Still No Statement from Ben Johnson

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El Amin Fan

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I'm surprised Ben Johnson hasn't made any statements since his firing more than 2 months ago. I understand its not fun to be fired, especially in a public way, but I thought for sure there would be a tweet acknowledging the opportunity to coach for his alma mater, loved the fans, loved his players, etc. Most coaches release a statement of some sort, do a friendly interview shortly after the firing at at the least put a tweet out. Especially when it's your alma mater. I'm guessing he and Coyle don't remain close, though SpauldingNo probably has more insight to that.
 







El Amin Fan said:
I'm surprised Ben Johnson hasn't made any statements since his firing more than 2 months ago. I understand its not fun to be fired, especially in a public way, but I thought for sure there would be a tweet acknowledging the opportunity to coach for his alma mater, loved the fans, loved his players, etc. Most coaches release a statement of some sort, do a friendly interview shortly after the firing at at the least put a tweet out. Especially when it's your alma mater. I'm guessing he and Coyle don't remain close, though SpauldingNo probably has more insight to that.
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It certainly is a bit strange but I would imagine it's quite time consuming trying to count $8M. A "Thank you" card would've been nice, though.
 


El Amin Fan said:
I'm surprised Ben Johnson hasn't made any statements since his firing more than 2 months ago. I understand its not fun to be fired, especially in a public way, but I thought for sure there would be a tweet acknowledging the opportunity to coach for his alma mater, loved the fans, loved his players, etc. Most coaches release a statement of some sort, do a friendly interview shortly after the firing at at the least put a tweet out. Especially when it's your alma mater. I'm guessing he and Coyle don't remain close, though SpauldingNo probably has more insight to that.
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I think some folks prefer to bury their head in the sand than to face uncomfortable situations head on. I hope he comes out and does the dog and pony show to thank the U and then we can all embrace him back into the family. He is an alum who seems like a nice enough guy. If he is wallowing in some delusion that he didn't get a fair shake, then he needs to grow up. Either way, we'll embrace him in a couple years.
 






Ben and his dog spend a lot of time together sitting home alone munching on their favorite snacks and only watching old movies on the 112 inch screen that make Ben cry. His dog comforts his sadness. Ben uses Door Dash because he is a prisoner...unable to fit through doors anymore. (He tips well, drivers love him.)
 



I haven't wanted to dwell on the past, but it's strange enough that it's worth noting. He hasn't posted on Twitter since November 20th; didn't even post during the season after Thanksgiving. Even just that is curious. The way he's fallen off the face of the earth since his tenure ended is...really something.

Has anyone heard anything in the media from him or about him at all? If I were him, I'd be concerned about losing complete forward motion with my career. Not that he needs to find a job right away with all the money he's presumably banked, but even Whalen made sure to stay in the mix and in the public eye after her dismissal.

It's downright mysterious, and there's not enough info to come close to concluding anything, but it makes me wonder whether he'll even stay in coaching. Maybe he's rethinking everything.
 


Bad Gopher said:
I haven't wanted to dwell on the past, but it's strange enough that it's worth noting. He hasn't posted on Twitter since November 20th; didn't even post during the season after Thanksgiving. Even just that is curious. The way he's fallen off the face of the earth since his tenure ended is...really something.

Has anyone heard anything in the media from him or about him at all? If I were him, I'd be concerned about losing complete forward motion with my career. Not that he needs to find a job right away with all the money he's presumably banked, but even Whalen made sure to stay in the mix and in the public eye after her dismissal.

It's downright mysterious, and there's not enough info to come close to concluding anything, but it makes me wonder whether he'll even stay in coaching. Maybe he's rethinking everything.
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I have no clue how active he was or was not on social media prior to getting fired but he may have just decided to step away from social media entirely because my guess is it was not a lot of fun being on those platforms while people just took shots at him constantly.

More and more high profile people are moving away from social media because of how toxic it can be.

Can't say I blame them.....honestly not really sure why anyone wastes their time caring what random people on the internet think of them.
 


HE wouldn't have a case for wrongful termination. It is part of being a coach. If you do not win, lose players left and right, cannot get boosters to donate, etc. - You get fired.
It is curious that he has not at least had a PR person put out a simple statement.
My guess is at the moment he is not concerned about his image or next job. Maybe he is not returning to coaching for all we know.
The reason fired coaches, etc. put out statements is to set things off right for the next coaching job. Keep the image as an agreeable person who is professional.
So my guess is something more than the record, players, etc. occurred behind the scenes. Or Ben no longer wants to coach.
 

rwbPhilly said:
HE wouldn't have a case for wrongful termination. It is part of being a coach. If you do not win, lose players left and right, cannot get boosters to donate, etc. - You get fired.
It is curious that he has not at least had a PR person put out a simple statement.
My guess is at the moment he is not concerned about his image or next job. Maybe he is not returning to coaching for all we know.
The reason fired coaches, etc. put out statements is to set things off right for the next coaching job. Keep the image as an agreeable person who is professional.
So my guess is something more than the record, players, etc. occurred behind the scenes. Or Ben no longer wants to coach.
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The college game has changed. Some coaches just don't want to change with it. Interesting that his three primary assistants all found work right away, so I can't imagine the situation here was that bad. Kemp dropped down to D2 to get a head coaching job. I would imagine opportunities for him are available. Maybe he just didn't want to take a pay cut at a new job and forego his buyout? The whole situation from start to finish has been a riddle wrapped in an enigma.
 


I’ll ask media omnipresent Parker Fox. The dude showed up at the St Louis Park home of the basketball lawsuit defendants.
 



BeJo did his best. It simply wasnt very good.

I am sure he'll be coaching somewhere in a year or two
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
You can't be serious with this
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I said it somewhat facietiously, but I don't put it past anyone not to sue in this litigious society. Not saying he would have a case but have seen people sue with no case before. Heck, know it's different, but Fitzgerald is going to get millions from Northwestern when it's all said in done.
 

alchemy2u said:
I know it is a slow news time, but.....

All you guys did was bitch about him when he was at the U and now that he is gone, you all finds ways to bitch that he hasn't thanked you guys for bitching about him?

get a life....


You just can't make this shit up!
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Coming from you (regarding bit*hing about something). … 😂.
 

TNGophfan said:
Heck, know it's different, but Fitzgerald is going to get millions from Northwestern when it's all said in done.
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Surely you can recognize the difference between a weird soaped up locker room hazing scandal vs 4 seasons of horrific on court performance
 

Zeppelin Gopher said:
Surely you can recognize the difference between a weird soaped up locker room hazing scandal vs 4 seasons of horrific on court performance
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I said it was different. Again, I'm not advocating Johnson sue. All I said, and some of you are taking this much too seriously, is it wouldn't necessarily shock me if some attorney looking for a payday would try to convince him to sue.
 

Maybe he is having a midlife crisis. He was obviously a great HS player and deserved a D1 scholarship. He wasn’t terrible as a college player but played on bad teams. His coaching career has been subpar at best. Maybe he looked in the mirror and realized that he really isn’t cutout for this coaching thing. Gotta be something he is good at. It’s certainly not coaching basketball. And it’s not a short track record
 

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