Several U Football Players Face Discipline

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Kind of amusing that some of those who were hysterical about the evil media on the group sex/boycott scandal are now staunch defenders of the media. Couple of them seemed to wet themselves with glee yesterday at the prospect of PJ's program facing a scandal.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Wishful thinking, I'm afraid.

Gophers need good coverage when thinks actually do go well, just as much as the Strib needs the U to have something to write about that will get people to actually pay attention for a moment.
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Yes, I agree. The hissyfit that ensues would make teenage girls look good in comparison. In my limited exposure a surprisingly tone deaf, hypersensitive group of people.
 

Word said:
Circulation of the paper strib is about 300,000 on weekdays and that doesn't count online readers.

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Yeah, saying no one reads it is ridiculous. Regardless of circulation, it's one of the biggest local news websites in the country by traffic.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Regardless of how the story got out, it's out now.

The ball is in the hands of Fleck and Coyle. If it is a relatively minor matter, then release some information and keep the speculation from getting out of hand. And, if it is not a minor matter, then at least clarify the number of players involved and their current status. (practicing-not practicing; will play in bowl;won't play in bowl).

The lack of information may make it look worse than it really is. Again, Fleck and/or Coyle need to respond in some fashion. of several bad options, remaining silent may be the worst option at this point.
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If there's no real meat behind the story then they should just ignore it.
No point in validating the Strib's sports desk.

If there's an actual issue then I would agree to you, if it's just a 'team rules' suspension then I wouldn't even bother commenting.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Regardless of how the story got out, it's out now.

The ball is in the hands of Fleck and Coyle. If it is a relatively minor matter, then release some information and keep the speculation from getting out of hand. And, if it is not a minor matter, then at least clarify the number of players involved and their current status. (practicing-not practicing; will play in bowl;won't play in bowl).

The lack of information may make it look worse than it really is. Again, Fleck and/or Coyle need to respond in some fashion. of several bad options, remaining silent may be the worst option at this point.
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Problem with your suggestion is that it would require Coyle leading from the front. He is much more comfortable leading from the rear, where he can wait to make sure there is no possible downside to himself before doing anything.

Whether this is something major, something insignificant, or something in between, the department has bungled their handling of it already.
 


hello-world said:
If there's no real meat behind the story then they should just ignore it.
No point in validating the Strib's sports desk.
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I disagree 1000%. You ignore things, and it just fuels the fire. Set the record straight, clean and simple, and then go on with your business.
 

I'm staying quiet until I hear more.

I don't know if any of this is significant or not.
 

Gophers_4life said:
I disagree 1000%. You ignore things, and it just fuels the fire. Set the record straight, clean and simple, and then go on with your business.
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Michael Scott: We gotta do something. This is spinning out of control, Pam. This is just, not--
Pam Beesly: It's just the Star Tribune...
Michael Scott: Noo.. Then Newsweek picks it up and then CNN does a story about it and then YouTube gets a hold of it.
 




I used to work for a top fifty newspaper and I would never have been allowed to offer a story from anonymous sources. Now newspapers do it all the time, led by the NYT and Washington Post, both once beacons of journalistic ethics. Invariably these kinds of stories are attacks of some sort.
 

PhillyGopher said:
Clearly, you don't belong here.

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Could be key personnel involved. I say, let’s not tell our bowl opponents anything to help in their preparations. Keep the names secret. Knowing the Strip they are probably watching the comings and goings at the athletic village to see who is not practicing. Anything to stick it to the Gophers.
 

PhillyGopher said:
Clearly, you don't belong here.

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Ah, let's not get carried away. Just meant he had stopped for awhile.

Face The Facts said:
At this point, I trust PJ will take care of it and he'll work with Mark Coyle to make sure everyone agrees regarding next actions.
If PJ and Coyle end up in a disagreement (or the President (Kaler)), then I'll start to get worried.
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Face The Facts said:
Almost sounds like an illegal substance issue.
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Face The Facts said:
I am glad PJ is quick to suspend these players.

PJ handling things the right way it appears.
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Face The Facts said:
I'm staying quiet until I hear more.

I don't know if any of this is significant or not.
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short ornery norwegian said:
Regardless of how the story got out, it's out now.

The ball is in the hands of Fleck and Coyle. If it is a relatively minor matter, then release some information and keep the speculation from getting out of hand. And, if it is not a minor matter, then at least clarify the number of players involved and their current status. (practicing-not practicing; will play in bowl;won't play in bowl).

The lack of information may make it look worse than it really is. Again, Fleck and/or Coyle need to respond in some fashion. of several bad options, remaining silent may be the worst option at this point.
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Great points! People are making arrangements to go to the bowl and naturally want to know who will be playing. The U is handling it poorly as usual, with silence. A decision should have been made at once as to discipline and that announced at once. This is bush league PR.
 



Great Plains Gopher said:
I used to work for a top fifty newspaper and I would never have been allowed to offer a story from anonymous sources. Now newspapers do it all the time, led by the NYT and Washington Post, both once beacons of journalistic ethics. Invariably these kinds of stories are attacks of some sort.
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It’s a reflection on people ... these days we demand instant bite-sized information to be streamed to our phones. That’s pretty much the opposite of taking your time to vet sources, facts, etc. and then prepare a well written report.
 

Kids made a mistake. They have right to privacy if it is internal team discipline and not a crime committed.
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
I used to work for a top fifty newspaper and I would never have been allowed to offer a story from anonymous sources. Now newspapers do it all the time, led by the NYT and Washington Post, both once beacons of journalistic ethics. Invariably these kinds of stories are attacks of some sort.
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This is simply not true. Many, many, many stories have been broken over the years using unnamed sources, including the Watergate story. Investigative journalism would be nearly impossible without using unnamed sources.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Regardless of how the story got out, it's out now.

The ball is in the hands of Fleck and Coyle. If it is a relatively minor matter, then release some information and keep the speculation from getting out of hand. And, if it is not a minor matter, then at least clarify the number of players involved and their current status. (practicing-not practicing; will play in bowl;won't play in bowl).

The lack of information may make it look worse than it really is. Again, Fleck and/or Coyle need to respond in some fashion. of several bad options, remaining silent may be the worst option at this point.
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Don't you guys know they don't release squat any more about players and discipline? They won't acknowledge what happened or who was involved. They'll just say those players aren't playing. If it's the bud, I imagine it will be a one game thing. I'm not worried. We'll know, by default, who it was, soon enough. I suppose, we won't be able to rule out any of the seniors who have already said they are leaving the program, although they may be unrelated.
 

caliGopher said:
So if your boss, who has been planning to fire you and is actively pursuing candidates makes a statement in the press that is a lie. You go along with it? And if you don’t, you have no pride?

Interesting take.


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If I’m going to get fired, I’m smart enough not to make statements that harm my next opportunity for similarly compensated employment
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
The Strib and Pioneer Press are more of a symptom than the cause of the problem.

They are in the business of making money and click-bait makes money. You can't blame the Strib for running with the story, it'll drive traffic. We have a 14 page thread about college kids drinking/smoking weed and we're a tiny corner of the market.
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Agree with most of this.


Disagree with the part about smoking and drinking. We have a thread about possible smoking and drinking. Not actual smoking and drinking
 

Great Plains Gopher said:
Great points! People are making arrangements to go to the bowl and naturally want to know who will be playing. The U is handling it poorly as usual, with silence. A decision should have been made at once as to discipline and that announced at once. This is bush league PR.
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I would argue, that legally a university shouldn’t release anything about player health and discipline without player permission.
 


Deckergopher said:
So who are the kids in trouble?
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I can’t tell you.
Nor can I tell you how many they are.
Nor if they are suspended for the bowl, but they might be.
Nor can we tell you the nature of the offense.
We can tell you it isn’t assault.
We just have enough to put it on the front page of the sports section.
 

From the Daily: “A representative for the team said he could not comment on the situation as of Wednesday. The representative said that head coach P.J. Fleck will be available for the media on Dec. 19.”

So by then he and his staff can decide what the facts are, determined the severity, and mete out the discipline. At that time, we will be told what is in store.

Imagine that. Due process.
 

This would be a story at any University in college football. To think otherwise is crazy. Also a story that a simple press release could resolve in two seconds.
 



hungan1 said:
Kids made a mistake. They have right to privacy if it is internal team discipline and not a crime committed.
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Yes, but these "kids" are also scholarship athletes - or at the least, walk-on athletes - on the only D1 College FB team in the State. And this matter - whatever its nature - may impact whether they are allowed to participate in a nationally-televised game - a game that the school is receiving a lot of money to appear in.

It's not like some HS kids getting busted as a party. All of the players (I assume) are over 18 and are legal adults.

This is news. You don't have to like it. But it is news.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Yes, but these "kids" are also scholarship athletes - or at the least, walk-on athletes - on the only D1 College FB team in the State. And this matter - whatever its nature - may impact whether they are allowed to participate in a nationally-televised game - a game that the school is receiving a lot of money to appear in.

It's not like some HS kids getting busted as a party. All of the players (I assume) are over 18 and are legal adults.

This is news. You don't have to like it. But it is news.
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Except you don't know anything about it other than a few players might miss a game.
That's not news; that's a rumor.
The fact that the Strib ran with this is a glaring endorsement of their incompetence.

I heard a UW player failed a mathematics class and might not be eligible for spring practice. I didn't write an article about it, and I certainly don't expect Chryst to issue a press release.

Muckracking garbage.
Strib should release their entire sports desk.
 
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hello-world said:
Except <b>you don't know anything about it other than a few players might miss a game.</b>
That's not news; that's a rumor.
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Well, that’s just not true. We know kids have been suspended from practice. That is news - whether you like the news or not.


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Spoofin said:
Well, that’s just not true. We know kids have been suspended from practice. That is news - whether you like the news or not.


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Has that been confirmed by the University?
 

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