Michigan Daily corrects the record re: Pearson interview
The corrections are not anything particularly shocking or new, just addressing the inaccuracies from the interview that painted a rosier picture of Pearson's behavior. I wasn't even going to bother posting it since there's nothing noteworthy, until I got to the last paragraph:
Pearson has attempted to remain in close contact with the program in which he led a toxic culture. Multiple sources tell The Daily that he showed up uninvited to a team practice on Thursday, Sept. 22. He also told Myers that he contacted all the program’s incoming freshmen before they went on campus.
Umm....what? You were the subject of an investigation, you were explicitly not retained as an employee, and your (interim) replacement has been installed. Why are you showing up uninvited to official team practices?
October 3rd, 2022 at 2:15 PM ^
The university could quickly and easily put a stop to this, i doubt practices are open to the public....
maybe things weren't as bad as they were painted, but not retaining him was less messy than doing so and trying to explain why.
October 3rd, 2022 at 2:15 PM ^
Wow, seems like we have a fatal attraction situation. Watch your rabbits.
October 3rd, 2022 at 2:16 PM ^
Maybe he has an application in for the head coach position and wants to see how they handle recruiting and practices?
October 3rd, 2022 at 2:18 PM ^
Well, interesting that the Daily scoffs at the Jess Meyer's use of an "unsubstantiated claim" that someone brought beer over to the player's house after the termination, but then cites their own "unsubstantiated claim" that Mel showed up to practice. Which is it?
Also, though Gary Moeller, Steve Fisher, and Tom Goss were all broomed from Michigan for various reasons, they were not ex-communicated in the manner in which the Daily apparently expects Mel to be. Are they really expecting Michigan to not include Mel in the 100-year anniversary celebrations of the program? He's one of two living former head coaches of the program now. It would also require a lot of photoshopping of past photos.
October 3rd, 2022 at 5:32 PM ^
There is a very big difference between a daily reporter being told by “multiple sources”, that Pearson showed up uninvited at a practice and Meyer being told by Peterson that someone brought beer over to a player’s house. If Meyer had cited additional sources beyond Peterson (who is known to have lied in the WilmerHale report) and who is clearly a biased source, we would be comparing apples to apples. Meyer didn’t, therefore the comparison is a pretty poor one.
Also, where did the Daily article suggest that Mel should not be included in the 100 year anniversary of the program?
October 3rd, 2022 at 6:33 PM ^
Makes no sense. For all we know, the Daily source(s) are the very people who have their own bias. They're both unsubstantiated reports. One doesn't make the other better.
And the Daily is on a mission to see Mel smeared, tarred, and punished. I seem to remember Steve Fisher, a man who committed actual NCAA violations, being at Senior Day the same year he was fired. And he was welcomed back with open arms when we played SD State a few years back, never mind the 15 years of hell our basketball program went through because of those violations.
People out there are saying some wild things about what Shields did, that haven't been equally checked up on.
October 3rd, 2022 at 7:01 PM ^
Pretty important distinction here vs. Fisher is that the allegations against Pearson are for creating a toxic culture (etc.). That seems like someone who you don’t want hanging around the program?
October 3rd, 2022 at 7:12 PM ^
The part where Fisher's actions caused a 15-year death spiral for our basketball program?
And then they have him back a few years ago for a kiss and cry appearance? Very interesting.
October 3rd, 2022 at 9:01 PM ^
If anyone has suggested that Mel should be removed from the history books, I haven’t heard it. The AD can figure out what to do about reunions/anniversaries down the line, but in the meantime he isn’t our hockey coach any more and shouldn’t be contacting current players or dropping by practice unannounced/uninvited.
October 3rd, 2022 at 9:02 PM ^
I would definitely put the journalistic integrity of The Daily over someone who just got an access journalism piece, but that’s me. It’s not like they are on a smear campaign, the guys a dick and a liar and the legal investigation said so. Now they’re just saying he’s being weird.
October 3rd, 2022 at 11:14 PM ^
First, here are the two direct quotes:
“Multiple sources tell The Daily that he showed up uninvited to a team practice on Thursday, Sept. 22”
After his firing was revealed, Pearson was told that a Michigan staffer who had clashed with the coach in the past showed up at the home of several Wolverines hockey players – at least one of whom was underage – with alcohol. When they opened the door, the staffer said, “We got the motherf–ker. Let’s party!”
Once again, big difference between multiple sources and a single source who: 1) didn’t directly witness the event; 2) had already been caught at least once lying to minimize his own culpability and 3) had a clear reason to be lying to the reporter. Had Jess Myers bothered to find even one other source, such that he could have said, Pearson’s story is consistent with another source who is familiar with the incident,we wouldn’t be having this back and forth.
Second, with regards to your Steve Fisher points: 1) Senior Day is a public event. A closed practice is not. 2) The NCAA never said Steve Fisher was involved in any of the major violations involving Ed Martin. “The NCAA Infractions Committee pointed a finger at former Michigan coach Steve Fisher, but said there was no direct evidence linking him to the major violations committed within the school's basketball program during Fisher's tenure.” https://www.espn.com/ncb/columns/katz_andy/1551150.html
3) when you find someone of the caliber of John Beilein saying something like this about Mel Pearson “Having Steve and Angie in the house was absolutely fantastic,” Beilein said. “I know it's been a long time and we could never get them back here because he was still coaching. This sort of happened to work out and I couldn't be happier. I know he's happier.”https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/2019/02/25/steve-fisher-makes-return-i-loved-my-experience-michigan/2977231002/ your analogy would become much better.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:19 AM ^
"They're both unsubstantiated reports. "
No. If an additional source substantiates what a first source said, the first report is no longer unsubstantiated, it is substantiated.
"And the Daily is on a mission to see Mel smeared, tarred, and punished."
This is an excellent example of an unsubstantiated claim.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:19 AM ^
Has anyone done any reporting as to whether the bringing the beer over is true? Would seem like an easy thing to confirm or not confirm. Or is it just assumed to not be true because someone people don't like said it?
October 4th, 2022 at 4:55 PM ^
Generally the expectation is that the reporter who substantiates the claim is the one that wants to include it in his or her story.
October 3rd, 2022 at 5:51 PM ^
Photoshopping past photos? That's some Stalin-level shit right there.
October 3rd, 2022 at 2:50 PM ^
I bet Mel is just driving by Yost every few hours to see if there are any cars outside he doesn't recognize. The team is his FOREVER. They were meant to be together...
October 3rd, 2022 at 4:10 PM ^
“My precious”
October 3rd, 2022 at 4:41 PM ^
It rubs the lotion on its skates. It does this whenever it’s told…
October 3rd, 2022 at 3:08 PM ^
Sources: Pearson is beside himself. Driving around downtown Ann Arbor begging (thru texts) Naurato's family for team practice schedule
October 3rd, 2022 at 3:11 PM ^
If that is the case, I would be interested to know why he was not immediately tossed from said practices, if he is trespassing and entering without informing people. As he is no longer an employee of the University, by rights he should not have access to the facility unless it is with the explicit permission of the department, or so I would imagine (that's how it would work virtually everywhere else).
October 3rd, 2022 at 3:55 PM ^
Probably no one there who felt they had the clout to toss him. Sometimes people are so brazen it catches others off guard
October 3rd, 2022 at 4:46 PM ^
My take was quite different--if there's an explicit rule that he can't be there, or if he was forbidden to return, the Daily should have said that. Otherwise, aren't we kind of in ew territory rather than unbounded outrage territory? Glad to be wrong, but it seems like we're all of us on constant lookout for things to be upset about here on the internet. . . and maybe this is just A gym rat and Michigan lifer with a broken heart who f'd up but didn't kill anyone. . . who needs to be quietly told he can't do that?
October 3rd, 2022 at 3:17 PM ^
October 3rd, 2022 at 3:51 PM ^
Wow, havent seen you around here for a very long time (although I guess you've been somewhat active in threads I'm not in).
Welcome back
October 4th, 2022 at 12:54 PM ^
"That's what I love about these recruits. I get older, they stay the same age."
October 3rd, 2022 at 3:22 PM ^
Perhaps the old, ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ line was not strong enough.
October 3rd, 2022 at 3:36 PM ^
this is strange territorial, borderline predatory behavior.
October 3rd, 2022 at 4:11 PM ^
What can you say? He's a Michigan hockey fan. It's not like he's subject to a protective order.
October 3rd, 2022 at 4:24 PM ^
Many years ago in the late 80's I was a regional VP for an insurance replacement car rental company and we went on a field trip to visit our upstate NY offices. The one location we NEVER went to was Binghamton because getting there from just about anywhere was a monumental bitch and took forever. So for me and the District Manager to go there was quite unexpected.
So unexpected it seems that the office was a complete and total disaster. Missing cars, missing money (this was pre-internet) and just a complete mess from top to bottom. Needless-to-say we realized we needed to let the location manager go immediately but when we fired him he refused to go. He said "you cant just show up here and fire me" but had no answer for the missing cars/money so we told him he was gone and to leave.
He said "I'll just keep coming back to the office. You guys are based hundreds of miles away and cant stop me from coming in." My response was "you're right, I cant. But i can damn sure stop those paychecks from showing up and starting today those will no longer arrive with your name on them."
Pretty sure he never came back after that.
October 3rd, 2022 at 5:20 PM ^
Ah yes, the old Milton Waddams approach.
October 4th, 2022 at 6:35 AM ^
Is rick bancroft welcomed back?
How about the woman who worked for the hockey program for 25+ years and felt forced out b/c of bancroft and pearson?
decent humans should be welcomed back, not mean spirited assholes
October 4th, 2022 at 10:43 AM ^
I'm sure he's still emotionally invested in this team. He recruited them all and helped them develop.Of course he'd want to see them. I have to assume he was told by the higher ups that he could stick around the program from a distance.