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.
No. He was 100% part of the problem, but that's so obvious. What isn't obvious to many, apparently, is that he is part of a much larger and deeper problem. Doctor was there for 40 years. Bo was in a position of power for 21 years. Who else was at the university? Who was in charge of the medical staff? Who else knew and did nothing for 40 years? Are they still alive? Was it smart to give BO so much power? What do the victims actually want/need? Bo is the big name, but he's dead. We're just spending more time on him bc he's the big name. I get that it brings awareness and headlines and clicks, etc. The "Did he know or didn't he know" thing is still a distraction from the root cause that needs to be addressed.
We spend more time on Bo because he was the biggest presence in the athletic department. His face, his voice, his mantras are everywhere, Michigan football culture was dictated by Bo, everything he stood for, or at least so we thought, is Michigan football.
It’s not just on Bo’s head, far from it but due to his presence then and now, it’s going to be his legacy, as well as the University’s reputation, that are going to fall due to this.
We are rapidly losing the moral high ground over Penn State (not that it's a competition). This is what you call a cult mentality.
We have become a basketball school for reasons I never anticipated.
I don't know about rapidly. Sandusky started a foundation in partnership with the university to help very young innocent children specifically so he could rape and molest them and lure them into his home all under the pretense of being a loving fatherly figure. Butt stuff with football players is horrific, but I don't know if it rises to the satanic level of PSU. . . yet
It's the idolatry of a football coach becoming more of an issue with fans over the victims that makes this comparable to PSU. I don't remember as much victim blaming--or evidence doubting--in PSU, and that statue was down fairly quick.
Once Penn State's Board of Trustees took control of the situation, it was (finally) handled the way it should have been handled from the beginning. I don't have any confidence that our Regents will do what needs to be done.
All of this is going to end in tears
Woof....that's such a bad look.
"Yes we are aware multiple people SAY they told Bo about this but we choose to ignore that."
Yikes guys
The Larry Nassar I knew would never have molested people.
this is so disgusting
It's unbelievably disgusting. I never thought the cult mentality that we witnessed from psu would happen to this degree, here. Reading some of these replies is infuriating and such a gut-punch. Laughing, making light of the situation, searching every crevice of their brain to throw whatever excuse they can find just to see what sticks. Fucking unconscionable.
"Yeah, but other people were bad, too. What about them? Why don't we punish them?"
Bo has been treated like a god for decades. He has a fucking statue. More people know and have been influenced by Bo than any University president, any athletic director. Cut the bullshit.
Meanwhile, the survivors have lived in...fear? Shame? I don't know, because we've only just begun to hear from them. Bo had his time with his god status. Now is the time to give the victims theirs. Our motto is Leaders and Best, that means it comes with an enormous amount of accountability when you accept that. If we can't handle that responsibility then fucking scrap it all and just stop pretending that we have any standards at all.
Thankfully, I don't think the University as a whole will have the same reaction as some morons on a deteriorating sports blog. If it's anything but swift, severe and completely thorough, be assured that my fandom of the University of Michigan will end, and I know that I'm not alone.
In your analogy Bo does not equate to Nassar.
My problem isn’t with Bo. Actually. Yes it is.
But really. Jack Harbaugh, Lloyd Carr, Gary Moellor (sp?), Brady Hoke, Cam Cameron were ALL on staff. Where the fuck are they on this ?
Where? I’m waiting. Foot tapping. Where???? Come on. Bo was the Boss. But these were his trusted lieutenants. They were there. In positions of authority.
Jack signed said letter supporting Bo.
K. That’s one.
That's certainly not something any one of those individuals should take pride in signing
Fans are handling this far better than many former players, who are ensuring that a change of culture will be difficult to come by.
I have no clue how we're even gonna enjoy the games this fall, lose or even win, with as unsettling as this has become. I may just have to mute the TV without sound because it's gonna be brutal the commentary from the announcers at certain points, not to mention the boos from away crowds, and if we're getting blown out, like I suspect we could at places like PSU and Wisconsin, the chants will just be unbelievably callous and somewhat deserved
Warde needs to pull the plug NOW on defending Bo and just give the survivors a blank check
I think Canham is the common denominator here - 800 athletes across multiple programs. And probably more to come forward. It sounds like Bo did tell at least some people to go tell Canham in the early 1980s. I certainly don't trust the estranged son, but can feel for guys like Vaughn (who says he didn't tell Bo but Bo was AD by then) and Gilvanni.
Just hoping the regents and prez make a great settlement offer AND a direct apology to people affected.
What a mess
So I am going to say my peace here, not sure if it will be well received or not.
I have seen the word "hero" thrown around a lot in these last few posts about Bo- some may be referring to how the former players called him, some may be using it themselves.
Bo Schembechler was a fucking football coach. Yes, I am sure he taught some good life lessons about not giving up and pushing through pain; newsflash, 99 percent of coaches in the world give the exact same "life lessons" and cliches. They care about winning- that's their job. If any of these players played for any other coach during their time and had a moderately positive experience, they would look at those coaches the exact same way as Bo.
Heroes are people who work every day in the hospitals to save lives, teach our students in areas where 99 percent of people are scared to work, put on uniforms to serve their country (thoughts about our involvement in the wars aside), or step up in situations when others are not willing to. Bo Schembechler is not a fucking hero.
And I'm sorry- people talking about Don Canham don't seem to remember how fucking powerful Bo was in Ann Arbor during this time period. I bet if you asked the average/casual Michigan fan who Don Canham was, they'd probably tell you he's the guy running their local gym- they knew who the fuck Bo Schembechler was. If you think Bo didn't know what was going on, you are kidding yourself.
I am so disgusted and appalled with these former players uniting for Bo. Stop idolizing this fucking man. Whether you lads want to admit it or not, he was part of the Anderson saga. He had more power than the president/CEO/board of regents at the University of Michigan during his time; he was put on the highest of high clouds.
Further, I think some (many? Most?) of your example, such as hospital staff treating Covid-19 pts pre-vaccine or military personnel etc., would not particularly think of themselves as “heroes”…. And that supports your point even more, and I agree with your overall sentiment.
So there's over a 100 idiots who are not leaders and best.
Sounds like a bunch of old dudes afraid of how this will affect the story of their life.
We are...
Penn State?
He's as bad as, if not worse than Joe Pa, depending on the details...many of which we will never know.
No amount of good deeds, leadership or accomplishments will ever outweigh the damage he caused by looking the other way. These were the same absurd arguments made in defense of Joe Pa.
These guys didn't just cheat on their wives, have a gambling addiction, or have some other random personal indiscretions that can be outweighed by the good they did in the world and for their respective universities. This is not about playing moral police...these guys straight up turned a blind eye to rape under their watch.
They destroyed lives- the very lives they were in the position to protect - either due to indifference or selfish motives to protect the brand/programs they built.
Bo and Joe's legacies are absolutely irredeemable. Not a fan of cancelling anyone, so let's not pretend that they never existed, but instead remember exactly how badly they fucked up and how many people they let down.
While not ignoring how bad this situation is at Michigan, This is not nearly as bad as what happened at Penn State.
Sandusky was raping young boys. 8-10 years of age. He created an outreach program to meet these boys, used his status at Penn State to use their facilities and was allowed to continue using those facilities long after his retirement and long after allegations of rape had been brought to JoePa’s attention.
Michigan did NOT handle this situation well at all. There’s no arguing that. Regardless of who people want to place blame on, it was poorly handled. But to say this is “just as bad as, if not worse than,” what happened at Penn State, is just incredibly ignorant.
A Penn State assistant walked in on Sandusky anally raping a young boy in the showers. This isn’t an 18-22 year old man reporting an incident to his coach. It is a child being raped, it being witnessed, reported, and nothing being done.
While not ignoring how bad this situation is at Michigan, This is not nearly as bad as what happened at Penn State.
Sandusky was raping young boys. 8-10 years of age. He created an outreach program to meet these boys, used his status at Penn State to use their facilities and was allowed to continue using those facilities long after his retirement and long after allegations of rape had been brought to JoePa’s attention.
Michigan did NOT handle this situation well at all. There’s no arguing that. Regardless of who people want to place blame on, it was poorly handled. But to say this is “just as bad as, if not worse than,” what happened at Penn State, is just incredibly ignorant.
A Penn State assistant walked in on Sandusky anally raping a young boy in the showers. This isn’t an 18-22 year old man reporting an incident to his coach. It is a child being raped, it being witnessed, reported, and nothing being done.
Stop. I was comparing Bo to Joe, not Sandusky.
Nuance and detail can be important in given situations....it's pointless here.
Both Bo and Joe allowed rape to knowingly happen under their watch and knew the perpetrator.
Bo's own son told him he was raped...what more do you need? More people apparently reached out to Bo than Joe Pa based on reports. Don't be a Bo-pologist sir, there's no need for nuance here - Bo's culpability is just as bad, if not worse.
If the "we're not as bad as Penn State because 'X' " is the hill you find yourself on, it's probably not the one worth defending.
It's like comparing serial killers Gacy to Bundy...we don't really need to compare the gory details of victim profiles to know both were deranged murderers. We can let the specialists psychoanalyze the nature of sociopathy to better understand their respective minds.
Joe knew. Bo knew. No apologism needed for either.
There is no apologist for either. JoePa knowing Sandusky was raping little boys is significantly worse than Bo knowing his adult players were getting unnecessary “prostate exams.” This isn't complicated. What Bo did is not “as bad as or worse,” than what JoePa did. Both can be very bad things, and one still be significantly worse than the other. And child rape, yeah that’s significantly worse to overlook than anything Bo had heard about.
The details around what Joe Pa knew are varied. He also reportedly informed the AD at the time, whereas Bo lobbied for the doc to keep his job.
Bo straight up covered it up as to keep his doctor on staff, not to mention allowing his own son to be a victim, and then victim shaming him.
Sure, rape of minors is worse than the sexual molestation of young adults if you really want to go down that path - but neither Joe or Bo were the actual assaulters.
The details around Bo's knowledge and proactive protection of the perp are much worse than anything on Joe looking the other way/passing the buck.
Both are disgusting. Bo just as bad as Joe sir....no apologism needed.
Easy to accuse someone when they aren’t around to defend themselves.
Several hundred people linked to the program during the period in question have said they were molested, and most of them say the abuse was widely known. Multiple credible sources say they reported the issue straight to Bo and/or the program. This is not a disputable issue.
It's bad enough that they defend Bo, which isn't surprising, but the stuff about Anderson's physicals being standard and saying they weren't abused really crossed the line. They aren't just saying Bo didn't know about it. They are also suggesting what Anderson did wasn't sexual abuse. Basically arguing "my experience was that I wasn't sexually abused, so you weren't sexually abused either." Our experience was the same as your experience and we refuse to believe anything different. Really disgusting.