OT -- The Blackwell lawsuit vs MSU could be interesting
Unfortunately, it will settle before the entertainment value gets too high.
Blackwell claimed he never received a poor annual performance review until he was fired; Dantonio, in court filings, denies that.
A review of Blackwell's personnel file, obtained by The Detroit News, reveals almost universal praise from supervisors.
In a June 2015 performance review, Dantonio wrote that Blackwell was "innovative," "fully engaged," "well connected across U.S.," and "organized," as well as "takes responsibility," "loyal" and "has been a difference-maker in program."
August 5th, 2019 at 10:42 PM ^
After all the assault and sexual deviance scandals that Mork has survived, this should be a breeze
August 6th, 2019 at 12:20 AM ^
I'm surprised that they wouldn't pay to make it go away. Discovery could be terrible for MSU.
After Moody's downgrade and their checks started to bounce, its probably less about refusal to pay.
However, it's always possible they are going to treat this the same way they did with the state of Michigan, and just refuse to proffer the evidence through discovery, citing "this is all we have" or "the documents requested do not exist" or "documents destroyed through employee/whistleblower misconduct".
I don't think they have much money at the moment after the Nassar scandal.
Oh they have plenty of money. I mean "have you seen the Breslin lately".
August 5th, 2019 at 10:56 PM ^
Sorry, Dantonita has "Loyal" as a performance metric criteria?
What is this, the 20's?
Not surprising to see loyalty as a trait in the coaching field. It's a characteristic that gets tossed around police and military circles as well.
August 6th, 2019 at 12:55 PM ^
Neat? Not sure what your point is. It’s the same term that’s been thrown around startups, health systems, private equity firms, VCs, and other organizations that I’ve worked in. “Loyalty” is not a bad thing. Breaking the law is...
Not sure why you're picking a fight. "Loyalty" can absolutely be a bad thing when subordinates value personal/professions connections over not breaking the law. It can be a problem in all professions, but it's value (and problem) can really be seen in places like police/military/coaching where subordinates are explicitly instructed to "follow orders".
It is one of the thing State fans have always said about Dantonio. Loyal to his friends and assistants to a fault. All you have to do is look at the staff "changes" he made this year. Didn't fire a single offensive assistant after having one of the worst units in the country. I'm not surprised at all he would use loyal as an actual performance metric.
Can confirm, unfortunately
August 6th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
For those unfamiliar with the referenced staffing changes...
- Brad Salem (new OC/RB; old QB) basically switched jobs with Dave Warner (new QB; old OC/RB)
- Jim Bollman (new OL; old Co-OC, TE) switched jobs with Mark Staten (new TE, Special Teams; old OL)
- Terrence Samuel (new DB, Freshmen; old WR) switched jobs with Don Treadwell (new WR; old DB, Freshmen)
Observations - I didn't know that "freshmen head coach" was a thing.
Loyal to a fault (which is actually reminiscent of Lloyd Carr - is Mork MSU's less-refined, grumpier version of Lloyd Carr??) is absolutely true.
August 6th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
Well then, I hope they find their Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke in the not too distant future...
August 6th, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
They already happened. They were named Bobby Williams and John L. Smith. Plus plenty of other less-than-stellar coaches before Saban.
August 6th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Would you be mad at me for saying I hope you guys find another Bobby Williams next?
August 6th, 2019 at 12:30 PM ^
Lol, definitely would not be mad. I would probably question your fanhood if you hoped for a successful successor
I'd vote for a return of Smith. His offenses were wildly fun. His team meltdown losses were a joy to watch, finding new horrible ways to break the Spartan fan bases hearts. And his press conferences towards the end were gold.
August 11th, 2019 at 1:02 PM ^
Valid.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:22 PM ^
I just want to see the Dantonio scowl on the sidelines when UM wins again.
I legitimately dislike that guy.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:24 PM ^
Just because.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:34 PM ^
This meme will never get old!
August 6th, 2019 at 12:10 AM ^
I mean if someone didn’t know what the word asshole meant, and you just showed them this picture, they would totally understand.
I don't understand the significance of the meme. Educate me please.
The former Spartan belligerent football player was demanding to see a cop's supervisor when he was placed under arrest, when this was denied, he attacked the cop and got tased.
Ohhhhhhhhhh.... got it.
August 6th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
He's still upset that he couldn't complete his mission on the Valkyrie and that Captain America escaped with the Tesseract.
I thought he was still upset that his plans are continuously foiled by a platypus.
Oh I am here for this.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:30 PM ^
MSU will likely settle outside of court to prevent people like Dantonio being deposed under oath while Blackwell airs dirty laundry and ESPN circles the bleeding carcass of a program.
That is why we need to start an MGoFundMe account to pay Blackwell if he does not settle out of court...the schadenfreude could be off the charts.
You're probably right, but they're taking an awful risk waiting too long to settle it.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:40 PM ^
He's seeking $75,000 in damages? Is that right? That seems pretty darn low.
If that number's right, I don't understand why MSU doesn't just settle immediately for that, write the check, and move on. They should be able to recoup that from a booster in a day or two.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:50 PM ^
I had a similar comment below, but to your point. My wife’s family (roughly 15-20 affluent MSU grads) could and likely would throw that amount of money together in a few days if MSU (or specifically Dantonio) asked them. This seems strange.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:57 PM ^
That's a lot of tips for delivering pizza
Obligatory...
August 5th, 2019 at 11:53 PM ^
Perhaps the MGoLawyers can confirm - but I believe the $75K is a minimum for filing certain types of cases which dictates what jurisdiction/court will hear it
Yeah, the line for getting into federal court using diversity jurisdiction is 75k. I haven't read the pleadings but I'm guessing the reporter saw that number near the beginning where the lawyers are doing the required jurisdictional stuff and decided to mention it.
When someone says "more than 75,000", the fact they used that number as the comparison means nothing. The actual value of the case could be anything.
Did the Detroit News rewrite their article? That happens sometimes.
In the link it says "Blackwell is seeking more than $75,000 in damages."
Exactly as one would expect him to.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:42 PM ^
I know he is getting some kids still but is it a coincidence? It seems like more MSU type Detroit kids are going to other Big Ten or SEC schools. Is the way MSU threw Blackwell under the bus having an effect?
August 6th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
Sam Webb noted that MSU had zero coaches at the recent camp in Grand Rapids (whatever they call the former Sound Mind, Sound Body camps) and that this was most likely due to the pending lawsuit. Michigan brought all but 2 coaches.
The lack of exposure is definitely a factor. Blackwell is also apparently tight with many coaches in the region through the camps and I although I doubt many would actively keep players away from MSU I am sure they are listening to his opinions and advising kids accordingly.
“Mr. Loyalty” bailed on Blackwell and those 3 kids due to pressure from the school and media to cover his own ass. Based on past events, I would be very surprised if they would have been dismissed if not for the ongoing Nassar and title IX investigation. (This is not meant to be a judgment on the offense itself - only what it was pled down to and the Dantonio history of “discipline”. The Robertson kid would have been gone either way but the poor choice of bringing him to MSU only added to the pressure to nuke Blackwell et. al.)
August 6th, 2019 at 10:33 AM ^
can confirm i saw no sparty coaches at the GR/GVSU camp. did see and talk with a number of the michigan coaches. it was fun and the one son that i had in that camp enjoyed it.
August 6th, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
Blackwell, or more likely people associated with him, definitely insinuated that the way they treated Blackwell was going to burn MSU's bridges with HS coaches. Not just in SE Michigan, but Blackwell was a really well liked dude all over the country. More than one person mentioned "white HC, black staffer fall guy". It seemed like idle chatter at the time, but MSU's recruiting went to absolute shit.
August 6th, 2019 at 10:34 AM ^
It definitely looks like their recruiting took a hit, particularly in state, where they have 1 guy in the top 15. They better go back to recruiting intergalactically.
August 6th, 2019 at 11:17 AM ^
..."white HC, black staffer fall guy"...
I get your point, and it certainly seems plausible. But I just can't see race having a play in how/why Blackwell got the wrong end of that deal. Mick is a first rate asshole, no doubts there, but I don't see racial animosity as part of his repertoire. He's been a successful HC for a long time, at many different schools - if he was a blatant racist, he'd have failed out at one of the places before he ever got to MSU.
The optics are horrible, though, so the statement is valid, and it all probably lead to a lot of hard feelings within the coaching community. I can understand that. But I suspect that Blackwell was just the best positioned to take that fall as the 'crootin coordinator (with the term 'best positioned' used loosely).
August 6th, 2019 at 12:57 PM ^
I'm not suggesting that race played any part in it. In fact, I'm as sure as an unconnected person can be that it had nothing to do with it. I'd bet a $1,000 that Blackwell handled that rape situation exactly like Mork instructed him to, and simply got shafted because they needed someone to blame during the Nasar fall out.
With that said, I AM suggesting that a bunch of black guys who personally know Blackwell saw it that way, at least in part, and it pissed them off. There's very little ambiguity about it, because various people alluded to it a number of times. I thought it might be BS, but Mork's ability to pull inner city kids went in the toilet just like those people claimed it would.
Racism is never blatant, and racism is not a state of being or noun.
The rest of your point is taken. We may never know. What we do know is that it was the black coach who took the fall on a mostly white staff, which is bad for optics regardless of intent, especially when Mork basically played musical chairs with his incompetent staff.
August 5th, 2019 at 11:44 PM ^
Wait.. so this is over $75k? Am I reading this correctly? MSU just recently paid Keith Mumphery 7 figures to go away... why are they even messing around letting this case get this far?
August 5th, 2019 at 11:56 PM ^
I did some quick math here (as we respond to each in other in 2 different threads here, ha ha):
Mumphery was making $600K per year w/ the Texans. He got $725K from MSU (the former female student getting another $475K).
Blackwell was making about $129K per year at MSU. He's asking for $75K.
The ratios are ...... different.