heard stories" about him and thought that it was a good time to share that information. Then there were a couple of questions that lead with he was accused of Sexual Assault twice within a month span in 2016 and was allowed to play all of last year and then in to this year. This shows a complete lack of even basic understanding of the timeline of events. Reggie faced charges for one event, was briefly suspended while a criminal case was opened then reinstated when it was closed due to lack of evidence. This second case although the event in question occurred during the same period wasn't even brought to attention until this Fall. Again what would you like Mark Coyle to do? How is he "cleaning up" anything by suspending a player who was not found responsible in the first case? Now this case comes up X number of months later and it's not a criminal case so the U's policy is to let that student participate. Are you really suggesting that he shouldn't be allowed to participate because someone filed a EOAA complaint against him? So just "F" any sort of due process AND in doing so you know that it will come out why he's not playing further tarnishing his image before anything is decided? That's how you think these things should go?

Mark Coyle handled the press conference poorly, but he hasn't handled the Reggie Lynch situation poorly.

Well stated. Unfortunately I don't know any plausible solution or where you draw the line regarding the difference between a criminal case and university sanctions/rules. I don't really have faith in the criminal justice system or the EOAA investigations and sanctions. I know that there is a difference in the thresholds (preponderance of evidence vs. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt), but I think the real question is can we find a solution that is somewhere in between both? Criminal investigations seem to rarely lead to criminal charges seemingly favoring the accused and EOAA investiagtions seem to favor the accuser.

I think ultimately you have to tell players when they come in, hey whatever you subject yourself to, fair or not, you made choices to put yourself in that situation. In this case I think Reggie was being reckless. Guy already went thru a ton of stuff last spring and then he doesn't learn and keeps screwing around, potentially subjecting himself to similar situations. He is known to be kinda slimy around campus, fairly well known thing, and I don't think his behavior has probably changed from when he stepped on campus. His behavior, regardless of who you believe, isn't acceptable when you look at the position he is in, being a face of a successful basketball team.

 

[Cruze]

Well stated. Unfortunately I don't know any plausible solution or where you draw the line regarding the difference between a criminal case and university sanctions/rules. I don't really have faith in the criminal justice system or the EOAA investigations and sanctions. I know that there is a difference in the thresholds (preponderance of evidence vs. guilty beyond a reasonable doubt), but I think the real question is can we find a solution that is somewhere in between both? Criminal investigations seem to rarely lead to criminal charges seemingly favoring the accused and EOAA investiagtions seem to favor the accuser.

In order to determine if EOAA investigations at the U favor the accuser we are going to have to know at least the following information:

1. How many EOAA investigations have there been at the U?

2. How many EOAA investigations resulted in student code of conduct hearings?

3. How many code of conduct hearings were decided against the accused?

4. How many code of conduct hearing decisions were appealed?

5. How many code of conduct hearing appeals where decided against the accused?

Once we have the answers to these questions we will know whether or not EOAA investigations favors the accuser. Not before then.

 

[Some guy]

In order to determine if EOAA investigations at the U favor the accuser we are going to have to know at least the following information:

1. How many EOAA investigations have there been at the U?

2. How many EOAA investigations resulted in student code of conduct hearings?

3. How many code of conduct hearings were decided against the accused?

4. How many code of conduct hearing decisions were appealed?

5. How many code of conduct hearing appeals where decided against the accused?

Once we have the answers to these questions we will know whether or not EOAA investigations favors the accuser. Not before then.

Conviction rate does not tell you who it favors&#55357;&#56835;.


A low conviction rate of innocent people doesn’t necessarily mean the process favors the accused.
A high conviction rate of guilty people doesn’t necessarily mean the process favors the accuser.


You have to look at the actual process to figure out who it favors. There is no question the EOAA process favors the accuser more than the criminal justice system.

 

[MinnGopher]

In order to determine if EOAA investigations at the U favor the accuser we are going to have to know at least the following information:

1. How many EOAA investigations have there been at the U?

2. How many EOAA investigations resulted in student code of conduct hearings?

3. How many code of conduct hearings were decided against the accused?

4. How many code of conduct hearing decisions were appealed?

5. How many code of conduct hearing appeals where decided against the accused?

Once we have the answers to these questions we will know whether or not EOAA investigations favors the accuser. Not before then.

That is a fair point. I guess I would look at the investigations into the 8 or 9 football players a year ago. 3 out of what 9 were cleared after the dust settled and punishment reduced for 1 or 2? Idk I guess that when levying allegations and punishments in cases like these it doesn't exactly inspire confidence, when upon review, half or more are changed. Not diminishing what happened with the football team, none of that should have happened.

 

[hyaluronic]

Conviction rate does not tell you who it favors.


A low conviction rate of innocent people doesn’t necessarily mean the process favors the accused.
A high conviction rate of guilty people doesn’t necessarily mean the process favors the accuser.


You have to look at the actual process to figure out who it favors. There is no question the EOAA process favors the accuser more than the criminal justice system.

Agree with the above. I'll add that while the EOAA favors the victim relative to the criminal justice system, the criminal justice system's high burden of proof does not make it ideal for this type of crime. Sex is a legal act with consent, and the consent is given in a private moment between individuals.

EG - I largely agree with what you said. I don't think the EOAA should be involved if there is no victim willing to share their story. Their story is a critical piece to determining consent above.

That said, in trying to step into Abby's perspective, I would find it highly frustrating if I heard multiple women describe being sexually assaulted by one individual, and not feel that anyone is taking it seriously.

Perhaps there could be an outreach program from the U when administration is made aware of certain egregious student code violations (robbery, assault, domestic violence, etc.) If someone gives the name of a victim and contact information, the U will reach out to the victim so they are informed that the university has a process outside of the criminal justice system for violations by their students. For it to maintain fairness to the accused, the outreach would have to be non-specific.

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[Holy Man]

Agree with the above. I'll add that while the EOAA favors the victim relative to the criminal justice system, the criminal justice system's high burden of proof does not make it ideal for this type of crime. Sex is a legal act with consent, and the consent is given in a private moment between individuals.

EG - I largely agree with what you said. I don't think the EOAA should be involved if there is no victim willing to share their story. Their story is a critical piece to determining consent above.

That said, in trying to step into Abby's perspective, I would find it highly frustrating if I heard multiple women describe being sexually assaulted by one individual, and not feel that anyone is taking it seriously.

Perhaps there could be an outreach program from the U when administration is made aware of certain egregious student code violations (robbery, assault, domestic violence, etc.) If someone gives the name of a victim and contact information, the U will reach out to the victim so they are informed that the university has a process outside of the criminal justice system for violations by their students. For it to maintain fairness to the accused, the outreach would have to be non-specific.

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If I were Abby I would be frustrated too. But Abby has to know that there is virtually nothing the U administration can do if the victims don't come forward and say something themselves. They can't send a messenger. If there were other victims who said something to the U, everyone is in deep doo doo. It does not sound like that is the case. One of the more difficult aspects of getting to the truth in matters like this is the hesitancy to say anything out of fear, or other reasons on the part of people who actually know what happened, including the victims. Like it or not, our system of justice both civilly and in private matters does rely heavily on substantiated evidence. If those who know don't speak up, that evidence is virtually impossible to gather.

 

[hyaluronic]

If I were Abby I would be frustrated too. But Abby has to know that there is virtually nothing the U administration can do if the victims don't come forward and say something themselves. They can't send a messenger. If there were other victims who said something to the U, everyone is in deep doo doo. It does not sound like that is the case. One of the more difficult aspects of getting to the truth in matters like this is the hesitancy to say anything out of fear, or other reasons on the part of people who actually know what happened, including the victims. Like it or not, our system of justice both civilly and in private matters does rely heavily on substantiated evidence. If those who know don't speak up, that evidence is virtually impossible to gather.

I haven't heard anyone mention that the U covered up victims coming forward. I recognize the importance that an accusation come from the victim, and for that accusation to be free from influence from the U.

Now I'll go into defense mode of my idea. [emoji4]

When the U holds orientation, they inform students of the student conduct policy (if I recall correctly). However, if you aren't a student, how would you ever know about the policy? Even if you are a student, would you remember the specifics months or years after orientation?

It's like targeted advertising - 'Hi Jane Doe, my name is John Smith from the University's XYZ department. (insert better transition) we're calling to let you know that the U has non-crimimal proceedings for student code violations. Would you like to know more? (if yes, go into more detail, if no give a call-back number).' You aren't throwing anyone under the bus or influencing the reported victim, but you are making sure they are: 1.) aware there is a non-criminal process, 2.) initiating contact, which I would hope would increase reporting frequency.

I'm thinking on my feet here, and am certainly no expert, but it at least puts the U in a proactive stance on the issue, while protecting due process for the accused.

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