Several U Football Players Face Discipline

[alchemy2u]

Decisions have consequences. Euphoria is not exactly at an all time high riding the momentum of beating Wisconsin and signing a very nice class... Why? Instead the buzz and focus is on disciplining players and self handicapping the likelihood of winning the bowl game instead to a loss. In addition to hearing: "We have lots of guys who don't practice for various reasons." Oh goodie...sounds like preparation is always an issue. Instead it's a game show: Guess who is suspended and why.
But people complain about low attendance, poor ticket sales, the Gophers don't travel well so they are slotted in Detroit...it's all about the decisions...how things are handled...and there is no need for innocent fans to have to deal with this story or handicapping the chances of winning if they were late for class or heaven forbid attended in T Shirts if it was all handled differently.
Make fun...don't even think of wondering what the score might be with different preparation....different decisions.

It is a private disciplinary situation that is being handled by the team. He doesn’t have to, nor should he explain all of the details to the press or the fans. He looked irritated that the issue was “leaked” to the public. He said it has nothing to do with any legal issues so it is an internal affair that follows team discipline.


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[alchemy2u]

Yeah, he wasn’t necessarily impartial to Croft but it seems very likely they butted heads off the field over more than his performances.

This is a case of a reliably biased set of media that wanted to create a story based on faulty information or possibly wholly manufactured information and it didn’t work out for them. PJ really did a nice job defending his players in the spirit of some other coaches, most recently Mark Dantonio. He did a great job. It will be interesting too see how Rochelle frames this exchange for her bombshell story tomorrow. “PJ Fleck: Multiple Starters May Be Suspended for Bowl Game for Disciplinary Reasons” seems likely.

It is more difficult to not talk publicly about a “starting” QB during the season, then it is about disciplining players during bowl preparation practices.


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[Treswell]

It's Coyle who deserves the big fat F. This is exactly one of the things that the Athletic Department should be taking care of.

"We really want your donation Mr. big time booster, but I have to head back to Minneapolis. One of our football players was late for a team meeting and I have a responsibility to blow the story completely our of proportion."

 

[GopherJack]

I loved the way Fleck answered the questions in his own way without giving the reporters the specific information they wanted. And he wasn't going to be baited into an outright refusal to answer their questions so they could rip him for it in the morning papers. Fleck kept a calm demeanor throughout the questioning and made it seem like he was cooperating with the reporters when he really wasn't. He even took subtle shots at them several times for reporting the 6 - 8 players numbers without reliable information. It was a master class in dealing with the media.

PJ would give Kellyanne Conway a run for her money

 

[highwayman]

It is a private disciplinary situation that is being handled by the team. He doesn’t have to, nor should he explain all of the details to the press or the fans. He looked irritated that the issue was “leaked” to the public. He said it has nothing to do with any legal issues so it is an internal affair that follows team discipline.


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Don't tell that to the fans whose "lives have been ruined" by the lack of information coming out on this "major news story".

Meanwhile, back to real life.

 

[Treswell]

5 Gopher stories at top of Pioneer Press website right now

Gopher Football Not Shying Away from 'Big Boy Fights' with Top Programs
At Least One Gopher Starter Violates Team Rules, Out for Bowl Game, Fleck Says
Cretin Derham Hall Receiver Peter Udoibok Excited to Be Part of Gophers
Gopher quarterback Commit Jacob Clark Impressed Where It's Toughest: Texas
Gopher Football Targeted Defensive Linemen and Nets Its Best Recruits

The story is spinning out of control! Fire Coyle...or something....

 

[Zeppelin Gopher]

Best post of the entire thread. Fleck (and the U) are right to provide only the most general information in response to media questions. He definitely shouldn't provide names, the number of players involved, or the reason(s) for the discipline. The privacy of the players must be the most important consideration. If Fleck provides specific information about who has been punished and for what reason it will only lead to a never-ending tidal wave of questions by the media. Although Fleck's refusal to provide specific information will lead to endless speculation about the players involved that is impossible to prevent. We all know the information will get out eventually but it is not a good reason for the U to release it without permission.

Color me shocked that you two jokers are in lockstep on this one. Birds of a feather...

 

[MaxyJR1]

5 Gopher stories at top of Pioneer Press website right now

Gopher Football Not Shying Away from 'Big Boy Fights' with Top Programs
At Least One Gopher Starter Violates Team Rules, Out for Bowl Game, Fleck Says
Cretin Derham Hall Receiver Peter Udoibok Excited to Be Part of Gophers
Gopher quarterback Commit Jacob Clark Impressed Where It's Toughest: Texas
Gopher Football Targeted Defensive Linemen and Nets Its Best Recruits

The story is spinning out of control! Fire Coyle...or something....

Maybe people on Gopherhole are losing focus and focusing on the negative? Each reporter has their different responsibility when covering Gopher Football. "Columnists" do not have a responsibility. They can write what ever they want.

IMO the Football program should have done a better job of defusing the report prior to yesterday. All that was needed was a simple release in line with what Fleck said yesterday. That likely would have led to extra reporters not even showing up to the conference yesterday. No response to original report led to yesterday. I agree that the reporter went over the line in continuing to ask the same questions.

Annoying is the rest of media coming to the defense of her actions. I'm assuming has she not asked maybe 1-2 questions would have been asked by a sports reporter and all would have moved on.
Fleck could have been better in his answer. He could have simply confirmed an exact number of players. Now post game will start with "Was so an so one of the players suspended?"

 

[Word]

"We really want your donation Mr. big time booster, but I have to head back to Minneapolis. One of our football players was late for a team meeting and I have a responsibility to blow the story completely our of proportion."

Do you know if it was as simple as being late to a team meeting? I'd like to see a source.
Most of what I've read has said that what happened was "after the win at Wisconsin" which tends to make you think it didn't have to do with team meetings, collared shirts, etc. I'm not against strict rules for the team meetings and love the collared shirt thing though, so that's not my point here.

 

[Pompous Elitist]

I loved the way Fleck answered the questions in his own way without giving the reporters the specific information they wanted. And he wasn't going to be baited into an outright refusal to answer their questions so they could rip him for it in the morning papers. Fleck kept a calm demeanor throughout the questioning and made it seem like he was cooperating with the reporters when he really wasn't. He even took subtle shots at them several times for reporting the 6 - 8 players numbers without reliable information. It was a master class in dealing with the media.

I hate to say it, but we are in total agreement. He had a telling smirk at times. Very nice.

 

[GOFUR]

I hate to say it, but we are in total agreement. He had a telling smirk at times. Very nice.

Strib is eating crow and as for Rochelle, sour grapes over a fruitless assignment.

 

[Treswell]

Do you know if it was as simple as being late to a team meeting? I'd like to see a source.
Most of what I've read has said that what happened was "after the win at Wisconsin" which tends to make you think it didn't have to do with team meetings, collared shirts, etc. I'm not against strict rules for the team meetings and love the collared shirt thing though, so that's not my point here.

Few players went nuts following a big win. Broke team rules. Good class signed. Bowl game will be watched by less than 1% of the US population. Bunch of early enrollees. Spring ball. Favorable '19 schedule. Life goes on.

 

[Word]

Few players went nuts following a big win. Broke team rules. Good class signed. Bowl game will be watched by less than 1% of the US population. Bunch of early enrollees. Spring ball. Favorable '19 schedule. Life goes on.

Life goes on, that is for sure.

 

[caliGopher]

5 Gopher stories at top of Pioneer Press website right now

Gopher Football Not Shying Away from 'Big Boy Fights' with Top Programs
At Least One Gopher Starter Violates Team Rules, Out for Bowl Game, Fleck Says
Cretin Derham Hall Receiver Peter Udoibok Excited to Be Part of Gophers
Gopher quarterback Commit Jacob Clark Impressed Where It's Toughest: Texas
Gopher Football Targeted Defensive Linemen and Nets Its Best Recruits

The story is spinning out of control! Fire Coyle...or something....

Top story on the Strib site last night was starters not playing in the bowl game. Below that was stories about the class, which is what should have been the lead.

That hurts the program and a competent AD would have had this minimized (the MN press is what it is) and we could have avoided detracting from good news. Is the sky falling? No. Did we blow a chance to focus on the positive? You betcha we did.


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[GopherJack]

Life goes on, that is for sure.

Yep, life goes on.......and for me, that means my annual quest to find the best Tom and Jerry in Rochester. Pappy's Place is the front runner.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Strib is eating crow and as for Rochelle, sour grapes over a fruitless assignment.

They definitely went digging for a story hoping to uncover a scandal of some kind and came up empty. Glad Fleck is giving them nothing on this as he is under no obligation to disclose the name or names or the players or any specifics on what they did. You could see that he was enjoying being able to give his non answer/answer to the questions but I am sure he is also frustrated to have to deal with answering repeated questions about this internal issue on a day that should be celebrating the future as opposed to trying to drum up a story to make the team look bad.

Internal discipline goes on all the time in programs, as long as the law isn't involved the team has every right to handle it behind closed doors and doesn't need to give the media any specifics. The strib ran with bad info to try and unearth something that wasn't there and it backfired.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Top story on the Strib site last night was starters not playing in the bowl game. Below that was stories about the class, which is what should have been the lead.

That hurts the program and a competent AD would have had this minimized (the MN press is what it is) and we could have avoided detracting from good news. Is the sky falling? No. Did we blow a chance to focus on the positive? You betcha we did.


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Outside of giving in and giving them all the internal details (which I am glad they are not doing) there really isn't much the department could have done. If they say there is nothing to see here the paper just runs with the idea that they are covering it up. Bottom line is negativity sells way more then positivity and in a medium that is dying to find any way to get people to pay attention to them you have to try and catch people's eye somehow.

 

[Treswell]

Top story on the Strib site last night was starters not playing in the bowl game. Below that was stories about the class, which is what should have been the lead.

That hurts the program and a competent AD would have had this minimized (the MN press is what it is) and we could have avoided detracting from good news. Is the sky falling? No. Did we blow a chance to focus on the positive? You betcha we did.

A coach holding his players accountable is good news.

 

[zman]

I hate to say it, but we are in total agreement. He had a telling smirk at times. Very nice.

Agreed. I like Fleck even more after watching how he handled the Q&A.

 

[CurveballJesus]

Strib is eating crow and as for Rochelle, sour grapes over a fruitless assignment.

She is an absolute joke

 

[Spoofin]

"We really want your donation Mr. big time booster, but I have to head back to Minneapolis. One of our football players was late for a team meeting and I have a responsibility to blow the story completely our of proportion."

This is BS. Based on our Athlete’s Village deficit alone, there is no way Coyle was with a Big Time Booster getting a donation.


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[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

She is an absolute joke

Who in the world still bothers with the Strib? I haven't clicked on a link to one of their stories in a year or two. I just simply can't support the kind of incompetence to which the paper has regressed.

I appreciate Bleed posting excerpts of pertinent articles but I won't venture past that. The paper is a dumpster fire at this point.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

Someone made a decision to avoid any press availability until the signing day press conference. That decision virtually guaranteed that there would be questions about the possible suspensions - taking focus away from the signing day activities.

In my humble opinion, that was a bad decision from a PR sense. The suspension issues could have - and should have - been dealt with separately. then, the focus of the signing day press conference would have been on the signing day.

Even if you think the reporters were out of line, the situation was created by the U's decision to wait until Wednesday to address the issue.

Don't know if that was Fleck's call or Coyle's. But it was a bad call.

Like it or not, players on a D1 FB team possibly being suspended and missing a bowl game is a story. it's going to be covered. the school had opportunities to steer that coverage in a direction they wanted. they did nothing, and the result is what happened on Wednesday.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Someone made a decision to avoid any press availability until the signing day press conference. That decision virtually guaranteed that there would be questions about the possible suspensions - taking focus away from the signing day activities.

In my humble opinion, that was a bad decision from a PR sense. The suspension issues could have - and should have - been dealt with separately. then, the focus of the signing day press conference would have been on the signing day.

Even if you think the reporters were out of line, the situation was created by the U's decision to wait until Wednesday to address the issue.

Don't know if that was Fleck's call or Coyle's. But it was a bad call.

Like it or not, players on a D1 FB team possibly being suspended and missing a bowl game is a story. it's going to be covered. the school had opportunities to steer that coverage in a direction they wanted. they did nothing, and the result is what happened on Wednesday.

Was anyone around "availability" wise before signing day? Gotta think a lot of time is spent crooting.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Someone made a decision to avoid any press availability until the signing day press conference. That decision virtually guaranteed that there would be questions about the possible suspensions - taking focus away from the signing day activities.

In my humble opinion, that was a bad decision from a PR sense. The suspension issues could have - and should have - been dealt with separately. then, the focus of the signing day press conference would have been on the signing day.

Even if you think the reporters were out of line, the situation was created by the U's decision to wait until Wednesday to address the issue.

Don't know if that was Fleck's call or Coyle's. But it was a bad call.

Like it or not, players on a D1 FB team possibly being suspended and missing a bowl game is a story. it's going to be covered. the school had opportunities to steer that coverage in a direction they wanted. they did nothing, and the result is what happened on Wednesday.

This has been the response from most in the media defending her. However, virtually no one is mad that she or anyone else asked questions about what happened. Everyone expect that. What was ridiculous is how she continued to ask the same questions, thinking she'd get a different answer, and really was just wasting everyone's time. The questions were asked, Fleck answered them how he was going to answer them. Thinking if you ask him 10+ times he'll finally cave in and give you the details is ridiculous. She was there solely to try to create controversy.

 

[Word]

Was anyone around "availability" wise before signing day? Gotta think a lot of time is spent crooting.

Coyle was probably around.

 

[Gophers_4life]

PJ handles it masterfully, doesn’t give them anything and subtly shreds their professionalism in one fell swoop.

Yes, always good to antagonize the local newspaper.


Expect to see an article printed on Dec 27, with a headline something like "Several Players Miss Bowl Game, Possible For Violating Team Rules" and a list of all the players who didn't play in the bowl game in big font. Then in smaller font, something like "The Star Tribune attempted to clarify which players missed the game due to team rules violations, but coach Fleck would not answer the question specifically".

If he wants to ____ around, that's what he's going to get. And it will be directly his and Coyle's fault.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Yes, always good to antagonize the local newspaper.


Expect to see an article printed on Dec 27, with a headline something like "Several Players Miss Bowl Game, Possible For Violating Team Rules" and a list of all the players who didn't play in the bowl game in big font. Then in smaller font, something like "The Star Tribune attempted to clarify which players missed the game due to team rules violations, but coach Fleck would not answer the question specifically".

If he wants to ____ around, that's what he's going to get. And it will be directly his and Coyle's fault.

Well one (maybe the only one) supposedly is a starter. I think even the Star Tribune can figure that one out.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Who in the world still bothers with the Strib? I haven't clicked on a link to one of their stories in a year or two.

Sure ... you. And maybe 30-50 others on this site who are hard core fans.

What about the other hundreds of thousands of "regular folks" who read it every day?

 

[Vandy]

Yes, always good to antagonize the local newspaper.


Expect to see an article printed on Dec 27, with a headline something like "Several Players Miss Bowl Game, Possible For Violating Team Rules" and a list of all the players who didn't play in the bowl game in big font. Then in smaller font, something like "The Star Tribune attempted to clarify which players missed the game due to team rules violations, but coach Fleck would not answer the question specifically".

If he wants to ____ around, that's what he's going to get. And it will be directly his and Coyle's fault.

Do you not give a crap about privacy rights? Particularly if there is no matter of a criminal issue? What about the university disclosing something and opening the door to a liability case against themselves?