Northwestern’s AD resigns after 9 days on the job

Submitted by Gentleman Squirrels on May 12th, 2021 at 10:52 PM

Link to article

Basically he was hired to be the new AD even though he was accused of improperly handling racism and sexual harassment cases by a member of the cheerleading squad. He resigned to not be a distraction to the university 

SeattleWolverine

May 13th, 2021 at 12:07 AM ^

There should be like a PR Autocorrect feature in Word where it changes obvious facts like "resigned to avoid being fired" into "resigned to not be a distraction". 

NittanyFan

May 13th, 2021 at 12:36 AM ^

Northwestern (what the hell were they thinking?) shouldn't have promoted the guy given the lawsuit, but IMO he doesn't deserve to be fired at this moment either (though the Julie DiCaro's of the world would have that happen and bar him from employment for life immediately, due process be damned). 

Due process - the man should still get that.

4godkingandwol…

May 13th, 2021 at 4:12 AM ^

Fairness is subjective. Laws are in place to remove that subjectivity and why there are laws around protecting certain classes of individuals from wrongful termination. If you want to lobby for laws that say you can’t fire a person until they are convicted of a crime, go for it, but I’m guessing you can see how that would break down really quickly. 
 

 NW is an institution that needs to consider the broader implications of being associated with this man. They are making a business decision. They are not putting this man in jail. 

DetroitBlue

May 13th, 2021 at 11:29 AM ^

There is no requirement for ‘due process’ here - the right to due process prevents the government (not a private employer) from infringing on a person’s ‘life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. 

There are protected classes of employees, but ‘bumbling idiot who’s about to cause a pr shit storm’ isn’t one  

You’re the guy who cries about the ‘1st amendment’ when people get fired by private employers for saying stupid shit, aren’t you?

NittanyFan

May 13th, 2021 at 12:26 PM ^

If this man hadn't been promoted, all the Americans who care about this story now (including the dozens of MGoBloggers who are giving me negative comments) wouldn't give one damn shit.  Who the hell, outside of some Northwestern insiders, would give a darn about someone who was a Northwestern Deputy AD?

It is what it is, this was the timeline:

(1) Polisky gets promoted from Northwestern Deputy AD,

(2) Because of such, a few people write stories about the pending lawsuits.

(3) The stories go viral and ensuring that Polisky loses his job now becomes a "cause de celebre" for many,

(4) Polisky resigns (or let's be honest, resigned because he wasn't going to get fired) and this becomes a victory for those who made this a "cause de celebre."

(5) The man's now out of a job, people can congratulate themselves on that.  Here we are.  

Rinse and repeat, for whatever the next story to be "outraged" about is.

DetroitBlue

May 13th, 2021 at 12:52 PM ^

I don’t disagree with anything you said in this reply, but your original comment complained about lack of ‘due process’ in a situation where it isn’t even close to applicable.
 

the fact is they did promote him, it raised eyebrows and then he subsequently resigned. Due process doesn’t even enter into the equation

NittanyFan

May 13th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^

Oh, there was a "process" in this instance. 

The process was (1) Northwestern effectively firing the guy, as (2) Northwestern played the role of "judge" while (3) public opinion effectively played the role of "jury."

A number of people are evidently comfortable with that form of "process."  Fair enough, but I am not comfortable with that.  I do believe that employers should treat their employees with some degree of "due process", even if they aren't legally required to do so.

Don't fire the guy, put him on paid leave if need be.  That's what Northwestern should have done IMO. Wait for the whole thing to wind through the courts.

DetroitBlue

May 13th, 2021 at 3:43 PM ^

Ok, but the problem is ‘due process’ has a very limited and very specific meaning - one that doesn’t apply to employer/employee relationships AT ALL. NW, and every other employer, has a ‘process’ for hiring, disciplining and firing employees  it’s ok for you not to like any employer’s specific process - you can simply choose not to work there and the problem goes away. 
 

also, he wasn’t fired; he resigned so the rest of your comment is hypothetical whataboutism conjecture. 
 

And while none of us know the truth of the allegations, it’s pretty disgusting that cheerleaders were put in a position to be gawked at/harassed by rich, old men. if it is true, it’s a pretty reasonable conclusion that the guy who heard about it and didn’t do anything to stop it shouldn’t be in charge of an athletic program comprised of 18-22 year olds

 

Blue@LSU

May 13th, 2021 at 12:11 AM ^

He actually had a pending lawsuit against him. Not a good idea to hire him in the first place in that situation. And, if they really wanted to hire him, it seems like they could've left the position open with an interim AD until the results of the investigation/lawsuit come out.

The Chronicle of Higher Ed had an article about this earlier this week. This is one of the main allegations:

At issue was the hiring of Mike Polisky as the university’s new athletic director. Polisky is one of four Northwestern employees who, along with the university, was sued in January by Hayden Richardson, a senior and member of the cheer team. The federal lawsuit alleges that the university failed to adequately respond after Richardson complained about being groped by drunken fans and alumni at tailgates and fund-raising events. The head cheer coach, Pamela Bonnevier, expected cheerleaders to mingle with powerful donors, the lawsuit states, and it became clear to Richardson “that the cheerleaders were being presented as sex objects to titillate the men that funded the majority of Northwestern’s athletics programs.” Richardson said Polisky minimized her concerns and accused her of fabricating evidence of mistreatment.

Interestingly, the cheer coach's contract wasn't renewed by the university. 

Asked to confirm published reports that Bonnevier was fired late last year, a university spokesperson said the coach’s contract was not renewed after an investigation by Northwestern’s Office of Equity found that she had violated university policies on discrimination and harassment, as well as nonretaliation. Bonnevier could not be reached on Friday. 

dickdastardly

May 13th, 2021 at 5:00 AM ^

What type of Alums is Northwestern producing when they do crap like this? And exactly what type of events were they going to? This sounds like Bryan Singer parties in the Hollywood Hills. 

 

The federal lawsuit alleges that the university failed to adequately respond after Richardson complained about being groped by drunken fans and alumni at tailgates and fund-raising events....and it became clear to Richardson “that the cheerleaders were being presented as sex objects to titillate the men that funded the majority of Northwestern’s athletics programs.”

LeCheezus

May 13th, 2021 at 9:04 AM ^

I'm not condoning or saying the behavior is in any way right or defensible, but I think this is way more common than most people think.  There have been multiple reports of this with NFL cheerleaders (Redskins and Cowboys off the top of my head), and NFL teams don't exactly need donors to stay afloat, so it doesn't surprise me at all that this is happening at the college level.  Good Ol Boy/Boys will be boys culture is far from dead, even at the highest institutions of learning.

bronxblue

May 13th, 2021 at 12:19 AM ^

I'm amazed that a guy named in a lawsuit that is currently pending against your athletic department for mishandling of sexual misconduct claims would even be in the running for the top of the AD.  Like, there have to be other people at that school not named in a lawsuit they could have selected.

ILL_Legel

May 13th, 2021 at 12:32 PM ^

The most powerful NW donor wanted him hired. Polisky’s father-in-law or something like that was very close to the donor named Ryan.  Ryan is the guy with his name on a bunch of the sports arenas.

Just surprised it took them so long to hire him in the first place when Ryan wanted him hired.

bsand2053

May 13th, 2021 at 12:22 AM ^

I know that Canham is now verboten, and rightfully so, but he was right about one thing.  Don't make a one day story into a two day story.  

kookie

May 13th, 2021 at 3:04 AM ^

What a disastrous search. They spend 5 months and untold dollars on a search firm. Hire internally, and he quits 9 days in. All for arguably the plushest job in the power 5. The football program is in great shape coach and facility-wise. No pressure to compete annually. You could coast in that job for life provided you don't pull a Varsity Blues.

MGoStretch

May 13th, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^

The question remains, who are "they"?  You certainly nailed the triggered aspect of my question, but you really missed the request for specifics (see above).

Ps. That wasn't facetious, I'm genuinely curious about the way people conceptualize the world being out to get them.  Your use of language (in the initial post and your vulgar response) implies a disproportionate emotional response to something that has no bearing on your life.  That article has clearly triggered you. I hope you're not further triggered that I have better things to do than read articles about the names of middle schools in San Francisco. Sorry about your triggering, best of luck with that.  I hope "they" learn their lesson!