Letter from former players & coaches supporting Bo
I'm surprised that I haven't seen this posted yet. Letter was released today signed by over 100 former players, coaches, staff members defending Bo. Some notable signers include Jim Hackett, Jack Harbaugh, Dan Dierdorf, Jon Falk, Steve Everitt, John Kolesar; Reggie McKenzie and Mark Messner. Jim Harbaugh was not included.
I am happy for them that Bo’s failures didn’t affect them personally.
or they won't admit it - would hurt their careers
Well most of them are retired so they don’t need to worry about their “careers.” The flip side of that is, defending Bo under the current circumstances isn’t going to do anything but hurt their “careers” either. So that argument just doesn’t hold up.
"The flip side of that is, defending Bo under the current circumstances isn’t going to do anything but hurt their “careers” either."
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which is exactly what I said "would hurt their careers" ??
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No, what you ACTUALLY said was: they won’t admit that Bo’s failures affected them personally, because it would hurt their careers.
While I said, defending Bo in these circumstances would harm their careers.
So that’s not why you said what you said. Keep up.
was: they won’t admit that Bo’s failures affected them personally, because it would hurt their careers.
While I said, defending Bo in these circumstances would harm their careers.
So that’s not why you said what you said. Keep up.
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Nope - Not "admitting Bo's failures didn't affect you" - is the exact same thing as defending Bo!
Jimbo is priority 1 here - hell, Harbaugh was QB in the same timeframe Gilvanni Johnson was at the University - and the whole team would joke about Anderson - yet Jimbo knows of no abuse!! and Bo's failures were defended by Jimbo - same thing - Keep up!
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Reputations are also in play and causing other harmed ones to just STFU!
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Reputations are also in play and causing other harmed ones to just STFU!
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or they won't admit it - would hurt their careers
Do you think Bo's failures or the failures of the university who employed the doctor from 1969 until 2003 had more of an affect? There's a lot of talk about Bo. Seems like the ole "find a scapegoat who was partially responsible and make him the embodiment of the issue (bonus points that he's been dead for 15 years) to deflect from the institutional rot that we don't want to discuss andd would prefer to cover up with vague gestures like statue removal" strategy.
Bo certainly wasn’t THE problem. But he could have been the most authoritative voice to help put an end to it and chose not to.
Well, I think there is more value in focusing on THE problem of which Bo was part of. But the press has been focused on 99% on BO instead of THE problem. I get it though, it's easier to wrap your head around it if you can distil it down to one person. I'd like to know who else was at the University at the time in positions of power. Are they still alive. There's a question that hasn't been asked.
Here are some quotes from the first
“Survivors of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of a former University of Michigan athletics' doctor called for an investigation by the state's attorney general at a news conference Wednesday into school employees who may have known of the abuse and allegedly did nothing.”
“Attorney Parker Stinar, who represents the victims who spoke during the news conference, said the report failed to sufficiently investigate all employees who may have known of the abuse, including any who may be living.”
"It's not just about Robert Anderson, who's a sick sexual predator. It's about the institution that allowed his behavior," Stinar told CNN.”
it is not until paragraph 12, that Schembechler is mentioned. You should not be surprised that a Michigan sports blog focuses primarily on Schembechler, but that is not the primary focus of many others.
Further, has the current head coach of the football team or a group of players and coaches stood up in defense of anyone other than Bo? I would suggest that those trying to excuse Schembechler are in fact a large part of the reason that people are becoming more incensed about his actions (or more correctly, lack of action).
Bo reported to Canham. The coaches of the other teams that had players come forward, reported to Canham. Canham was in a better position to understand how pervasive the problem was.
Bo was on a one year contract before his flirtation with Texas A&M gave him some more job security. No one knows what was discussed between Bo and Canham. Judging Bo by today’s standards is not a proper way to get to the truth or to solve this societal problem.
Singling out Bo for criticism distracts from the systemic failure that occurred. You can’t solve a problem until you accurately understand it. A system that relies on the actions of one individual is doomed to fail at some point because humans are fallible, no matter how many statues are put up.
Who gives a fuck? This is the EXACT same situation the board screamed "Joe knew" for years about Joe Paterno. Bo may have reported it to Canham, but he certainly didnt use the power he had to get it to stop, as either coach or AD. Bo was like God in Michigan, he could get pretty much anything he wanted. Anyone defending him just doesn't want to admit the truth.
Bo may have reported it to Canham, but he certainly didnt use the power he had to get it to stop, as either coach or AD.
Reports say Canham wanted to fire Anderson and Bo intervened.
Richard Goldman reported that Bo wanted Anderson fired in the early 80’s but Canham wouldn’t do it. Including a heated exchange between Bo and Canham.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.detroitnews.com/amp/7701644002
Needless to say, there are a lot of reports coming out. A lot of different accounts of what happened, who knew, the extent of them knowing, and what they did about it. Some of it conflicting with other reports.
In the end, Bo could have done more than he did (Anderson’s actions were a criminal action, meaning Bo could have reported it to the police instead of just his boss) and that’s incredibly disappointing. But it’s unlikely we will ever know the 100% truth in how culpable he truly was. Again, a lot of different accounts (some contradictory) and Bo obviously isn’t alive to give his account. Outside of that, we know this was a complete institutional failure that needs to be address so that it never happens again.
In the end, Bo could have done more than he did (Anderson’s actions were a criminal action, meaning Bo could have reported it to the police instead of just his boss)
Which raises the question, why didn't the alleged survivors report assaults to the police?
Awful take. As a survivor of clergy abuse I was terrified of talking about what happened to me. So much so I let the memory go completely from my head until I was 40 years old. Shame, guilt, fear all play a part. Imagine losing your scholarship because you made wild accusations about a doctor at your University. Imagine if it gets out, what will your teammates or classmates think of you? Terrible terrible take. The priest who got to me would threaten the lives of the parents. I know he said something to me about burning in hell with the devil. When you are 13 and Catholic these things have meaning. Who was going to believe those players against a powerful doctor? They had no evidence.
Awful take. As a survivor of clergy abuse I was terrified of talking about what happened to me. So much so I let the memory go completely from my head until I was 40 years old. Shame, guilt, fear all play a part. Imagine losing your scholarship because you made wild accusations about a doctor at your University. Imagine if it gets out, what will your teammates or classmates think of you? Terrible terrible take. The priest who got to me would threaten the lives of the parents. I know he said something to me about burning in hell with the devil. When you are 13 and Catholic these things have meaning. Who was going to believe those players against a powerful doctor? They had no evidence.
Terrible take. It is Not even remotely the same situation. Paterno was told that his assistant coach was raping children. Bo was told that a medical Dr. Was possibly crossing the line during procedures performed on legal adults. Not even close to the same thing, and people should stop comparing the two scenarios
Come on..... Repeated reports of unnecessary anal probing are a bit more problematic than "possibly crossing the line."
Don Canham
Total cop out. As if a solution to the systemic problem is precluded by taking down a statue or whatever, and the whole cult that lead to the statue isn’t part of the problem. Here nuance and complexity are being used as an excuse to maintain the status quo. I’m fairly suspicious that The Mean Joe’s of the world have no intent to address the systemic problem, because to do that fully would probably require something radical, like massively de-emphasizing athletics on college campus. Instead we get a bunch of complaints that small progress is bullshit and we should only do anything if it will fix everything— de facto, do nothing.
Do you think Bo's failures or the failures of the university who employed the doctor from 1969 until 2003 had more of an affect? There's a lot of talk about Bo.
According to reports, the University wanted to fire Anderson and Bo intervened.
Wow, Dr. Anderson was able to muster the self control to not molest over 100 people. Congrats to him, quite an accomplishment.
Maybe not all 100 of them...
"“Many of us never thought at any time we had been abused during the process...”
While this letter certainly won’t be received well, it does highlight that complex situations like this are not so black and white, or good vs evil.
The nuanced discussion on this topic from Sam Webb and the MgoBlog round table this week was great in that regard.
It mostly just shows there’s 100 former people related to the program who care more about their personal feelings to a man than doing what’s right and are willing to ignore dozens of survivors because it doesn’t make them happy.
I think it shows that there are 100 program alums saying Bo had a very positive influence on their lives. And there aren't dozens accusing Bo of anything. There are a few.
That isn’t what they are saying, they are saying they don’t believe he would have let this behavior go. Which even if you ignore the part where they are putting their feelings above the word of multiple survivors, also implies they must think Bo was a deeply stupid person who had no idea what was going on in his program.
That isn’t what they are saying, they are saying they don’t believe he would have let this behavior go.
Which they're saying because they believe Bo had a very positive influence on their lives. I don't believe that counts for nothing.
Which they're saying because they believe Bo had a very positive influence on their lives.
Yeah.
And this letter is them lashing out subconsciously because they're coming to the conclusion that 30 years of their lives was a fraud.
If it's really that hard for you to understand that Bo had a direct, legitimate, and tangible positive effect on the lives of hundreds of people - or thousands of people - then maybe subtlety and nuance aren't really your thing. Enjoy that world of black-and-white morality that is always perfectly applicable to the real world.
If Mother Theresa shot 4 people the day before she died, would she be a saint today?
It’s great that for some people Bo had a positive impact on their life. But that does not absolve him from what he didn’t do for the others.
I refer to the verse, “If you have done this for the least of these, you have done it for me”.
Bo sat in living rooms and promised parents he would look after and care for their kids. It appears he didn’t do that for a collection of those kids. Why? Who knows? But it was his responsibility. He asked for that right and he failed. He failed miserably. All the good in the world can’t wash away that reality.
Your reading comprehension sucks.
My post does consider the impact that Bo had on people's lives... and now they are having a hard time with that notion.
But you keep defending someone who defended a predator.
Just so when somebody posts testimonials of the 1000’s that were impacted positively by Joe Pa, Dr. Nassar, OSU wrestling coach etc. you will apply the same standard?
There’s an old saying that a thousand atta boys don’t add up to one Oh Shit.
I’m prejudiced and will admit it freely. I never felt Bo was worthy of his status before this ever happened. His record pales against the real greats of his time. No National Championship, shitty bowl record, he won exactly or less than the number of big ten titles that Michigan should have in the era he coached. He was an overbearing SOB who fashioned himself as a dictator with ultimate authority and basically got it from a university desperate to anoint a savior. Yes, I’ve read all the books and there are countless instances of Bo being a great human and going above and beyond for his players. I also have a family friend who worked in the Tigers front office with him and this kind, never a bad word gentleman will not hesitate when asked who’s the biggest asshole you ever dealt with in baseball. It was Bo.
Cuz helping get kids to the next level outweighs significantly changing the lives of hundreds of others? Not just the direct victims or those that suffered abuse but all the others in each of those victims lives who care about them or depend upon them. Just curious here
So the Hitler liked dog and children arguments.
What's getting missed in your, ahem, nuance excuse is there are 300 people who told their stories of abuse to the WH investigators.
Sorry, while I'm not for going all Nancy Grace on someone and trying them in the media, I find the WH report more credible than this letter.
Dude. Chill. It’s not my excuse. I’m just reporting.
It shows literally nothing. A murderer doesn't kill 99.9999% of people they interact with. That's no solace to the one they do.
What?! So murder = sexual abuse?
horrible false equivalency
They aren't identical, but they are both really bad...
The more people that come out in defense of Bo, the more people you’ll see come out against him including critics and victims. Bo knew so why sign something like this? You either care about what happened or you don’t.
Blech. Unless they have something approaching evidence that the now multiple people saying Bo knew are lying, I don't see how their beliefs are relevant.
Unless you're a victim and being called a liar.
Yes, that's why the part about evidence is in there.
This is becoming a huge clusterfuck. And this pretty much victim shames. People need to learn to listen.