Hoke Statement On Morris Comment Count

Brian

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For what it's worth:

“The safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority. We generally never discuss the specifics of a student-athlete's medical care, but Shane Morris was removed from yesterday's game against Minnesota after further aggravating an injury to his leg that he sustained earlier in the contest. He was evaluated by our experienced athletic trainers and team physicians, and we're confident proper medical decisions were made.

The University of Michigan has a distinguished group of Certified Athletic Trainers and team physicians who are responsible for determining whether or not a player is physically able to play. Our coaches have no influence or authority to make determinations if or when an injured player returns to competition. The health and welfare of our student-athletes is and will continue to be a top priority.”

Comments

Bando Calrissian

September 28th, 2014 at 10:23 PM ^

It's going to be so great tomorrow when Brady gets up to the podium (or, more likely, Dave Ablauf before he reaches the stage) and says from the outset "We've put out statement on Shane Morris' injury status, and that's all we're going to say about it. We can't say anything more than that." And, of course, probably live on ESPN.

BlueLikeJazz

September 28th, 2014 at 10:32 PM ^

Most of which has already been said, but still:

1-Hoke clearly had nothing to do with this statement.  Which speaks really bad of both he and Brandon.  It screams of disinterest and arrogance on both of their parts that they think this will be sufficient, and that they think anyone will believe Hoke actually wrote/thought this.

2-Totally ignoring the concussion issue is unbelievably cynical.  This was only released because of the public outcry today.  Which has been entirely about the concussion issue.  To release a statement ignoring the primary complaint is both cynical and arrogant.

3-Stating at the beginning and end that safety is the staffs top priority, when all evidence from the past 2 years has proven otherwise.  As others have said, Gardner last year, Funchess this year.  I'm also wondering if Denard was showing signs of his injury in 2012 long before the Nebraska game.  This part is also incredibly cynical given the evidence.

 

Fire everyone.  

bhallpmthe2nd

September 28th, 2014 at 10:36 PM ^

You want Hoke gone. Great. So do I. Have said that here (when not neg'd) for years. 

But your using this Morris concussion lie to JUSTIFY YOUR OUTRAGE is bogus and harmful to the Michigan program and traditiona and future. 

The specialists *always on the sidelines* check the players and they alone decide if someone can go back out or not. 

Brian totally blew this. He embarrassed himself, his blog and harmed Michigan with this bullshit post. 

Seth

September 28th, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^

I think you're confused as to whose post this is. The athletic department's communications office sent it to the media tonight and asked us to release it on their behalf. Here's a screenshot of the email they sent in my inbox (thunderbird):

Click for big.

I agree that this statement dodges the main question of how nobody at UM responded properly to what appeared like a concussion, and that it is cynical and obviously not authored by whom they said it was, and just AWFUL on so many levels. But your ire shouldn't be directed at mgoblog; Brian only did as the department expressly asked.

maizenbluenc

September 28th, 2014 at 11:04 PM ^

and tell me with a straight face, if that was your son - never mind if he wants to stay in or not - would you want the coaches to pull him and have him evaluated, and not let him back in the game a few plays later until they were certain it was safe?

It doesn't matter if Shane actually has a concussion or not. Most of the stadium, the TV announcers, and almost everyone watching at home could clearly see that young man needed to be pulled and evaluated for his own safety.

I don't hold a torch and pitchfork on this issue, but the AD's response clearly completely avoids the specific concern that has been widely reported. This is a clear integrity issue, and the press release is disingenuous.

I don't think Nuss is clean on this either just because he can't call a timeout. Nor the refs. Someone on that field or on that sideline should have done something.

PeteM

September 28th, 2014 at 10:36 PM ^

The trainers and physicians may be responsible for determining if a player if physically able to play between games and maybe even during from the half-time locker room or bench, but what does that have to do with keeping a player on the field who looks like he's taken too many hits.  Can a trainer or physician evaluate from sidelines?  Are coaches required to keep a player in until the trainers or physicians say pull him?  Did the Certified Athletic Trainers insist that Shane stay in after the helmet-to-helmet hit?

Obviously these are rhetorical questions but, seriously, what was the point of this statement?

 

 

Amutnal

September 28th, 2014 at 10:49 PM ^

Yes. The trainers and physicians do most of their evaluations on the sidelines. Trainers and docs have headsets to communicate from all along the sideline. Usually the docs don't want to bother coaches during the game so they will relay info through the trainers or the trainers themselves can pull a guy if he suspects a concussion. Then they immediately administer scat testing off to the side if possible or in locker room. Hoke doesn't wear a headset so maybe he didn't get the message. Clearly Bellomy knew he was supposed to go in, but couldn't find his helmet, so then Shane walked up and went on the field. There were 25 seconds on the play clock then, plenty of time to recognize and call a TO or motion Shane to come off and put in Bellomy.



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pinkfloyd2000

September 28th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ^

I'm lost for words. But I'll proceed anyway.

The leg injury is mentioned. Absolutely zero mention about the flying helmet to Morris' chin that knocked him to the turf, the resulting wobbly-ness, and so forth. Nothing about concussion protocols being followed. Just a generic, bullshit statement that presupposes we're all morons (or, more appropriately, morans!) and will blindly place our faith in Dear Leader.

It just keeps getting better and better, folks. The Regents are our only hope here. It is apparent that DB is going to be stubborn all the way to the bitter end with "his man," Brady Hoke. Under Brandon's rule, Hoke is not going ANYWHERE.

KSmooth

September 28th, 2014 at 10:50 PM ^

I think we can assume by now that Dave Brandon, Brady Hoke, and the coaching staff all know whether or not Shane Morris has a concussion.

If Shane Morris did not suffer a concussion, it would be in the best interest of all involved (Brandon and Hoke in particular) for that information to get out, either directly or through a leak to a friendly reporter.  There would still be questions about how the whole thing was handled, but that news would take a lot of the heat off.  Shane Morris would still have been trying to play on a very bad ankle, but he would not have been in any particular danger of brain injury.  The overall situation would have been much less alarming.

This statement from the Athletic Department does not address the question of whether or not Morris was, in fact, concussed. It asserts that proper medical protocols were followed, but does not say when any screening for a concussion was performed.

No doubt that much is true, but what is omitted is every bit as important as what is included.

From this, it is logical to conclude that Morris suffered a concussion, and that a screening was not performed until after he had made his last appearance in the game.  From that point on proper medical procedures were followed.  That scenario would be the simplest explanation for what is included and excluded from the statement.

SmithersJoe

September 28th, 2014 at 11:10 PM ^

An alternative might be that Morris didn't have a concussion, but they're concerned about admitting that they didn't follow the concussion protocol at the appropriate time.

If they evaluated Morris after the game and found that he had no concussion, it would still cause some potential problems (including liability) if it was revealed that the evaluation didn't happen until after the game.

Still, there might have been a way to finesse the language to obfuscate the timing. So if he was evaluated after the game and found not to have a concussion, there probably would have been a way to get the good information out (no concussion) without being too specific on the bad information (evaluated after the game).

So, that's just long way of saying your explanation is most likely accurate.

Simon

September 28th, 2014 at 10:49 PM ^

The whole helmet to helmet hit was just the icing on the shit storm cake. For most of the game Shane Morris was completely outmatched, taking huge hits and limping around the field. At no point in time did he look remotely capable of playing QB against Division 1 competition, but Hoke was apparently so set on benching Gardner that he didn't give a shit. He just left the kid in to get hit on play after play even though he couldn't run. At the end of the 3rd quarter I wondered if they should just fire Hoke on Monday because he nor the team seemed to care. Even the defense seemingly threw up their hands and said well wtf is the point in trying.

Michigan's two victories are over teams with 1 combined win over some college called Campbell. It's hard to fathom anything happening on the football field worse than Saturdays lack of desire and complete negligence over player safety. And I know the statement issued today was pure PR bullshit, but seriously WTF were the athletic trainers and medical staff doing? It is their job and they should just be included in the cleansing.

Swazi

September 28th, 2014 at 10:54 PM ^

After watching the video again:

Shane Morris was on the sideline for about 98 or 100 seconds. He had his helmet on still for about the first 60 of these seconds.

Please, Hoke, tell me what medical evaluation happened that lasted about a minute and a half and for over half of it he leaves his helmet on? Especially when one of the evaluations should have been for a head injury?



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Blue Ninja

September 28th, 2014 at 11:12 PM ^

Hoping someone at the presser will finally have the wherewithal to ask the very questions being raised here. How in Sam Hill is a medical evaluation done to a player with his helmet still on? It certainly wasn't for his ankle, he was standing the whole time too. Cmon media, it's up to you to grill this crew of coaches.

zggolfer

September 28th, 2014 at 11:17 PM ^

Shane comes out tomorrow and says he was not concussed, was positive to person, place, time and event.  Yeah i got rocked and my leg all twisted up for the tenth time, but i knew what was going on and i was just stubborn and wanted to make a play.  My leg was killing me and Braden helped me stand,  i got the play call from the sideline, called it and tried to rope one in to Funchess.  I should have come out earlier but dammit i wanted to play.  Will that temper some of the anger?  I have a hard time believing that the entire coaching staff failed to see that the kid couldnt move, was hurting and very ineffective out there.  Why was he out there for so long?  Was the coaching staff watching the play clock and not the field?                   

Shop Smart Sho…

September 28th, 2014 at 11:49 PM ^

It still wouldn't matter.  He was displaying symptoms of a concussion after the hit.

When that happens, the player must be removed from competition to be evaluated.

Even after he was removed, he was not evaluated.

We know he wasn't evaluated, because no where near enough time lapsed for an evaluation to occur.

zggolfer

September 29th, 2014 at 12:19 AM ^

consist of and what the time frame of the test is.  Is it a standard ncaa thing or is this by conference or school?  I think maybe the nfl protocol should move into the college game.  Every player with a limp doesnt have a concussion, but i can see the concern in this instance following the shot he took.  I just think the angry mob might be a little calmer if and its a big if, Morris was symptom free.  The universities statement leads me to believe that they arent quite sure if they did their job correctly.

MAKarmanesq

September 28th, 2014 at 11:22 PM ^

Well I feel better now! This means that we also need to fire longtime head trainer Paul Schmidt. I worked with the team ten years ago when he was there--he was an arrogant douchebag then, and he's an arrogant douchebag now.



Just a circus from top to bottom.



pistolpete21

September 28th, 2014 at 11:33 PM ^

...would we be seeing the same charges about negligence and ineptitude tossed around? Or would the narrative be that our future QB's got the moxie and toughness to lead this team? 



There are plenty of on the field, performance related reasons to fire Hoke. Even immediately. But trying to seize upon this situation as THE reason is the stuff mobs are made of.

TheJuiceman

September 28th, 2014 at 11:32 PM ^

What a shock, the same guy that tells Devin he doesn't want to see him limping on a broken foot last year vs OSU, AFTER coughing up blood and almost certainly being concussed in EL, throws the doctors under the bus after he throws Shane to the wolves.  In a statement that he's not even smart enought to compose. Hoke is  killer of quarterbacks and a POS, period.

 

TNWolverine

September 28th, 2014 at 11:53 PM ^

I can't believe what Michigan has become under Hoke. Every week up to this point I would think to myself "maybe they worked the kinks out and we will be able to play a respectable game." It amazes me how bad they play with the amount of talent that is on the roster.

AJ1

September 28th, 2014 at 11:55 PM ^

Do people not remember that Brady Hoke had an official reprimand put on his record at Ball State in literally his second month on the job because as discipline he forced players to run outside in sub-zero temps and they got frostbite?

PhilipVU94

September 29th, 2014 at 12:17 AM ^

Although I skipped pages 3, 4, and 5, one question I didn't see answered is whether the University can say anything about Morris's concussion status under HIPAA. I'm not suggesting they want to be transparent; I'm saying, even if they did, their hands might be tied.

"we're confident proper medical decisions were made" -- sounds like HIPAA vagueness.

But they do mention the leg injury, so perhaps that's in a different category or perhaps I'm barking up the wrong tree. Does anyone know?

Swazi

September 29th, 2014 at 3:06 AM ^

Honestly I think if Morris didnt have a concussion, they wouldve come out and said it almost immediately. Since the head shot is the focal point of most the outrage this weekend, I find it pretty telling that they put out statements in regards to this outrage, but fail to address, or even mention ONCE anything related to the focal point of the outrage.



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You Only Live Twice

September 29th, 2014 at 8:34 AM ^

It's extrememly complex as to what is covered under HIPAA, starting with what is a HIPAA covered entity, but the statement you're citing probably isn't crafted that way because of privacy concerns.

sheridonthirehoke

September 29th, 2014 at 12:18 AM ^

"Mr. Hoke, was the 'safety of the student-athlete your highest priority' when you ordered Gardner to 'stop limping' while he played ~20 minutes of football on a broken foot in last years' OSU game? Was Morris also being a bit of a drama queen on Saturday when he collapsed on the field and had to be held up by his teammate?"

"Sunday evening is a bit of an unusual time to release a statement on this, particularly with a presser scheduled for the next day. Can we ask your further questions about the Morris decision, or will you just point us to the release?"

"You mentioned in the statement that the coaches dont send injured players back into the game without the medical staffs' approval, but you claimed to be unaware of Morris' issues in the post-game conference on Saturday. Did a member of your coaching staff get the ok to send Morris out, or does the medical staff have the authority to freely substitute players without contacting you?"

"How many lawyers, football coaches and athletic directors does it take to whip up a meaningless piece of drivel that could be summarized as 'not my fault, lets just move on, k?'. No, seriously--I'm not telling a joke, I'm asking."

"Coach, any truth to the rumors that Brandon has already erected a billboard featuring a headshot of a dazed-looking Morris from Saturday with the caption 'When You Have One of Those 'Not All There' Days...Advil'?"

"...alright, I'm just gonna say it, how can you idiots look in the mirror at night?!"