Latest re: Pearson from JUB

Getting into a pissing contest with the Regents (if true) seemed pretty unwise.  I hope it's not true because I'd like to believe our AD is smarter than that.

Or Tressell, Jim.

Why are you so sure he is a good man being railroaded?

I don't really follow your logic. Are you saying that they know something that contradicts the report but are afraid to say it?

Maybe firing isn't a slam dunk but when you allow someone like Bancroft to exist and lie to investigators, you no longer have a case to say you're being railroaded. 

I kept hearing from the pro-Pearson people, "read the report and don't rely on other peoples' conclusions". Well, I read about half the report and there was enough in just that half to warrant firing: multiple people corroborating multiple events and cultural issues.

I think there's a disconnect because Mel is a master of compartmentalization: he's one person to one group and a different one entirely to another group. That's extremely common for both people who rise to this level of success and chronic abusers who don't get caught for years or decades. It's also a big reason why, almost universally, when allegations like this come out against just about anyone, many people say "him? No way... I've known him for years and he's a good guy".

In this case, Pearson appears to have a cold and intimidating persona with his players. That's a coaching style, not abuse, and honestly, the results speak for themselves. That's probably why his players come back to play for him.

Secondly, he's a master recruiter and self promoter, and can be quite charming to the media.

Thirdly, he appears to have a good working relationship with his assistant coaches, even including Steve Shields. Shields wasn't primarily upset with his own treatment, he was upset with Pearson's treatment of others.

Finally, he appears to have been at the very least quite tolerant of abuse and harassment toward his support staff, and possibly abusive and harassing toward them himself. And this is indeed where you see markers of dysfunctional culture: multiple accusations, people leaving, etc. This is the true measure of a man: how they treat those they view as beneath them when no one's around to see it. In this case, Not Good.

It's this compartmentalization and his careful positive treatment of the "people who matter" that have allowed Pearson to get where he is now. Everyone in a position of power says, "I've known him for years and he's always been a perfect gentleman", while those that are unable to speak up for themselves bear the brunt of his tolerance for abuse. That's why, to people like Manuel, who have known him for years, it looks like he's being railroaded, when in fact they've just had the unsavory parts hidden from them this whole time.

Good men don't do what he did.

It's a high-risk, high-reward job in which "good people" get fired sometimes.  If this is unjust--and I'm not saying it is in this case, I don't know, I can't say it LOOKS like it but I admit I don't know all the details--I am only going to cry so many tears.  Head coaching a high-profile college program is a wackadoodle job and you take this job knowing your career can turn on a dime.  Would it be better if that weren't so?  Sure.  Add it to the list of things we should probably reform in college sports--but honestly, I probably won't put it as high on my list as the other things we should reform.  One reason is that good people (hell, even bad people) tend to land on their feet eventually in another position close to the sport they love--often a lucrative one.

Just because Sam Webb doesn't call out the AD every time a controversy comes up, so what?  I think it's pretty clear that he has sources within the department through which he gets good information that we all benefit from when he shares it on the air.  That means he's going to be pretty middle-ground on many issues, especially without a clear picture of EVERYTHING going on behind the scenes, that almost none of us are privy to.  I'm sure in private, he has some pretty strong opinions.  But I'm perfectly fine with him keeping a low profile on it and leaving the indignant condemnation to the rest of us.  

AKA: Mel Peearson?