STrib: Former Mankato coach Hoffner vying for Minot State job

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per the STrib:

Todd Hoffner, the Minnesota State University, Mankato, football coach demoted and fired after being cleared of child pornography charges, is one of three finalists for the head coaching job at Minot State.

"With all the adversity my family and I have faced," he said at a 45-minute press conference, "we are looking to dust ourselves off, move forward. We need to move on and move forward with our lives and hopefully this is a great opportunity for us."

Although cleared of felony charges when a judge ruled videos on his cellphone showed only innocent play among his children, Hoffner was demoted to a job as an assistant athletic director and then fired. He's challenging his dismissal through a union grievance.

He's hoping to replace Minor State coach Paul Rudolph, who quit to become offensive coordinator at North Dakota.

http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/242407891.html

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
per the STrib:

Todd Hoffner, the Minnesota State University, Mankato, football coach demoted and fired after being cleared of child pornography charges, is one of three finalists for the head coaching job at Minot State.

"With all the adversity my family and I have faced," he said at a 45-minute press conference, "we are looking to dust ourselves off, move forward. We need to move on and move forward with our lives and hopefully this is a great opportunity for us."

Although cleared of felony charges when a judge ruled videos on his cellphone showed only innocent play among his children, Hoffner was demoted to a job as an assistant athletic director and then fired. He's challenging his dismissal through a union grievance.

He's hoping to replace Minor State coach Paul Rudolph, who quit to become offensive coordinator at North Dakota.

http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/242407891.html

Go Gophers!!
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From everything I've heard, this isn't going through. It was reported at the beginning and talked about, but it will never happen. I'd guess the best move for Todd Hoffner is to simply move on and try to get into coaching again. It doesn't sound like he wants to go that route and he knows it.
 

Very strange story. I feel for the guy, but I can tell you if it were me and it was just pictures of my kids, I would have called every news channel in the US to defend my family and reputation.
 

The timing of his situation with all the Sandusky fall out at Penn State really hosed Hoffner. Prior to Penn State, common sense might have prevailed before things got out of hand they way they did for Hoffner, but after what went down at PSU you can understand why schools would be on high alert for anything that might fall into that realm.

Hopefully the guy is able to land on his feet and get back to coaching again. Going out of state for a while is probably his best bet, because even though the case against him was dropped there are still morons out there that will consider him a pedophile no matter what he does.
 

MNVCGUY said:
The timing of his situation with all the Sandusky fall out at Penn State really hosed Hoffner. Prior to Penn State, common sense might have prevailed before things got out of hand they way they did for Hoffner, but after what went down at PSU you can understand why schools would be on high alert for anything that might fall into that realm.

Hopefully the guy is able to land on his feet and get back to coaching again. Going out of state for a while is probably his best bet, because even though the case against him was dropped there are still morons out there that will consider him a pedophile no matter what he does.
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I don't think this situation was impacted much by Sandusky. It might have gotten more national exposure (good and bad for him, Outside the Lines did a special that attempted to clear his name). However, a college football coach being accused of have child pornography of his own children is going to get the attention of the media. Furthermore, it's the kind of situation that we all hope the school would err on the side of caution. It's unfortunate for innocent people who get sucked into that stuff, but it's the nature of the crime. I can't fault the IT people for seeing something that bothered them and reporting it.

As far as common sense prevailing. . .I'm not sure who wasn't using common sense. The facts surrounding these videos are still bizarre. The age of the children makes it weird for me. I'm not saying he is guilty of child pornography, but it's a little different. Furthermore, IT people, who would have no reason to tar and feather an innocent person saw these videos and were bothered by them. The prosecutors saw these videos and were bothered by them. The prosecutors knew this case would go to a judge, they wouldn't want to risk their names on a bad case (these don't settle). Additionally, Hoffner's wife has never seen the videos. She refuses to watch them and was completely unaware of them prior to the situation. That just seems so weird to me. It's strange for a father to have these kinds of videos and not show a wife and it's flat-out bizarre for her to refuse to see them.

The judge saw all of this differently and she could very well be right. However, this isn't some case that was super open and shut. I'd imagine it's much more of that "gray" area than black and white. I think Mankato knows that it isn't black and white and that's why they got rid of him. At the time Mankato fired Hoffner, he had tons of public support. They didn't cave to some outside pressure. They are also well aware that they could be sued. Yet, they still went through with the situation. Why? My guess is that they know Hoffner isn't going to push the situation because if they are sued they can give their opinion to the public (I don't think the Hoffners want Mankato to give details of those videos, which seems pretty incriminating).

So I don't know who is guilty and who isn't. Sometimes in these cases, it's a gray area. I don't go out of my way to condemn Todd Hoffner, because he could be the victim in all of this. However, I wouldn't go too far out of my way to defend the guy, the situation stinks. It's probably something where intelligent people could really disagree on the nature of the videos.
 


Who made the decision to fire him and why did he/she make it? We'll never know.
 

With all due respect to the post above, the judge sure didn't see at as a gray matter and told the prosectors off. It was leaked early that is was a B.S. case. I'd say arbitrary, not gray. What are you talking about not wanting the nature of the videos getting out? It was a criminal case, there are no secrets!
 

station19 said:
Who made the decision to fire him and why did he/she make it? We'll never know.
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Nope, and I'd never pretend to know. This is a difficult situation because it's hard to show all sides without the chance of it seeming like I'm accusing a potentially innocent guy of being pedophile.
 

akgopher said:
With all due respect to the post above, the judge sure didn't see at as a gray matter and told the prosectors off. It was leaked early that is was a B.S. case. I'd say arbitrary, not gray. What are you talking about not wanting the nature of the videos getting out? It was a criminal case, there are no secrets!
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Yep and the IT Department, 6 Mankato State University employees, the police department (called the videos "disturbing") and the prosecutors thought otherwise (hence it not being cut and dry). The judge's opinion on the situation holds all the cards legally in this case, but not in the real world. There are tons of legal minds who are equally intelligent who strongly differ on a variety of legal and even factual questions. I could give you an almost endless list of judicial decisions that lack common sense and even longer list of judicial opinions that treat difficult factual/legal situations as black and white issues. They never are. My point? Simply because a judge feels one way doesn't make it so.

As far as the nature of videos. . .
#1: Hoffner sued to get the police investigation and the school's investigation in the matter sealed which was granted. However, if Hoffner would have sued the school (which he should have done if it was cut and dry), those investigations would have been made public.
#2: Mankato is not legally allowed to describe the "just cause" Hoffner's termination unless it becomes public (like a lawsuit).
#3: There are plenty of things about the case that aren't public - the nature of Minnesota State's inquiry, the results of that inquiry, etc.
 



akgopher said:
With all due respect to the post above, the judge sure didn't see at as a gray matter and told the prosectors off. It was leaked early that is was a B.S. case. I'd say arbitrary, not gray. What are you talking about not wanting the nature of the videos getting out? It was a criminal case, there are no secrets!
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Very astute akgopher. I agree with you 100%. No gray matter involved, Mankato State over reacted and held Hoffner hostage until the season was over. Knowing they made a mistake, they made him an Assistant AD to hold off the lawsuit. Funny thing was, that the players and coaches dedicated the balance of their season to him and finished runner-up in the D2 playoffs.
 

GoldenGopher88 said:
Very astute akgopher. I agree with you 100%. No gray matter involved, Mankato State over reacted and held Hoffner hostage until the season was over. Knowing they made a mistake, they made him an Assistant AD to hold off the lawsuit. Funny thing was, that the players and coaches dedicated the balance of their season to him and finished runner-up in the D2 playoffs.
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You think everything that a judge decides is no longer a gray matter? Really? We know that a judge felt one way and the University, the police, the prosecutors, the IT employee and his/her supervisor ALL felt another way. I'm not saying one of them is right or wrong, but that's the definition of a gray area.

Mankato absolutely did not think they made a mistake, or they would not have fired him. The threat of a lawsuit (if the firing was not for just cause) would have stopped them from firing him if they really thought they made a mistake. They stuck to their guns and fired him after their internal investigation was over. All of their actions are the exact opposite of the actions you'd take if you thought you made a mistake. I don't know if they did or not, but they certainly didn't feel like they've done anything wrong.

As far as the team supporting him. . .I don't see what that has to do with anything, but Hoffner surely didn't feel supported.

From the now infamous ESPN article:
"The team's new head coach, Aaron Keen, whom Hoffner had saved in 2011 from a Division II school shuttering its football program, now preached loyalty and attentiveness. Keen had his players meet each week with a sports psychologist, who encouraged them to focus only on what they could control. Hoffner and his "situation," Keen said, were a "distraction" capable of derailing their season. The players referred to that distraction with a motto -- "Flush it" -- and they sometimes kept a toy toilet on the sideline to remind them to leave the past behind.

"Day by day, that team became mine a little less," Hoffner said."

"Shocked by the initial charges, then by the judge's exoneration, the university community did what communities do: It ignored the awkward wreckage. Most players continued to avoid Hoffner because they had wanted to "flush it," and being around him still felt strange. The coaches' wives still left Mel's calls unreturned. The new president of the Touchdown Club said the university should move on and support a new coach. Keen and his assistants began preparations for another season, with a team that now felt wholly theirs. Hoffner was seen as both vaguely guilty and completely innocent, as an object of suspicion and a martyr, as lucky to be free and the unluckiest man in town."



The people who are quick to call this an open and shut case are doing the exact same thing as the people who rushed to judgment about Hoffner. The prosecutor and police said it was disturbing. . .so he's guilty. (That's the same as the judge saying it was innocent, so it's innocent). The fact is that the world often exists in the not so clear cut areas and this case is obviously one of those situations.
 

A professional specializing in this matter said it wasn't pornographic, and they didn't find anything else related to porn in his possession.The kids were interviewed by professionals and checked out clean. Why would a guy hand over his phone if he knew he had kiddie porn on it? At worst he did something socially awkward.

How can a prosecutor bring this to trial without having professionals sign off? The DA faces reelection and hopefully this will inspire someone good to step up and run. Mankato was on fire without him coaching and that made it a tough call too.
 




This is all part of the bureaucratic zero tolerance trend: 1st graders suspended for bringing plastic butter knife in their lunch, for pretending a banana is a gun, for kissing a girl at recess. If a bureaucrat follows the rules to a T, he can't get in trouble. University Administrators, Police, Prosecutors may or may not be very bright, but they are frequently cowards. We are debauched society when we have to a assume that a Dad's video of his happy naked children playing at home is some Monstrous crime, just to be on the safe side.
 

GoldenRodents said:
This is all part of the bureaucratic zero tolerance trend: 1st graders suspended for bringing plastic butter knife in their lunch, for pretending a banana is a gun, for kissing a girl at recess. If a bureaucrat follows the rules to a T, he can't get in trouble. University Administrators, Police, Prosecutors may or may not be very bright, but they are frequently cowards. We are debauched society when we have to a assume that a Dad's video of his happy naked children playing at home is some Monstrous crime, just to be on the safe side.
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As a father of four, I found the description of the video on Hoffner's phone disturbing. If you haven't read it, please do so.

The childrens' dancing, I'm sure, was innocent. But a child, in innocence, can do something that's wrong. It's negligent parenting not to correct such an innocent mistake, and it's beyond comprehension how (or why) a guy would save such a video. Hoffner's misconduct in applauding the performance and saving the video is inexplicable. On that, it seems that everyone involved agrees, except for the judge and Hoffner himself.
 

everybody knows my name said:
As a father of four, I found the description of the video on Hoffner's phone disturbing. If you haven't read it, please do so.

The childrens' dancing, I'm sure, was innocent. But a child, in innocence, can do something that's wrong. It's negligent parenting not to correct such an innocent mistake, and it's beyond comprehension how (or why) a guy would save such a video. Hoffner's misconduct in applauding the performance and saving the video is inexplicable. On that, it seems that everyone involved agrees, except for the judge and Hoffner himself.
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I agree. Too often people confuse the legal system with with reality and truth. Many innocent people are convicted of crimes; many guilty people are not.

Regardless of the legal history of this matter, the material on the video that was a) recorded and b) saved strikes me as at least bizarre/questionable/concerning.
 

father of four

everybody knows my name said:
As a father of four, I found the description of the video on Hoffner's phone disturbing. If you haven't read it, please do so.

The childrens' dancing, I'm sure, was innocent. But a child, in innocence, can do something that's wrong. It's negligent parenting not to correct such an innocent mistake, and it's beyond comprehension how (or why) a guy would save such a video. Hoffner's misconduct in applauding the performance and saving the video is inexplicable. On that, it seems that everyone involved agrees, except for the judge and Hoffner himself.
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I don't remember reading a description other than a bunch of giggling and horseplay. Yes extremely stupid to record the video, if Hoffner was trafficking these videos they would have found something on his computers, in his email communications. But let's crucify him just to be safe.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
You think everything that a judge decides is no longer a gray matter? Really? We know that a judge felt one way and the University, the police, the prosecutors, the IT employee and his/her supervisor ALL felt another way. I'm not saying one of them is right or wrong, but that's the definition of a gray area.

Mankato absolutely did not think they made a mistake, or they would not have fired him. The threat of a lawsuit (if the firing was not for just cause) would have stopped them from firing him if they really thought they made a mistake. They stuck to their guns and fired him after their internal investigation was over. All of their actions are the exact opposite of the actions you'd take if you thought you made a mistake. I don't know if they did or not, but they certainly didn't feel like they've done anything wrong.

As far as the team supporting him. . .I don't see what that has to do with anything, but Hoffner surely didn't feel supported.

From the now infamous ESPN article:
"The team's new head coach, Aaron Keen, whom Hoffner had saved in 2011 from a Division II school shuttering its football program, now preached loyalty and attentiveness. Keen had his players meet each week with a sports psychologist, who encouraged them to focus only on what they could control. Hoffner and his "situation," Keen said, were a "distraction" capable of derailing their season. The players referred to that distraction with a motto -- "Flush it" -- and they sometimes kept a toy toilet on the sideline to remind them to leave the past behind.

"Day by day, that team became mine a little less," Hoffner said."

"Shocked by the initial charges, then by the judge's exoneration, the university community did what communities do: It ignored the awkward wreckage. Most players continued to avoid Hoffner because they had wanted to "flush it," and being around him still felt strange. The coaches' wives still left Mel's calls unreturned. The new president of the Touchdown Club said the university should move on and support a new coach. Keen and his assistants began preparations for another season, with a team that now felt wholly theirs. Hoffner was seen as both vaguely guilty and completely innocent, as an object of suspicion and a martyr, as lucky to be free and the unluckiest man in town."



The people who are quick to call this an open and shut case are doing the exact same thing as the people who rushed to judgment about Hoffner. The prosecutor and police said it was disturbing. . .so he's guilty. (That's the same as the judge saying it was innocent, so it's innocent). The fact is that the world often exists in the not so clear cut areas and this case is obviously one of those situations.
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Bob-it's called Due Process. Thankfully we live in a Nation where you can express your opinion and I can express mine. Where your confusing facts is that the IT Department, the Police Department and the Prosecutor can claim anything they want to claim. The "It was disturbing" comment is an opinion, not a fact. At the end of the day, the Judge ruled Hoffner was innocent of these charges. Agree or disagree, the Legal System was followed and the facts came out.
 

GoldenRodents said:
I don't remember reading a description other than a bunch of giggling and horseplay. Yes extremely stupid to record the video, if Hoffner was trafficking these videos they would have found something on his computers, in his email communications. But let's crucify him just to be safe.
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The description I read is far different. The kids were said to be dancing, touching their genitals, and displaying themselves.

Your last sentence is stupid. You assume too much about other people.
 

Glad to see that he is getting back on his feet. He was totally screwed over by his previous employer.
 

Former Minnesota State coach cleared in child porn investigation is new Minot State coach

A former college football coach who was cleared in a child pornography investigation in Minnesota is the new head coach at Minot State.

KTOE radio first reported Thursday that former Minnesota State-Mankato coach Todd Hoffner got the job. Minot State spokesman Michael Linnell confirmed the hire to The Associated Press.

Hoffner didn't immediately respond to AP telephone and email requests for comment. He said during a visit to the northern North Dakota campus on Monday that "one of my focuses and goals has been to re-establish myself."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/242768241.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
 


BleedGopher said:
Former Minnesota State coach cleared in child porn investigation is new Minot State coach

A former college football coach who was cleared in a child pornography investigation in Minnesota is the new head coach at Minot State.

KTOE radio first reported Thursday that former Minnesota State-Mankato coach Todd Hoffner got the job. Minot State spokesman Michael Linnell confirmed the hire to The Associated Press.

Hoffner didn't immediately respond to AP telephone and email requests for comment. He said during a visit to the northern North Dakota campus on Monday that "one of my focuses and goals has been to re-establish myself."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/242768241.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Go Gophers!!
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Nice of the strib to toss in child p0rn twice before even mentioning the guys name. Thankfully for Mr. Hoffner from this point on he should be able to get a new job as the former coach of Minot State as opposed to the way he was introduced in this story.
 


He has to move to Minot. He's still being punished.
 


station19 said:
He has to move to Minot. He's still being punished.
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Here's what Hoffner had to say about the situation
“One of my focuses and goals has been to reestablish myself,” Hoffner said. “With all the adversity my family and I have faced, we are looking to dust ourselves off, move forward. We need to move on and move forward in our lives and hopefully this is a great opportunity for us to do that.”

The Esmond, N.D., native earned his bachelor’s degree while playing football at Valley City State before getting his master's in pedagogy from the University of North Dakota.
“This is a position that has a particular interest to me,” Hoffner said. “My parents are still alive and I've learned a lot of great valuable lessons from them about hard work and perseverance, and only being 90 miles away from them would be very exciting for me.”

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/424890/publisher_ID/1/

He's getting back into coaching (in a conference and area that he's familiar with), he's close to family. It may be "punishment" for a lot of people. I can only imagine that Hoffner feels pretty fortunate.
 



e.bigelow said:
Been waiting for someone to post that, Doc!
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e.bigelow...Not everyone is astute as you, me, and a few others. Some of us GH'ers are for real. A great number of GH'ers are like the gossiping old ladies over the back yard picket fence. The rest are over analyzers, and funny they are. :cool03:
 

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