David Brandon: "I Suggest You Find A New Team" Comment Count

Brian

Ace Anbender contributed to this report.

A few weeks ago, one of our users posted a fuzzy picture of an email purporting to be from one David Brandon:

10615422_294725647389729_3736298342185053254_n[1]

We were already trying to confirm or dis-confirm the authenticity of this when Keith Olbermann's show presented it as a fact we're reporting. At that point we had to either confirm it or repudiate it. We've done our best to do so.

We are now reporting this is authentic.

This kind of thing is of course forgeable, but I let it stand because it felt like something Brandon would do. I know this because over the past few years about two dozen people have forwarded me conversations with Brandon ranging from polite enough to the above. 

While the message board thread had a number of details off due to the hand-me-down nature of the information, Ace tracked down the original source of the emails, confirmed his identity over the phone and on Facebook, and got the original. I believe this to be real.

fine-without-you-1

I asked the hivemind for help with confirming that the email was genuine. What followed was a primer on spoofing that led to one inescapable conclusion: nothing is 100% guaranteed. However, you can look at email headers and GMail histories and rule out all but extremely sophisticated forgeries.

This is where a second emailer comes in. Around the same time Brandon is alleged to have fired off the email above, he shot off another after receiving a short rant about how Al Borges was bad and should feel bad:

have-a-happy-life-2

This woman's husband forwarded a much longer exchange with Brandon he had afterward. This ended with the assertion that "you may need more luck than our football team" to deal with his wife.

It also provided a larger body of information to evaluate. I ran it by a couple people intimately familiar with not just email in general but GMail specifically. The results:

The short of it is that the headers check out but there's no way to be 100% sure unless you know for sure the assumptions below are true. The smoking gun is indeed the back and forth GMail thread, that's just not possible unless fabricated by the recipient which we don't think it is (details on why below).

Assumptions

  • Dave Brandon uses a GMail/Google Apps web client (versus say, a desktop client)
  • [email protected] was not hacked and being accessed by an unauthorized third party
  • Neither a 3rd party or the recipients know the specific Google Apps servers for umich.edu's domain
  • The document with the thread between Dave Brandon and the sender was not fabricated

Details

  • The sender's headers appear consistent and indicate authenticity—however, a single email header is insufficient to prove authenticity
  • GMail automatically detects spoofed Gmails and Google Apps addresses—user(s) would have received a warning
  • Replies to spoofed email addresses will go to the real email address—the sender's emails were getting to [email protected] and being responded to.
  • GMail uses signatures in headers to group threads together. Spoofed emails with the same subject aren't put into threads—the back and forth thread is the strongest proof that the emails are authentic. 
  • The back-and-forth thread does not appear to be a forgery—the spacing, elements, and little details (such as "mgoblog.com" being in purple because it's a previously visited address for the user) all seem to check out. 

The longer thread looks authentic beyond reasonable doubt.

    Since the original email is discussed repeatedly in the longer thread, that seems certainly true.
    A second opinion from a professional in the field links the two emails together:

    We have two separate emails that claim to be sent from DB with the same mail server in the header and the same SMTP address. I'm wholly convinced that neither are forged if these are indeed from 2 different people that couldn't have colluded.

    The independent reports I've gotten over the last two years rules out a hack. Dave Brandon has on many, many occasions sent out emails of this nature in his tenure. People have forwarded me nice notes and not-nice notes; it is beyond a reasonable doubt these are authentic.

    Here are more interactions between fans and Dave Brandon provided to me.

"Quit Drinking And Go To Bed"

Another exchange around the time of Brandon's blog in support of Brady Hoke, featuring "quit drinking," class assertions, more ticket threatening.

Dave,

We are sick of all the talk, excuses, and most importantly the losses. You throwing Coach Rodriguez under the bus like you have this week was an embarrassment to the University and more importantly a big cheap shot on all of the players from his classes. Would you classify the game today as "big-boy football?" Would you consider Urban Meyer's offense "big-boy football?" Was that poor excuse of a defense today playing "big-boy football?" Not only was this season an embarrassment to this University, but your conduct over this past week puts a further black eye on this season and has no place at Michigan.  Michigan is now truly a middle of the road Big Ten team and we have you (not Rich Rodriguez) to thank for that.

BRANDON: Quit drinking and go to bed.

Thanks for the classy response. You may have just lost another season ticket holder.

BRANDON: Getting advice from you on what constitutes a classy email is really a joke.

Good luck!

Dave

Dave,

With all due respect, please explain to me what was wrong with my original email? Did I say anything that offended you or that wasn't true?  All I did was reference points that you used in your media tour last week.  When you go out into the public like you did, do you not expect some backlash? To accuse me of drinking is laughable coming from someone in your position. As I have been reading from various writers, I hope you have extreme concern that the 100,000 attendance streak is in real jeopardy. We just want to win and us fans don't necessarily appreciate seeing you on tv and in the newspapers every other day.

BRANDON: I don't believe you know what "due respect" is....

You sent a snarky, negative article at 11:58 PM the night of a very disappointing loss....telling me what "we" are sick of!  I didn't know you had been elected to represent anyone. I don't know who you are....and I really don't care about your views based on "what you read."  And, I don't accept you as a representative of anyone other than yourself.

For you to point out that "we just want to win" is really profound.  Do you think our kids and coaches don't want to win?  Do you think I don't want to win?  Really????

I don't know what you do for a living...but if you want to be an athletic director....go for it.  If you want to be a coach...go for it. 

As it relates to seeing me on TV or in newspapers....I have no idea what you are talking about.  I don't know or care about that stuff....apparently, you do.  You really should get a different hobby!

I will let the ticket office know of your decision to give up your seats.  I am sure we can use your email address to locate your file.  I am sure you will be much happier....because clearly your anger and frustration over our disappointing season has gotten the best of you.

It's too bad...if you got to know our kids and coaches, you would likely enjoy supporting them even when times are tough.  They are quality people who care a lot about Michigan.  Their efforts, sacrifices and commitment goes beyond putting go blue in their email address and pretending to be a loyal fan - they stay positive and continue to fight even when people like you attack them and the outcome of their efforts.

I wish you well....and I hope you find a team to support that wins every game and every season is a complete success.   

Dave

"I Am Sorry You Are 'Upset'"

This was posted as a diary in September by the emailer himself over a year after he'd emailed me and asked me to keep the exchange private. This is the key section and is verbatim from the email he provided me in 2013:

[My first name],
I received your message and I am sorry you are "upset" over a noodle.
Clearly, this is a very troubling matter for you.
Perhaps the lesson here is for you to be careful not to believe everything you read. There was an event at the Stadium Friday and this promotional piece was included.  It was removed at the conclusion of the event.
I suggest you relax and enjoy the football game today!
Go Blue!!
Dave

His response:

Dear Mr. Brandon,

Thank you for your timely response. I am not upset about a noodle, however, but about the possibility of advertising in Michigan Stadium on game days now and in the future.

I suggest that you drop the condescending tone.

Go Blue!

Brandon:

Thanks for your very helpful input!!

Much appreciated!!

Dave

"Thank you so very much… incredible insight"

In response to a guy advocating against Les Miles for breaking oversigning rules, eating grass, and clapping annoyingly, ending with

Mr. Brandon likes to refer to Michigan football as a "brand." Though I would strongly suggest he stop using this term immediately (academia is not Corporate America, nor is UM football a pizza that tastes like cardboard), I'd also implore him to compare Les Miles' behavior with the "brand" he's trying to protect.

Brandon's response:

Mr. Smith,

As you are helping define the difference between academia and Corporate America for President Coleman and me (thank you so very much….incredible insight!) you inaccurately stated my reference to branding at the University.  I have never referred to Michigan Football is a “brand”….because it is not.  I have referred to the “Block M” as a brand….because it is!

Michigan Football is one of the many ways we build our brand at Michigan…as do the rest of our athletic programs, our health system, our academic units, and just about everything else we do at the University.

If this troubles you….I am sorry.  However, it won’t change the fact that our Block M is one of the most recognized global brands in higher education…and I would think anyone with an email address of “UM Alum” would understand the power of that!

Go Blue!  And, thanks for providing your deep research on Coach Miles.

Dave

What about FOIA?

I have been informed that Michigan erases Brandon's email regularly to prevent responsive requests by a person who worked in the athletic department for three years.

A FOIA request for an email sent or received by Dave Brandon would end up going to his secretary. If the date of the email is given, his secretary would not even need to look to see if the email exists. All of Dave Brandon's emails are manually deleted from his university email once they are about one month old. They have been since he started. Since it is done manually, sometimes it's actually a little later, sometimes it is a little sooner, especially if the email is something that may be FOIAed.

But it was explained to me that the whole point is to avoid responding to a FOIA request (like this one). I've been following this email/FOIA issue, and after I spoke with one of my friends in the athletic department, we agreed that we would be shocked if that email still existed in his email, even if it did exist at one time.

This is why a specific request filed by an MGoBlog member turned up nothing. I have two FOIAs in with the department currently, one for six days of mail to and from two email addresses, the other for [email protected] and [email protected] dating back to January 1st of 2013. The department wants to charge me $385 for the first request and $1215 for the second—if those are at all proportional than there's approximately three weeks of email sitting there.

Is this legal? Our local law-talker BISB weighs in:

--------------------------------

If a state employee (such as, for random example, a University Athletic Director) deleted email exchanges, he was probably in violation of Michigan's FOIA law. Emails sent by an employee in the course of his official function are considered public records. The University of Michigan, and its employees, have an affirmative obligation to maintain public records:

MCL 15.233(3): "A public body shall protect public records from loss, unauthorized alteration, mutilation, or destruction."

That duty extends to the individual employees. Intentionally deleting emails as a means of preventing them from being FOIAed would be a violation of MCL 15.240(7):

"If the circuit court determines... that the public body has arbitrarily and capriciously violated this Act by refusal or delay in disclosing or providing copies of a public record, the court shall award, in addition to any actual or compensatory damages, punitive damages in the amount of $500.00 to the person seeking the right to inspect or receive a copy of a public record."

"Capricious and arbitrary" essentially means without cause and in an abuse of power. The University of Michigan is the one subject to the penalty, but the employee is the one who committed the violation.

-----------------------------------

Since the punishment is so paltry, Michigan doesn't seem to care.

Documents

The recipients of these emails are private citizens who would like to remain such so I've blacked out their email addresses. All else is as received. There are links to the originals in every section; here they are in a group.

"We will be fine without you"

"Have A Happy Life"

Longer exchange 1

Longer exchange 2

Longer exchange 3

Quit Drinking 1

Quit Drinking 2

Quit Drinking 3

Les Miles

I'm sorry you are 'upset'

Comments

InterM

October 28th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^

He gives an explanation for his film review sessions that differs from the one he gave during his recent media blitz following the Shane concussion incident.  In (I think) the WTKA interview with Sam Webb, he explained that he attends the film sessions purely for his own convenience, since he usually is too busy with his AD duties to actually watch the games live.  He also said he hadn't done it in a while.  In the long e-mail exchange, however, he claims that this is one of the tools he uses to evaluate the coaches.  Seems to be having trouble keeping his story straight . . . .

Blue Durham

October 28th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^

Is this fine $500 per incidence, meaning per e-mail deleted that had at least 1 request that could not be fulfilled? So if, thousands of e-mails were deleted...

Or is the fine $500 per person per request, so if thousands of MGOUsers each asked for just one of these e-mails, would the department potentially be fined many thousands of dollars based on one single deleted e-mail?

It just seems to me the potential risk that Brandon might have exposed the university to just doesn't outweigh the benefits.

SFBlue

October 28th, 2014 at 12:51 PM ^

No doubt the email in question is consistent with the tone and substance of other presumptively authentic Dave Brandon emails.



No doubt some of these messages to Dave Brandon are bilious and ill advised.



No doubt that Brandon's responses are often unprofessional and ill considered. Despite the provocation you simply cannot get into mlive style flame wars with fans and alums when you are paid about a million to run an athletic department.

Amaizing Blue

October 28th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^

To have this...guy in charge of MY university's athletic department, and MY football team...(I know, it's OUR in both cases, but it feels personal)...Just utterly enrages me.  That someone capable of showing this much disrespect to not just random e-mailers but alums, season ticket holders, fans, students, etc.-I mean, we knew it was bad, but this?  This is beyond belief, yet we have no choice but to believe it.  

 

If any one of us sent an e-mail with that type of tone/content to a customer/client/parent, I would imagine that at the very least we would face disciplinary action from our employer.  If we sent a whole series of them, we would certainly have a new employer.  Did he tell Domino's customers to go ahead and order Little Caesar's when they complained?  

 

If he survives the week after this comes out, I for one am disappointed in President Schlissel.

markusr2007

October 28th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^

I don't understand it. Completely unnecessary.  Brandon is paid a huge salary. His secretary is paid $107K a year.

It would have been super easy for Dave Brandon as AD, or for his appointed secretary responding on his behalf, to have replied in a polite tone and in a formed response email and to have just left it at that.  

Is the UM Athletic Director beholden to respond personally to every single email he ever receives from disgruntled UM fans and alumni? Do they have to be personal responses? I don't believe this is a requirement of his role as university athletic director.

"Dear XXXX,

I sincerely thank you for your email and for your input about Michigan football. The University of Michigan athletic department greatly appreciate feedback like this from fans.

I will certainly take your comments and criticism under advisement. 

Thank you for your continued support of the University of Michigan football and for all of our athletic programs.

Sincerely Yours,

Dave Brandon

Go Blue!"

 

JamieH

October 28th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^

For all the people saying "Who cares what Brandon is saying in emails to people".

 

Are you serious?  This guy is the head of all Michigan athletics, and he is basically telling people to f*** off in emails.  That isn't even remotely OK, and if you think it is, you are so far out in left field of Wrigley that you're lost in the ivy. 

 

The head of an organization sets the tone for the entire organization, and right now, Michigan is being run by a 15-year old douchebag. 

 

Who cares how bad the emails coming in are?  That isn't the point.  I've answered customer emails before.  Customers can be morons, idiots, @$$holes, etc.   You don't stoop to their level, and that is doubally true if you are the boss.  Hell, just ignoring them would be 10 times better.

 

Eberwhite82

October 28th, 2014 at 2:49 PM ^

I'm a public affairs manager for a pretty big utility. I deal with IRATE customers on almost a daily basis. If anyone on my staff came even close to this kind of tone, they'd be put on a Performance Improvement Plan pretty much on the spot.

I think some of the responses here pointing to the petty, douchey emails into Brandon simply miss the point... by a huge margin. Take it from people that work in the field of public relations -- These emails from Brandon are STUNNING in their unprofessionalism. Truly and utterly jaw dropping.

I honestly am having a difficult time believing it, frankly. It strains credulity. But I trust the proprietor of this blog and his staff.

It's bad enough when you have to detach yourself from the program for embarassing play on Saturdays. But we've almost always been able to hang our hats on displaying a certain level of class and dignity.

Being a poorly run version of Sparty, with uniformz, DJs, fireworks and all that comes with it? No thanks.

gwkrlghl

October 28th, 2014 at 7:13 PM ^

Yup, I work for a Fortune 100 company (so similar in stature to Michigan vs the athletic realm). Our customers are morons sometimes, they say our product is defective when it clearly isn't and they clearly didn't read how to use it or even try but can you imagine if our CEO was dishing out emails like this to our customers? Holy pants. He'd be fired in half a second and we'd be offering free sh*t to anyone who complained for the next year.

Dave Brandon is making a mistake I learned not to do on my first day with my company: everything you put in an email is a legal document. Choose your words wisely. Dave Brandon does not understand this concept

aaamichfan

October 28th, 2014 at 12:54 PM ^

I can't believe how petty some Michigan fans are. For example the obviously drunk wife complaining after the last second field goal last year(one of only a few true high points in the year). It would have obviously been a better move for Brandon to ignore all of these e-mails, but  he actually did an alright job responding to a couple of them. I'm starting to think a lot less of our fanbase after reading how absurd these are. 

aaamichfan

October 28th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

Gotta break up the circle jerk going on here.

So we have a series of emails presented as the only "evidence", fired off in a drunken stupor by obviously unstable individuals purporting to be Michigan fans. And these are supposed to be definitive proof about legitimacy?!? I'd say this moves the needle from 50% to 52%. 

 

In terms of proof, these are shaky at best and the only purpose is to fit a narrative which most people here so dearly wish to be true.

Logan

October 28th, 2014 at 2:18 PM ^

The evidence that's been presented would only be shaky at best to someone who has a significant stake arguing for the opposite side or just plain has their head in the sand. Not even Brandon himself tried to dispute the story once it went national so I'll just go with your head being in the sand.

westwardwolverine

October 28th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^

You've already been disproved in the other thread you decided to vomit on. 

But don't worry man, everyone here wants to be you. Everyone here just wishes they could stand out like you do. 

You're a great big, bright, shining star!

 

Schembo

October 28th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^

I agree with AAA.  Although DB is completely out of line in these responses from someone in his position and it speaks largely to his incompetence, these emails are embarrasing on both sides.  You can't throw out a "Gorgous Borges" reference in an email to an athletic director and expect to be taken seriously.

westwardwolverine

October 28th, 2014 at 1:23 PM ^

You. Just. Don't. Reply. 

Its not that hard. You don't insult your customers and you especially don't insult them when the product being produces is not very good and its largely your fault. 

Its not about whether or not he was justified in replying to people this way. Its that you simply don't do it. You don't work to drive people further away when they are already losing interest. 

Schembo

October 28th, 2014 at 1:40 PM ^

I agree.  He should just send out canned "thank you for your support and suggestions" responses to these emails.  He didn't because he's a dumbass.  That doesn't negate the fact that a couple of these got the responses they deserve. 

westwardwolverine

October 28th, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^

Sure. But I think what AAA doesn't get is that its not so much the emails themselves that are the big deal, its the fact that he's actually dumb enough to send them. He's actually stupid enough to put into writing that Michigan's Athletic Department won't miss a season ticket holder who is frustrated with the football team. 

 

JamieH

October 28th, 2014 at 1:43 PM ^

the emails are embarassing on both sides.  Except that on one side, the email is being written by an anonymous loser who no one cares about and who should be ignored, and on the other side, the email is being written by the Athletic Director of the University of Michigan.

 

Lots of important people get bad emails sent to them all the time, and probably a lot worse than what Brandon gets.  Can you imagine what politicians must receive? 

jackw8542

October 28th, 2014 at 5:19 PM ^

your comments are usually worth reading, calling the person writing to Dave Brandon "an anonymous loser who no one cares about" is about as arrogant as it gets.  In all likelihood, the person was more like most of the rest of us, a frustrated alum who cares deeply about the school and its athletic programs.  Whether the author was wise to express himself (or herself) in such a manner is a different question, but it does not make that person any of the things you suggest.

InterM

October 28th, 2014 at 2:11 PM ^

So, how should Devin Gardner respond to the texts/social media messages criticizing his play and using the "N" word?  Should he follow the lead of the Michigan athletic director?  Given the reports of what Gardner has put up with, it's hilarious that these e-mails have caused you to "start[] think[ing] a lot less of our fanbase."

7jacks

October 28th, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^

Have you not been here since the ND and Utah losses?  Ha.  Personally, I love the responses by Brandon.  They're hilarious.  Wrong to do, sure...but ballsy and dead on, really.  It's maybe the best thing I've seen him do.  The one thing I've noticed since the wheels started coming off this year is that the majority of this fanbase needs a reminder that, individually, they aren't NEARLY as important as they think they are.  I'm happy for Dave that he reminded a few morons of that fact.  Consider this his Marcus Hall moment.  

m1jjb00

October 28th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^

Yeesh, by the end of the post I was like Rocky's girlfriend just wishing the fight would end.

Everyone's right about the automated responses.  Indeed, I'd recommend that the next AD insert someone, like a work-study student or intern between him/her and the emailers.  My daughter was an intern last year for a very controversial congressman, and the calls she regularly fielded were way more over the top than anything I read above.

This has to go in the hall of fame of posts.

Michigan's fanbase doesn't put up with the same stuff I think other places do.  Are there examples of similar takedowns elsewhere?

I find it weird that a place as big as U of M doesn't have an automated system in place already to do the record keeping automatically.  There's no way that I could suprress any e-mail or phone call from my place of work.  Among other things, I can't even access private e-mail accounts via work computers.  If I want to see the latest Sherrie's Berries email off my yahoo acocunt I have to fire up the laptop and access WIFI blasting from the nearest Starbucks.

 

 

markusr2007

October 28th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^

and being generally combative with competitors, competitive ideas and contrarian points of view.

Fight? Flight? Agree to Disagree?

Nope. Burn the C&D letter, Burn the Bridge. Burn the boats.

I'm right. You're wrong. No apologies.

....Except for Mark.

 

Davymac97.

October 28th, 2014 at 1:01 PM ^

Great work MGoBlog team, you guys are truly the best! 

I just hope this post is widespread as much as possible, everyone needs to see this.  I hope someone within the administration gets a hold of this too.  Davy Boy must answer for his transgressions.  Michigan must purge themselves of him at all costs!!

BlueMan80

October 28th, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^

Dave has a thin skin over his big ego.  Anyone with a drop of common sense would realize that you don't snark back at your customers.  I've dealt with my share of angry customers over the years and you just swallow and move on.  Actually, if you give a shit, you try and fix your customer's problem, not that all problems are in your power to solve.  The email purge is his smoke screen for this activity.  This idiot has to go and the sooner, the better!  Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Off with King Dave's head.