Brandon Statement On Morris Incident
This was right after the hit—at least Braden seems to be standing up to Cockran. Doesn’t look like an ankle tweak… pic.twitter.com/1GNxiBki5F
— Bryan Fuller (@FullOfTwitt) September 29, 2014 In Full:
Ultimate responsibility for the health and safety of our student-athletes resides with each team's coach and with me, as the Director of Athletics. We are committed to continuously improving our procedures to better protect the health and welfare of our student-athletes.
I have had numerous meetings beginning Sunday morning to thoroughly review the situation that occurred at Saturday's football game regarding student-athlete Shane Morris. I have met with those who were directly involved and who were responsible for managing Shane's care and determining his medical fitness for participation.
In my judgment, there was a serious lack of communication that led to confusion on the sideline. Unfortunately, this confusion created a circumstance that was not in the best interest of one of our student-athletes. I sincerely apologize for the mistakes that were made. We have to learn from this situation, and moving forward, we will make important changes so we can fully live up to our shared goal of putting student-athlete safety first.
I have worked with Darryl Conway, my associate athletic director for Student-Athlete Health and Welfare, to develop a detailed accounting of the events that occurred. Darryl is the person who oversees all athletic training personnel and serves as the liaison to the physicians we work with through the University of Michigan Health System and University Health Services.
It is important to note that our athletic trainers and physicians working with Michigan Athletics have the unchallengeable authority to remove student-athletes from the field of play. Michigan Athletics has numerous medical professionals at every football competition including certified athletic trainers and several physicians from various relevant specialties.
I, along with Darryl and our administrative and medical teams, have spent much of the last two days carefully reviewing the situation regarding Shane Morris. We now understand that, despite having the right people on the sidelines assessing our student-athletes' well being, the systems we had in place were inadequate to handle this unique and complex situation properly.
With his permission, I can share that Shane Morris suffered an ankle injury during the third quarter of Saturday's game. He was evaluated for that injury by an orthopedic surgeon and an athletic trainer several times during the game. With each of these evaluations it was determined that his ankle injury did not prevent him from playing.
In the fourth quarter, Shane took a significant hit and stumbled after getting up. From the field level and without the benefit of replays, medical and coaching staffs did not see the hit. Because they did not see the hit, the athletic training staff believed Shane stumbled because of his ankle injury. The team neurologist, watching from further down the field, also did not see the hit. However, the neurologist, with expertise in detecting signs of concussion, saw Shane stumble and determined he needed to head down the sideline to evaluate Shane.
Shane came off the field after the following play and was reassessed by the head athletic trainer for the ankle injury. Since the athletic trainer had not seen the hit to the chin and was not aware that a neurological evaluation was necessary, he cleared Shane for one additional play.
The neurologist and other team physicians were not aware that Shane was being asked to return to the field, and Shane left the bench when he heard his name called and went back into the game. Under these circumstances, a player should not be allowed to re-enter the game before being cleared by the team physician. This clearly identifies the need for improvements in our sideline and communications processes.
Following the game, a comprehensive concussion evaluation was completed and Shane has been evaluated twice since the game. As of Sunday, Shane was diagnosed with a probable, mild concussion, and a high ankle sprain. That probable concussion diagnosis was not at all clear on the field on Saturday or in the examination that was conducted post-game. Unfortunately, there was inadequate communication between our physicians and medical staff and Coach Hoke was not provided the updated diagnosis before making a public statement on Monday. This is another mistake that cannot occur again.
Going forward, we have identified two changes in our procedures that we will implement immediately:
We will have an athletic medicine professional in the press box or video booth to ensure that someone will have a bird's eye view of the on-field action, have television replay available and have the ability to communicate with medical personnel on the sidelines.
We are also examining how to reinforce our sideline communication processes and how decisions will be made in order to make sure that information regarding student-athlete availability to participate is communicated effectively amongst the medical team and to our coaches.
We have learned from this experience, and will continue to improve ways to keep our student-athletes' health and safety our number one priority.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:05 AM ^
I think with the "idiots" thing we're generally disagreeing on semantics, but in general we are in agreement.
I do disagree slightly on your definition of "top priority". You can delegate things to someone more qualified than you (the medical staff) to take care of such an incident and claim it is a top priority. That is what I think every staff does.
Now him not getting the details, IMO, is a failure on him for trusting others. And then that's arguing semantics againt between if that makes him an idiot or what have you. But we agree in the end that it's a failure on his part ultimately either way.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:06 AM ^
We will have an athletic medicine professional in the press box or video booth to ensure that someone will have a bird's eye view of the on-field action, have television replay available and have the ability to communicate with medical personnel on the sidelines.
lot of good that's gonna do.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:06 AM ^
So we are at the point where everyone who said Hoke was an idiot was completely correct right? I was actually starting to feel bad that I'd said that. Not anymore.
As for Brandon: I've never seen someone who thought he was so smart (though a few people came close on this board yesterday) be so wrong over and over again in my life. A total joke of an AD and CEO. If Hoke is the only one who is axed, I still won't be attending a Michigan game or supporting the program financially in any way until Brandon follows him right out the door.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:06 AM ^
Wonder how bad Nuss is second guessing his decision to accept this job? Roseboro is already decommited and I'm sure this is just the beginning. Question will remain how many current players jump ship and I cant say I blame them.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:06 AM ^
I guess what scenario is better:
1. Hoke had no idea about the concussion yesterday afternoon at his press conference?
or
2. He knew and lied because he thought Brandon would get the doctors to fudge the reports, then Brandon couldn't get them to fudge the reports, ruining their cover-up plan.
After what Brian hinted at above, door number two sounds way more likely.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:14 AM ^
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September 30th, 2014 at 9:20 AM ^
First comment:
"I can't say much without burning a source but I do want to say that the informational parts of this were known to me this morning. There is a reason this took so long, and the medical staff should be commended." -Brian
He also tweeted:
"@mgoblog: This statement took so long because the medical staff refused to lie."
September 30th, 2014 at 9:37 AM ^
Ding ding ding. Door number two indeed.
A businessman will likely have experience in fudging. In this case it was with doctors, not accountants. The doctors held their ground.
Allegedly.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:59 AM ^
brutally true
September 30th, 2014 at 9:11 AM ^
This also pretty much proves that Hoke lied. He stood there and said point blank "that's what he told me..." about Morris going down because his ankle gave out.
Time to clean house. Start with Brandon, let Hoke ride out the season and start all over again.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:22 AM ^
I think that's what Morris told everyone, that it was his ankle. That's why the athletic staff never even conducted a concussion test on the sideline and didn't hold him out.
That's not on Morris, that's where there are people on the sideline to view those things and take it out of Morris's hands. Morris is a competitor, competitors want to compete. It's certainly possible that I'm seeing things in a way because I don't want to see things the other way, but to me I see a more fitting narritive in that Hoke isn't a malicious liar throughout this whole thing as much as he is ignorant of everything going on around him for a variety of reasons.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:24 AM ^
Just raises more questions that the inept press assigned to the program will never ask. I also worry that this statement actually saves DB's job.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:24 AM ^
Hoke made a very telling quote this weekend when he said "this is big boy business" - though unintentional, his was response was spot-on.
Brandon and UM are running the football program like "a business", and in doing so they've lost sight of some critical components of running a successful "program". I must admit, thus far its worked quite well and the football "business" has done well, though the football "program" has suffered.
This latest incident (Morris) is just another affirmation. It seems Brandon & UM have adopted a business model to the football program that's quite similar to a certain pizza corporation that makes lousy pizzas - that being, rather than bringing in skilled/proven leadership that will work and invest the time/energy/resources in actually making a superior pizza (which would consequently dip into the profit margin); the Brandon/pizza model is to continue to try and baffle and/or dazzle the public with flashy marketing & smoke and mirrors.
In the end, most people come to the realization that "its still lousy pizza" -- that's a metaphor, for those that are still dazzled.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:32 AM ^
September 30th, 2014 at 9:35 AM ^
You have all these people and not one of them is stepping up in that situation. It's a bunch of people following and no one leading, no one stepping up and doing their job for who knows what reason.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:02 AM ^
Sounds like the medical staff stepped up like crazy. The problem is that they were kept out of the loop. They had the most to lose by admitting it was a concussion yet they had to have been the ones who fought to keep the language. It's kind of shocking that sort of accountability is still present within our Athletics Department.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
Which they should be highly commended for, as Brian noted above. But in the situation, they were both out of the loop (initially getting Morris off the field) and then failed to step up (keeping Morris off the field). That's why this is a failure all around, but props to them for at least taking some responsibility in the end.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:32 AM ^
Brandon sent this at 1:00 in the morning after having his employee going out and facing the music with the press (albeit crappily done). He does not have the guts to face the press about his own failings and trying to at least be supportive of his employee. Not only is his primary job qualification that he is a carnival huckster, he is a gutless turd.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
I didn't see him and he is usually visibly present. If he wasn't there, perhaps it was due to the possible "reception" that the crowd would have given him.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:34 AM ^
Fireworks are going to be the least of Brandon's headaches. I just cannot imagine how Schlissel and the Board of Regents can keep this man employed any longer.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^
The scapegoating of Hoke has begun....lack of communication is a joke, maybe if he had a headset on that might have been mitigated? And to tell me they diagnosed Sunday he had a concussion and Hoke is trotted out Monday saying he didn't know if there was a concussion?
Bad optics all around.
ESPN talking heads discussing this at length and Joey Galloway (OSU alum!!) is defending Hoke. I guess I would too if I saw my biggest rivals incompetent head coach in danger of being replaced. They'll say anything to keep him around.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:48 AM ^
September 30th, 2014 at 10:52 AM ^
While that may be true, Hoke has provided plenty of ammo to those who might want him to go away.
What happended with Morris should have been an easy, straightforward situation for any staff to deal with. Guys get lit up and concussed virtually every football weekend across the country at the college and pro level. Hoke and Co's inattention to detail and communication—the issue of headsets is just part of it—is the major cause of ConcussionGate, and probably the major cause of the quality of play on the field, too. It's a clusterfuck all the way around.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
FWIW, my best guess as to why Hoke said what he said at the presser was that Brandon told him they were going to put out a statement that said they didn't know he had taken a blow to the head but there was no diagnosis at the time of a concussion - they'd take the blame for not following the proceedure properly and say they'd get it fixed, but no real harm done. Deflect the questions to the statement to come, don't admit anything, and CYA accomplished.
However, it would seem that the Drs. didn't cooperate - they refused to sign off on a release that said Morris didn't have a concussion (thus the dissembling "probable, mild concussion" - I can hear the argument now with Brandon saying "is there ever a way to guarantee that there was a concussion?!" and when the Docs have to say of course not, it's a diagnosis but no guarantee, he jams the word "probable" in there). So when the release finally comes out, Hoke looks like an idiot (now proven to be either that or a liar or both) because they couldn't coerce the medical staff into cooperating with the probable, mild coverup.
September 30th, 2014 at 9:51 AM ^
...i've been saying for four years that i literally could not give a shit less what brady hoke tells the fans or media, and that i only care about what he says behind closed doors to his team. there are people on this board who've bitched about every single press conference because brady hoke wouldn't kill al borges, or fred funk, or whoever else, in front of god and bo schembechler. those people are idiots.
but, dear god, dave brandon and brady hoke - you HAVE to face the press and explain your actions openly and honestly. you can't stand there and either outright lie about how you endangered one of your 115 "sons" or issue mealymouthed middle-of-the-night press releases. be goddamn men and face the music.
burn baby burn.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:15 AM ^
I can't imagine that Brady Hoke would have knowledge of the Sunday examination results and then deny that he knew about it. It seems more likely that he was not kept in the loop aft the game, which is consistent with Brady saying that he and Brandon did not talk.
Regardless, Brandon's early morning e-mail seems to be part of a move to fire Brady "for cause" in order to release the University from paying out his contract. I am not an attorney (nor do I stay at Holiday Inn Express), but now that Brandon has made a case for "for cause" it seems to me that he would have to terminate the contract soon. If he waits until the end of the season and then tries to argue "for cause," any good labor attorney will ask why the situation wasn't egregious enough to terminate the contract in September when the action occurred and blame was placed.
We will see what happens, but past history suggests that there will be much more "miscommunication" and backtracking to come.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:39 AM ^
Forget Hoke -- at this stage I have to wonder if he isn't being screwed over by this scuzzy AD.. FIRE BRANDON!!!!!
September 30th, 2014 at 10:46 AM ^
Look, it's really very simple as to why this all took so long to come down. There was no attempt to lie or cover-up. We live in an extremely litigateous society and UofM's football program is under the microscope. Because of those factors, the AD has to be very careful about what official statements are issued. So, it would be no surprise to me that there was an extended discussion of the exact wording of their press release. They'd rather get it 'right' as opposed to getting it out quickly. I
FWIW, I'm not a fan of either Hoke or Brandon (I thought Miles was the right guy to replace Carr, believed his hire was opposed by some strong elements in the football program, and liked RR as a 2nd choice), but I do think they are both doing the best they can. That effort may just not be good enough. I believe Brandon will stay and Hoke will be replaced by a new coach with all the right 'credentials'.
September 30th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
There's a reference in this statement to "Coach Hoke." Is this meant to refer to "J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Football Coach Brady Hoke"? I can't believe that in a statement of this magnitude that will receive so much national attention, DB would screw up the opportunity to promote the Michigan Brand(TM). J. Ira and Nicki have got a refund coming.
Also, I guess we've solved the mystery concerning Hoke's new practice this year of refusing to address injuries. This now seems wise in retrospect, given that he apparently doesn't know about the injury status of his players.
September 30th, 2014 at 12:10 PM ^
DO NOT TRY to bust out the Human-Factors Engineering buzz words - they don't work here. There really isn't anything "complex" or "unique" about the situation. This happens frequently in football - so frequently, as a matter of fact, that "Heads Up", an organization was created to teach proper safety technique at a young age. This was a common and simple situation that was bungled by the leadership of the team.
It's disgusting that it happened and even more disgusting that Dave Brandon is trying to pull a snow job on the public with generic bizspeak.
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September 30th, 2014 at 1:57 PM ^
On Will Carroll's twitter feed he asked someone identify the person, who looked like a coach, who was talking with Morris after the hit. That person was identified as Paul Schmidt Assistant Athletic Director/Head Football Athletic Trainer. I hope the link works fine.
Link https://twitter.com/injuryexpert/status/516994852471734272
September 30th, 2014 at 4:22 PM ^
It's amazing to me, how conveniently nobody seemed to be looking at the hit on Shane. I realize that on a given play a coach might be looking at the O-Line, or the Def backs or whatever, but it seems like on THAT play, nobody was watching the hit on our QB.
Uh-huh. Sure.
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