Unverified Voracity Is Pretty Disgusted With Minnesota
rick pa knew [Patrick Barron]
Smearing the Pitinos' good name. Minnesota suddenly suspended center Reggie Lynch a few days ago because he was ruled "responsible" for a sexual assault by Minnesota's Title IX office. He is banned from Minnesota's campus until 2020, pending a potential appeal.
The best-case scenario here is that Minnesota pulled a Brendan Gibbons: they played a guy who they had to know was very likely to be booted off campus, telling no one and hoping that they could sweep it under the rug. That does not appear to be the case:
Gopher athletics knew about Reggie Lynch & his behavior from the beginning. I literally sat them down last year & brought it to their attention even further. They know there are multiple victims. They knew about this active report. They still did nothing https://t.co/7rnHrzYtFb
— Abby Honold (@abbyhonold) January 5, 2018
There are a lot of extremely pissed off locals on Twitter talking about how Lynch's behavior was widely known and nothing was done about it. Honold did have that meeting:
Honold said Friday that she told Coyle months ago that she knew of “multiple other victims” of sexual misconduct involving Lynch.
“This is a pattern,” she told Coyle and urged him to investigate further.
“But it did not really fall on open ears,” Honold said. “The only person who really responded told me, ‘Well, this sounds awfully personal, how would you even know all of this?’ And, ‘This is irrelevant because they didn’t report to police.’
Minnesota's athletic director pleads incomprehensible corporate nothing-speak:
University of Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle's responses when asked about a meeting with @abbyhonold in which she said she, "literally sat them down last year & brought (Reggie Lynch's behavior) to their attention even further." pic.twitter.com/bfl4H2rRmp
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) January 5, 2018
That is a bald-faced lie in an attempt to cover his own ass and dude should get fired like Minnesota's previous sexual assault idiot AD. And their former associate athletic director. Or a gymnastics coach. Burn the whole department to the ground.
This sounds educated, so that's good. The Daily transcribed a bit of new S&C guy Ben Herbert's philosophy:
“From a weight room development standpoint, the most important thing right out of the gate for our young guys when they come in is developing their lower body and developing their back,” Herbert said. “A lot of guys spend a lot of time (bench) pressing in high school. They don’t spend a lot of time pulling and they don’t spend a lot of time training their lower body. That’s where we see our biggest gains.
“Teach guys how to eat well, teach them how to hydrate properly, teach them how to train the right way, focusing on lower body and back development, and we set them up for a great result.”
One of Herbert’s biggest success stories at Arkansas, former tight end Hunter Henry, tweeted out support of the hiring on Dec. 30.
“One of the best hires in the country!” Henry, a second-round NFL Draft pick, wrote. “This guy is legit. Might have to make a trip up to Ann Arbor now.”
I'm looking forward to the inevitable war between Herbertites and Anti-Herbertites that erupts the first time anyone has a ligament injury.
I did not know this. Apparently when Kirby Smart was hired at Georgia the first guy he wanted to call was Dan Enos, but Jeff Long had created a contract that prevented him from making a move:
“Kirby called me early (Monday), asked me for permission to talk to Dan," Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema revealed. " (I) just basically said … ‘I understand if you’ve got to talk to Dan if that’s something you want to do, but he’s got a non-compete clause in the SEC. So that kind of null and voids those things from really becoming real within our conference.”
It's tough to judge Enos's ability in a vacuum since he's going up against Alabama with a shooter and only one bean, but he appears to be well-respected in the SEC.
TV Teddy has a sad. Embarrassing toolbox Ted Valentine may have finally gone too far with his on-court antics after this flatly disrespectful action in the aftermath of a call he obviously missed:
UNC's Joel Berry tried to discuss a non-call with referee Ted Valentine.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 4, 2018
Valentine was not interested. pic.twitter.com/dP5jeL90pK
Valentine was yanked from a couple of Big Ten games this weekend, including OSU's surprising mud-stomping of MSU, and now THREATENS TO RETIRE as a result.
"I'm thinking about retiring," Valentine told The Athletic's Seth Davis. "I've had enough of people blowing up stuff. I think I've had a stellar career, and I think it's time to get ready to walk away."
At least he thinks he's making a threat. The rest of the world sick of his histrionics looks at that as a promise. Valentine might not be the worst ref in the world, but he is the most annoying. It's long past time for that dude to hit the bricks. Hopefully his Big Ten ban is permanent. Something ain't right with that man.
So much for that defensive logjam. Michigan Hockey Winter strikes twice, with 2019 D Mike Vukojevic defecting to the OHL in the middle of a USHL season—bizarre—and 2018 D Mattias Samuelsson apparently decommitting so he can join his brother at... Western Michigan?
FWIW, Lukas Samuelsson was a Michigan commit but is now a WMU freshman... with zero games played. He's got to be a walk-on. Tremendous, tremendous screw-up on Michigan's part to let Lukas walk for another program where he wasn't going to play. Since Samuelsson dropped off Michigan's commit list more than a year prior to his enrollment at WMU this is more of a Red thing than a Mel thing.
Michigan does still have a top-ten-ish pick coming in in Bode Wilde, so it's not a crisis or anything. But the mega-D does not appear to be happening.
David DeJulius gets after it. He took on Clarkston, which features MSU-bound PG Foster Loyer, and went to work:
Very much a Walton vibe there. He's comfortable pulling up from three and the midrange and attacks downhill like Walton did early in his career. Dunno how well that aspect of his game will translate to college—Zavier Simpson was a huge scorer in HS and that went away—but the shooting and all-around dawg-ness should stick.
Etc.: Vital stuff. Equanimeous St Brown leaves ND, enters draft, avoids getting worked by Lavert Hill and David Long next year. Ditto ND RB Josh Adams. Greg Roman staying in NFL. Season summary of Wolverines in the NFL. Isaiah Livers is comin'.
January 8th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
and don't let the door hit you in the @$$ on the way out.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:45 PM ^
I'm thinking it's ok to say that twice.
January 8th, 2018 at 12:34 PM ^
son of John Milton......
January 8th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^
Foster Loyer is a hell of a player and David DeJulius completely outshined him in that matchup.
Also, Loyer can't be more than like 5'10. He is so tiny.
January 8th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
Loyer is one of the most skilled players I've ever watched at the high school level, but I have a hard time seeing him be successful at the next level. He didn't even guard DeJulius in this game and the one I saw last year, a non- D1 recruit was taking him to the rim at will. He's a defensive liability at the high school level.
Offensively he will be better, but I don't think his game is a great fit for Izzo.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:38 PM ^
On offense he's incredible. He's made like hundreds of free throws in a row at a time. He can be lights out.
January 8th, 2018 at 4:00 PM ^
Well Izzo had a tiny player a few years ago, the name escapes me, but he was quite good...
January 8th, 2018 at 4:54 PM ^
He was highly skilled (all-time leader in MSU FT%, a 40% career 3pt shooter, and one of the better A:TO PGs in MSU history), but small and not a great defender.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^
Is Foster Loyer #1 on the other team?
January 8th, 2018 at 1:25 PM ^
Quick google search says yep. I'm no basketball expert, but his defense in this video looks . . . lackadaisical. He gives up the open three from the baseline, doesn't get through a pick, and gets a blocking foul under the basket. But the best is his attempt to sell the offensive foul at about :51. Ref wasn't having it.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:38 PM ^
Yup. Won a state title last year and scored like 30 in the championship game. Lights out shooter. But that size/defensive ability is a HUGE red flag
January 8th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
Unfortunately, this seems to be a pattern at Minnesota in both the football and basketball programs. Hiring Pitino was perfectly consistent with their "look the other way/do nothing" philosophy. The so-called leadership in that athletic program is a disgrace and the people who run the University of Minnesota need to clean house there to purge the tolerance of sexual assault that appears to be the norm.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
They've done that once already in the past three years.
January 8th, 2018 at 2:48 PM ^
Is sexual assualt way more common today or is it just getting exposed and/or we hear about more because of the internet? It seems to be quite high in college athletics.
January 8th, 2018 at 10:25 PM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 3:24 PM ^
was actually committing sexual harrassment (and maybe assault) himself, so perhaps they are making progress?
January 8th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^
Minnesota - you've made the list*:
PSU- Sandusky-gate & subsequent handing of -working thier way off slowly at this point
MSU- Nassar-gate & subsequent handing of
Minn - this thing among other things.
UNC- shit classes - working their way off perhaps since the accreditng body didn't do jack AFAIK
OSU - being who they are and how they act. good news, you're probably ahead of Minn and MSU at this point?
* list of schools I won't be giving tuition money to
January 8th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^
Lynch was a transfer and supposeduly had a history when he arrived. The AD said they have a PI agency do extesnive background checks on every recruit/transfer and nothing came up on Lynch. I'm assuming there has already been a FOIA request made for that document.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
I'm 100% in favor of people getting a chance to defend themselves, but suspending a player from playing while the investigation plays out doesn't overly harm the player.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:33 PM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 1:35 PM ^
"Nothing good happens after midnight."
Bo
January 8th, 2018 at 3:57 PM ^
That's a pretty ridiculous assumption which can't be supported by any evidence.
And "you can easily avoid being involved in these types of things" is another ridiculous assumption.
I suggest you read up on all the major controversies regarding sexual assault on campus and all the false accusation scandals, title IX kangaroo courts, etc. You can start with Duke Lacrosse, the UVA gang rape hoax, the "mattress girl" controversy, etc.
It's a serious issue with two sides, both deserving "common decency," dude.
January 9th, 2018 at 9:14 AM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 2:27 PM ^
Are you serious? It doesn't harm the player? If you're accused of sexual assault and suspended and it's covered by the media, your reputation (and internet search results) are basically ruined for the rest of your life.
The Minnesota situation is awful, but let's not act like it's an easy to call to decide whether to suspend someone before or after an investigation. That's where you need to rely on the judgment of officials to decide how credible something is.
Let's say Lynch had been innocent but was suspended right when the accusation was made. Is that fair to him? I don't think so.
January 8th, 2018 at 3:13 PM ^
Exactly right. It could also hurt an innocent player's professional prospects if he needs to impress scouts in his final year.
There is an important legal issue here, as well. Minnesota is a state school and is therefore required to give students due process when taking punitive action. Automatically suspending a player because there is a complaint made without any investigation would be a violation of the player's civil rights.
January 8th, 2018 at 3:54 PM ^
This seems more like a case of NOT investigating (parhaps multiple) claims, than giving a student-athlete due process.
It didn't seem like Honold was decrying the process playing out, rather there being no action.
Or am I missing something?
January 8th, 2018 at 4:09 PM ^
I was responding to His Dudeness' statement that an accused player should automatically and immediately be suspended. That would be a violation of constitutional (and, therefore, also civil) rights if done by a public school. I am not in any way defending or excusing Minnesota's actions.
January 8th, 2018 at 4:37 PM ^
We need to differentiate between a suspension by the school and one by the team. I don't think players have a constitutional right to be on a sports team. Being suspended from attending school might be another story.
January 9th, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
January 9th, 2018 at 1:49 PM ^
A formal accusation occurs when someone files a report with authorities. It may be completely fabricated. Sometimes people are charged with a crime of filing a false report, but not always. If you're saying suspension should occur after authorities charge an individual with an offense that is quite different since an individual would be charged only after an investigation found probable cause to proceed.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
I think when millions of dollars are involved as salary/bonuses/revenue, a lot of the "common decency" items go out the window.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:58 PM ^
In a related note, when someone says, "It's not about the money," it is most definitely about the money.
January 8th, 2018 at 2:31 PM ^
Eh, I think A) might go too far depending on the circumstances. We know how insane fans can be, I don't know if we want to set up an incentive structure where all it takes to get a star player benched for a big game is an anonymous accusation to the Title IX office a week before. Nor do we want pressure to rush the investigation because the accused is actively being punished. Sexual assault is a big deal and should be handled with seriousness and care - getting someone benched immediately is less important than getting the call right. Trial first, then sentence.
I'm okay with treating these on a case by case basis - obviously something with multiple accusers and witnesses, or where the player admits to some level of wrongdoing, or has a history... in those cases an immediate suspension may indeed be warranted. But a one size fits all policy of "Oh, you got accused? Benched for the season!" I don't know when "Common Decency" and "Due Process" became enemies, but I don't really like it.
That said, this is a fine line, and you ought to at least try to not look like you're covering up / callous / etc.
B), I'm totally on board with.
January 8th, 2018 at 12:48 PM ^
have to admit that I find this particular Valentine antic to be just a tiny bit funny.
January 8th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^
I coudn't disagree more. It's what a toddler does when their parents say to clean up. It's just weird.
January 8th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
Yeah.... if you have to say:
"I've had a stellar career..."
Then likely you have not.
January 8th, 2018 at 12:51 PM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 5:02 PM ^
have that kind of alpha instinct at the high school level. Would be great if he is Trey Burke-like, but Z was similar in HS. Key is settling into your role at the college level, which for most guys, is not the alpha.
January 8th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
By my count, DeJulius scored about 1 billion points in that game. If Wagner and Matthews both come back - and neither look like 1st rounders yet - they could be preseason top 10.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:32 PM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 2:41 PM ^
Nope. They have one free scholorship that was banked this year, so they currently have room for 4 of the 5 commitments in the 2018 class. They only need one player to either go pro or transfer to open up enough room for the entire class.
January 8th, 2018 at 3:15 PM ^
Yeah I don't like speculating transfers but it's almost certain somebody would transfer in a scenario where Mo stays.
January 8th, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
January 8th, 2018 at 12:54 PM ^
"It was just something that happened in the battle of the game. It's not really worth talking about," Valentine told The Athletic. "Everybody reacted to what Jay Bilas wrote on Twitter. He made a comment about something and he didn't see the whole thing. This is the world we live in. Everybody wants to make you guilty before you're innocent."
This kills me. I hate when people play victim but choose not to explain their side of the story. If a comment was made from someone who "didn't see the whole thing" then maybe...I don't know, explain the whole thing! What a dipshit.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
This Teddy line also applies to the Lynch thing. What kind of reasoning is this? If you screw up and lose your job, playing time, etc, that is NOT "guilty before innocent." You don't get a free pass to do whatever you want just because there is some angle you can play defending yourself to make your case. If you want to go to court, then sure, you are innocent until proven guilty. Until then, society is free to strip you of all the privileges that you enjoy
January 8th, 2018 at 1:07 PM ^
Nope. Nevermind.
January 8th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^
I think Teddy Valentine really thinks its all about him. Most refs maintain a low profile. TV Teddy seems to think he's one of the stars of the show
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