Matt Schembechler to hold press conference tomorrow, not good
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/09/schemb…
He's going to say he told Bo he was abused by Dr. Anderson when he was 10 years old. Will be joined by Daniel Kwiatkowski, a Michigan Football player from the late 70s who was abused by Anderson 4 times, and Gilvanni Johnson who says he was treated and abused by Anderson 15 times.
This is awful and heart breaking. My only thoughts are with the victims, no one else matters as much as they do.
This makes no sense. Anderson wasn't on the team. In fact, he wasn't even in the athletic department. Firing him would have had no adverse consequences for the team or the brand.
We can't let ourselves be satisfied with facile but absurd rationales for what Bo did. That just invites future bad behavior, because we are looking for the wrong things in those who we will trust to not behave badly.
I just feel sorry for the victims. It seem like Bo ignored it all, even from his own son. I know priests in the Catholic Church violated alter boys and when they came home in the 50s, 60s and 70s to tell their parents they were all told to stop making up such evil lies. Why, the parents could not fathom their parish priest doing such things. The University better open up the pocket books because it sure looks like everyone from the coaches to the ADs, to the Presidents ignored the problem and left Anderson molesting young people for years!
Maybe, but I am fully confident that if either of my grandfathers who were form that era were told their 10 year old sons were given an anal probe and had a doctor fondle their genitals, their reaction would not be to tell their kids to be quiet (and one of them would have probably knocked some teeth in).
Stunning and speechless that Jim would offer the "Bo took care of everything" comment.
What a absolute load of shit.
Username checks out.
Lesson to us all, don’t idolize and mythologize any man. Doing such with Bo hasn’t helped our program in any way since he died.
Welp, if true about what his own son is gonna say, that’ll just about do it and is on par with Joe Pa.
Sad day for Michigan.
This sucks.
It sucked when it came out about the JoePa regime. It sucks when it comes out that a worthless piece of trash was kept on staff only because his grandpa was Earle Bruce. It sucks now w/ Bo. And it sucks anytime/anywhere in any setting (workplace/religion/family).
It's so easy to condemn others and rival programs and their fans as sub-human, saw plenty of that on this board re: Ped State U. & the perpetual trashing of Urb.
And I'm not here to fling mud back, I'd just rather we stop throwing mud at all and avoid the arrogance that assumes "not my program", "not my team", "not my coach." Let's realize that bad things can & do happen anywhere and everywhere.
...now you'll have to excuse me while I go find a cooler to poop in before I scratch a check to the 2023 OSU recruiting class.
Please stop trying to make good, reasonable, sensible points, as it really disrupts my hatred of you and your kind - :-).
BTW, this is the preferred model....
OSU has their own version of Dr. Anderson in Dr. Strauss. Not surprising that the OSU machine has somehow buried that story.
The statue and building signage should be down by the time the press conference is over. No more questions. If he enabled the sexual abuse of a child - his own child, at that - the only mention of his name left on campus should be in reference to how he failed to protect the survivors.
Something irks me the wrong way with her framing “The adopted son of Bo…”.
Yeah, that doesn't sit right with me either. I have adopted kids, and have never referred to them as my adopted kids.
Me too and I would never refer to them that way - mine are Black though so it's like, obvi. People never fail to ask though. It's like they can't think of anything else to say so they ask if they're adopted and I go full Me Myself and Irene on them "Are you saying they're not mine? They look different?"
Not really. I haven't done that. Yet.
Oh, hey XM.
As someone who is adopted, that stands out big time. What a strange thing to add.
My heart breaks for the victims, take down the statue and change the name.
The truth is stranger than fiction
That statue shouldn't see July
Shouldn't see June 11th.
What really needs to happen - as soon as they can muster the crane, quite frankly - is that the statue of Bo needs to be removed from its pedestal and lowered into the nearest manhole so it can be flushed away with the remainder of the turds.
This is hitting hard. I didn't want to believe it. But when Harbaugh defended Bo the other day I just felt that no good could come of that, surely the victims would be hurt by that. And here we are, now facing the reality that Bo needs to be erased from Michigan Football at least his name.
I have a picture of Bo he autographed for me about 30 years ago hanging in my media room... I can't believe I am taking it down.
Harbaugh has and always will be a PR nightmare.
I have read harbs' comment on Bo and I hate to say it, but he did a masterful job of coach speak and danced around the question - SAD!
What's new? He's been doing that at any hint of failure and accountability.
Spot on unfortunately.
Did Harbaugh really defend Bo? This is the only quote I'm aware of. Seems more like a 'this is all I know' non-answer than a defense
"I can tell you this," Harbaugh said. "Bo Schembechler ... there was nothing that I saw in the times when I was a kid here, my dad was on staff or when I played here ... he never sat on anything. He never procrastinated on anything. He took care of it before the sun went down. That's the Bo Schembechler that I know. There's nothing that ever was swept under the rug or ignored. He addressed everything in a timely fashion. That's the Bo Schembechler that I knew."
He should've acknowledged the likely truth of the situation, but I think calling that a 'defense' is overblown
What is it then? What was the point of saying this? Maybe there are things he didn't know since he is not all knowing. How does this statement help the victims. We all know what the point of this was and you going out of your way to defend it is shameful. STOP. You need to focus on the victims and only the victims.
The above JH's comment in isolation may sound like how you describe it.
But we know JH wants to, or wanted to be like Bo as a coach. Bacon's book has JH's wife explaining how JH tries to emulate Bo in his mannerism in coaching as well.
Knowing that, the above JH's comment is not a good look. I would dare say that JH didn't really know Bo that well then.
Not a good look at all. There is no f'ing way Jim AND Jack didnt know about this shit. Shameful
Maybe Harbaugh managed to get through his years at Michigan without being assaulted by that scumbag doctor. Maybe if he had been assaulted, he’d be taking a different stance toward the situation.
Bo is awful. The clinging to that era has been awful. Take a hike Bo
Ummm, he's dead so....
Not on Saturdays at the Big House in the fall he isn’t.
Entire gameday experience is centered around Bo
Amen Cobra14...before all this went down, the 3rd quarter memoriam to the supposed glory years of the Team the Team the Team nauseated me every game. I kept thinking, can we reference something more to recent history? I now hold this in even more disdain given the current events.
I would love to be the one setting fire to the banner which drapes over the student section after the speech concludes. Better yet, let the 800+ victims each take a spot and pull the damn thing apart until it is no more.
Agreed. I have been saying for years that clinging to the Bo era has held Michigan football hostage. I wanted the statue gone a long time ago. Hopefully it finally happens.
UM can toss that ridiculous “the team, the team, the team” banner during games too
This is going to hit the national papers. We can all thank Jim Harbaugh for running his mouth. He didn't say one eff'n thing about the victims--his only thoughts were about Bo and what a great guy he was. Cannot say how much distaste I have for Harbaugh and his actions.
Uh, what does Harbaugh have to do with this? AFAIK all he said was he wasn't aware of any of this
That's exactly what he said. And in saying that, and nothing more, he left it wide open for victims everywhere to say, essentially, 'you might not have seen it, but it happened'. All he had to do was acknowledge victims of abuse by saying he didn't know about it but that he's very sorry and hurt for those that suffered. Instead, he was tone deaf to the whole thing.
Bo was Kathy Klages, Harbaugh is William Stampfel (hopefully without his own charges).
I have a 10 yr old son, and I cannot imagine any reason for a doctor to perform a rectal 'exam' on him, let alone anything like that without consent. I'm disgusted in a man I revered while growing up.
Who leaves their 10 year old child with any other adult unattended to begin with? It only takes being wrong once. My children were never alone with any adult, including our family doctor, even though he is a life long friend. You simply dont do it as a parent.
Strampel was an active part of the Nassar coverup as it happened. He was Nassar's boss and he didn't enforce/ ignored the policies that MSU put in place after the first formal accusations were placed.
Comparing that level of involvement to making a statement 20-40 years later about someone whom Harbaugh never had authority over is ill conceived.
JH made a clumsy statement he had no reason to make and so did you.
Your view is colored. Harbaugh's comments showed zero regard for the victims. If someone at MSU had said what he said about Kathie Klages (the gymnastics coach) we would all say they should be fired immediately, if not sooner.
Okemos-based lawyer Mick Grewal said Wednesday that the late coach's son and the two former players "are coming forward now to set the record straight, especially with Jim Harbaugh’s statement."
Yeah, this is a response to Harbaugh.
Okemos-based lawyer Mick Grewal said Wednesday that the late coach's son and the two former players "are coming forward now to set the record straight, especially with Jim Harbaugh’s statement."
You're blaming Harbaugh for what Bo did, and didn't do? OK then.
That is a very weak straw man argument right there. What people are getting upset about is a) he did not have any contrition or empathy for the victims, and b) he went all out to protect Bo and his legacy.
Furthermore, I can bet you anything that before he said these comments he was prepped by UM's PR department and still this was the answer he gave, talk about being stubborn and pigheaded.
I disagree that he "went all out to protect Bo and his legacy". He was asked a question (one which we dont know exactly what was asked) by the media and his answer was brief and focused on his personal relationship with Bo (which is obviously biased). In my opinion he needs to come out with an official statement and until that time I am reserving judgement on Jim. Say what you want about the guy but he has historically shown himself to be on the right side of social/community issues.
When he does come out with his official statement and at that time if he still tries to save Bo's legacy, then I will disavow Jim.
WOW, this sounds strikingly like the Joe Pa defense. Cmon man.