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I am going to let the video do the talking on this one, but I will make a prediction right now: This will be his last season as MSU coach, and he may very well not make it to the end of this season. He looks like a completely beaten man...
https://michiganstate.247sports.com/Bolt/Michigan-State-Spartans-basketb...
More than uncomfortable. Walton left because he "graduated"? No, wait, because he went to play in Europe?? Or, "I don't really remember"????? He is in hot, hot water, because he knows the real answer is: "He was very quietly fired because of assault and gang rape, but we kept all that hidden so at not to tarnish his or the basketball team's reputation." That he wasn't better prepared for that question tells me he is very likely gone, and already knows it...
I think the best way for MSU to save face at this point would be for a new AD to come in and ask Izzo and Dantonio to retire in order to “start a new culture”. Media/public would see that as a significant step, and Izzo and Dantonio could still be involved with MSU because they wouldn’t have been fired.
If the next school president or AD wants to have any moral authority, they need to fire both of those coaches, pretty much the entire training staff across all sports involved with Nassar, and try to get the campus police cleaned out too.
No one from the last 20 years of athletics at MSU should ever be involved with college athletics again.
Once they are found guilty, they should lose any retirement set up through the university.
Here's the thing though...they could retire and be beloved figures for the fans and supporters at MSU but only until discovery starts in the first civil lawsuit, only until the HBO version of MSU sports is cast, only until the survivor books are written and only until one of the players who has kept silent speaks.
However they play this they are gonna get got.
future involvement. It will be minimal either way. As far as which is better for media/public perception, that's an interesting question. The downside of letting them retire is that it may look like they have negotiated a sweetheart deal like Simon got. That was a very bad look for MSU.
I was thinking about the Detroit Lions with Matt Millen as the GM. If you were trying to sell the team, firing Millen makes them less valuable. The new owner wants to score some easy positive PR by firing Millen himself.
MSU with Dantonio and Izzo may be the reverse. They're still popular with their fans and maybe their donors. They need to go, but a new AD might prefer to start with a clean slate. With Izzo and Dantonio gone he or she can focus on cleaning things up without as much controversy. ADs do a lot of fundraising too. It's got to be easier if angry fans/donors blame someone else You know a lot of them won't blame Izzo and Dantonio.
The best outcome for MSU might be a new president forcing them out before a new AD is hired. I think the president could use the credit in the national media more than an AD. Either that or I could see them hiring a short term AD who will make the tough calls. We might see a short term president there too.
as reported by Crain's Detroit (link), the BoT's plan is to hire a "fixer" president, then a "healer" president.
So yeah, I assume the fixer's job will be to fire everybody and get to some point of rebuilding such that a new president will be able to come in on the upswing.
Mark Murray, Engler, Blanchard, Wilbur being talked about coming in as fixer's.
Replying near the top so people can see the video.
Izzo grilled by an @OTLonESPN reporter. pic.twitter.com/L42zVMkpSY
— Josh Stirn (@Josh_Stirn) January 28, 2018
handled by your basketball program, do you have any regrets?"
You can tell that one buckled his knees. What a devastating question that was.
If nothing else, he seems to be feeling the heat here quite a bit.
To not even be prepared for the question after Walton was suspended from his Clippers job and knowing you are on the turf of national media in the DC area. Complete failure by the MSU PR machine. Next presser will ask whether Izzo knew about the incident or whether it was properly filed as a Title IX case; the following presser will include questions about Payne & Appling. This isn’t going away.
If that is all the better that he can handle it, he seems like a dead man walking IMO.
I would not be surprised to see him retire/resign before the next eviscerating post-game presser. The press will only become more hostile as their questions go unanswered.
I have always disliked Izzo.....but that was really hard to watch and ALMOST made me feel bad for him.
Almost. But not quite.
I hope he and Dantonio fry for what they did.....and did'nt do.
They need to be fired and burned in effigy.
We've had a few injuries and that is why we haven't done very well.....injuries to our pride.
Kudos to that reporter. It's not easy to stand up there and ask questions that make everyone uncomfortable and never flinch.
He has been advised on what to say when faced with these questions. You know he is wanting to say something else but has to bite his tongue. Then his explanation of the Walton situation made it worse.
You can tell he has regrets. He won’t be able to express them until everything is over.
I thought I read Walton lived with Izzo for a period of time?
name a child after him? Like the other accused rapist, Mateen Cleaves?
The Walton issue must cut very deep with Izzo because the guy was clearly treated like family by Izzo. My goodness, what an ironic situation to have your houseguest involved in 2 supposed assaults on women ...
http://www.limaohio.com/sports/281851/tom-izzos-coaching-dna-runs-deep-i...
Read The Limo Ohio Article carefully people........
Walton LIVED with IZZO when Assault covered up n reduced to littering
Walton LIVED with IZZO when 2nd Assault occurred.....
In response to questions, IZZO knew all about it, They lived together
EVEN after both assaults, after Europe, IZZO helps get him a job in NBA.
THIS Will BE IZZO's downfall n lead story tomorrow.
Between those lines. There is so much smoke and mirrors in this article, the reader has to have knowledge of the dots that are not mentioned, and connect them.
Izzo, Dantonio, etc. really didn't care about ANYTHING other than wins.
"My bet is we will be hearing a lot more from this promising young coach in the years to come."
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I think he is out on a limb, all by himself. flopping in the wind.
Thats what I see. School Prez and AD are gone. Is the support system functioning right now? Is everyone in CYA mode? It looked like Izzo had no idea these questions were coming.
If he wants to finish the season he better come up with a better plan.
Never said he had good counsel or was following it. But he knows he can’t say too much publicly. Even though he’d love to try and explain himself.
Yeah and Dantonio doesn’t have to talk to anyone until the fall. He just cancel whatever media availability he was going to have in a few weeks for signing day and cancel any sort of spring practice media sessions too. Just let Izzo take the brunt of it.
10 I'll cooperate with any investigation
20 Always have
30 Always will
40 GOTO 10
nm
He stayed to the script. That’s the theory of his defense and he didn’t wander. He gets a B+, maybe an A-.
Any fool can meander off script and say something they will later regret. I’ve seen this dozens of times. Would take brilliant lawyering and preparation to better this performance.
If he says anything else, is even worse. That was awful but was also as good as could have been.
That was brutal. In under 2 minutes he created a mountainous clip of a PR disaster.
That last question showed him how brutal this will get. Imagine if the AG subpeonas him - you cannot duck those questions.
He can plead the fifth.
it does seem like Izzo is realizing how his lack of discipline fed into the rape culture. He probably thought he was teaching young men and giving them a second chance when all he was doing was enabling more and more bad behavior.
He's the only person involved with anything MSU related that is at least acting remorseful or not completely tone-deaf, whether he actually feels that way or not.
I thought he would survive this simply because of how powerful he is in East Lansing, but after watching that I’m not so sure. Those were bad answers to fairly straightforward questions. The answer to “do you have any regrets” was the worst, and was the kind of response a guilty man would give. Same goes for the question on the circumstances surrounding Walton’s departure. You don’t remember why a grad assistant left 7-8 years ago? GTFOH with that.
Not only were his answers bad, his body language definitely showed me someone with regrets. He’s in a tough spot and he is squirming.
MSU has got to have some of the most incompetent PR people. He had to know that question was coming and he says I don’t know. Wow. His days are going to be numbered. Many reporters are just going to keep digging now.
The tone-deafness has continued from the board of trustees to the football and basketball coaches. You have to admit that everything coming out of East Lansins is remarkably consistent.
They still think all of this is going to just go away.
They are caught flat footed.
Here is a quote from Cassius WInston today, when asked if the team was trying to drown everything out and just focus on basketball:
Maybe MSU should have Cassius Winston do all their talking, as that is the best, most honest, non-rehearsed thing I have heard from anyone at MSU since this all started.
Maybe they should interview him for the AD job opening. Seems better than the guy they had in there before.
is either fighting to save their reputation/job or save the university lawsuit dollars.
This is a really mature statement for him to make, but he's not facing possible criminal charges and doesn't have information that could do litigation damage, which is why no one else will admit any wrongdoing.
he is not going anywhere. He will stay to have some control over the investigations and to protect his legacy.
The one thing both he and Dantonio have going for them is there’s no one left to force them out. With both the AD and president gone, and the board of trustees largely incompetent, there’s no one to tell them “you’ve got to go.”
This is wrong too. The interim president may end up having the worst job ever: Firing any and all remnants of the old guard before he too is replaced and let go. I heard this AM that the governor is looking to see if he has authority to fire the whole BOT at MSU.
That's why they leave that stuff to interims. They have the freedom to do what needs to be done.
This another layer to this story. The BoT are elected government officials. This is embarrasing as hell for the State of Michigan. This effects every person in this state.
That's not necessarily a good thing. A university president is the de facto spokesperson and can take some heat off an embattled employee. Ditto for the AD. With Simon/Hollis gone, they now have to face the media firestorm themselves.
And then there is the issue of having to soon deal with an interim president, who has a chance to demonstrate to the outside world that he/she is in control of things. The MSU scandal is nationwide (even international) news at this point. Doubling down behind the two coaches is tricky.
I don't think either will be fired outright, but will likely "retire" in the coming weeks.
You are literally out of your mind if you think Izzo, Dantonio, or ANYONE at MSU, for that matter, is going to have "control over the investigations." We are way, way past that point. The Feds, the AG, the State Police, etc., are all involved now. Izzo's reputation, prestige, etc., will play NO part in what happens now.
and no loyalty from people he leaves behind. It may not be up to him, but if it is his decision, he will stay.
I was involved with a similar situation at a school in New England. Once the coach left, the whole dam broke.
I get your point. But at this point, Izzo will have virtually no ability to "pull levers" and have things taken care of by a loyal cadre of folks on campus (fixers, so to speak), mainly becuase the entire MSU bureaucracy is being "disintermediated" from the investigation. So whether Izzo is there or not there is almost completely irrelevant. I am virtually certain that this will now work much more like a hostile federal investigation of a company - documents will be demanded, courts will decide who gets what documents, key people will be deposed, statements will be made, etc. There will be no space for Izzo to wink and nod and get a document withheld or buried. Again, that is virtually impossible at this point.
for each other withing the AD for a long time. There won't be any documentation of whether Izzo or Dantonio were involved in investigations so it'll take someone from within, that had direct knowledge (like the lawyer that supposedly told Allswede that Dantonio handled it with a phone call) of their involvement to testify against them.
If they've already stepped down, then lying won't save their jobs so people might as well tell the truth. If they haven't stepped down, maybe people will think they can save their jobs or they may be (justifiably) concerned the mob (Spartan Nation) isn't going to be too happy with any snitches.
The whole dam is already breaking at MSU, with or without these coaches.
Whatever loyalty you envision existing will instantly evaporate when MSU employees start giving depositions, appearing in legal procedings, and making plea bargain deals to save their own skins. Makes zero difference if Izzo or Dantonio are there or not. Armies of lawyers, the AG, and even the Feds will pick the bones clean.
No one at MSU has control. It more like rats abandoning ship now. Izzo and Dantonio don't want to go, but at some point it won't be up to them. I'd be shocked if either of them coach another season, we'll see.
At least outside of EL.
He has to answer this question; In the face of publicly available information, why did he allow (actully, desire) scumbags like Walton, Payne and Appling stay in the program? The world outside EL now sees him as we do; a win-at-all-costs type that places the welfare of his program above that of abused women.
I get the sense that he leaned on Hollis for help in these kinds of situations, and now feels adrift.
He can see the distant glow of torches and the clang of pitchforks as they get closer to him. He knows it's only a matter of time until they come for him.
What the actual fuck, Izzo?
And he laments what he has gone through. You did it to yourself you miserable fuck.
to start anything with anyone with this, and I am not going to die on this hill, but I don’t think it is appropriate to say truly deeply disparaging things about Izzo and/Dantonio in terms of their core human worth. It sounds like these men allowed personal achievement to override their decency and virtue, and that is tragic and will tarnish and follow them until they die. I really don’t think we need to be the people who call them “miserable fucks.” It is classless and vulgar. It is important to remember that while they are embroiled in different chapters of the same scandal, Izzo is not Larry Nassar. Like, not remotely in the same galaxy. When I see Izzo right now I see a broken person who truly knows he has blown everything, and can’t get it back. I don’t feel a bit of sympathy for him right now but neither do I want or need to stomp the life out of him. These guys are screwed and they should be. They will never be the same and they shouldn’t be. But I don’t think we need to dance on their gravestones. At that point we really are acting out of “rivalry” and I don’t think it is a good look to go there.
Poor guys.
Dantonio seems like a miserable human being and a complete asshole. No sympathy for that prick!!
Where did all of the Spartan coaches go?!?
To jail!
If they allowed personal achievements to override their decency and virtue then they do not have any decency and virtue.
This!!
Everybody makes mistakes but the kind of shit these guys did is horrifying, even if isn't 1/100th as bad as Nassar.
see, i think ‘miserable fucks’ is a perfectly accurate descriptions of those two pieces of shit. they are both fathers and played/supported guys who raped students at the university they are supposed to represent. and they’ve either delusionaly or cynically held themselves out as old school disciplinarians. those fucks deserve every thing they have coming (and more, way way more)
i mean yeah, these guys deserve what they get, but it's the righteousness that makes the more thoughtful of us cringe and grimace
the statistics show that 1 in 4 women on college campuses are sexually assaulted (anecdotal, but literally every girl I've dated has their story--none went to the police)
it's estimated the 95% of Rapes go unreported, due to re-living trauma, fear of further retribution, and shame, and distrust of police officers (i dated a girl in college who was raped in high school, and then in police investigation was raped by the investigator, she was 15. go look at the statistics for Domestic Violence in police officers, it's 40%, 4X higher than the rest of the nation--not saying all LEO, but law enforcement is undeniably one of the most corrupt professions in the US. And no one talks about how the KKK has been systematically sending their members in LEO positions after the civil rights movement in the 60s--i could go on but i'll stop here--and i have family/friends who are LEO and great people, so this isn't me just smearing law enforcement, they're also some of the best people in the world, and are well-deserving of our gratitude and admiration--it's one of the most honorable professions in the country)
but the hesitance to pile-on comes because statistically a lot posters here have sexually assaulted women, as a matter of undeniable fact.
but i wouldn't necessarily think of the people that post on here as "miserable fucks" (well, maybe some of them, jk), and this is not to say that what they did wasn't wrong, and that they should not attempt to make amends in every single way they can and for the rest of their lives, but, it's culture, it's deeply ingrained, it's so normalized (like poor = bad/dumb and rich = good/smart) and regularly reinforced.
also statistically over half the people in the state of michigan (which means roughly half using this forum as well) voted for someone who ON MIC told another guy about how "it's easy" "you just grab their pussy" "they don't do anything", and KNEW they said this and STILL voted for this guy for president.
he literally IS Larry Nassar, and half STILL voted for him, literally there is a larry nassar as president of the united states. un-fucking-believable.
so....Dantonio and Izzo deserve whatever is coming to them, and i don't mean to compare MSU's cover up to our forum, not in the least, but the outrage i feel quickly turns to reflection and realization that i can't truly cast the first stone, or any stones in the frenzy (and i'm not even that religious! just charitable whenever i can)
I find your perspective to be refreshingly equanimous, and I agree.
How about fuck you, you rape apologist?
Nowhere did he suggest rape was acceptable. There are a range of ways to react to Izzo and Dantonio that involve finding their inaction worthy of condemnation.
you need to think my man.
I spent an hour on the phone w Izzo last April discussing me possibly working with his team. His rhetoric was full of victim blaming. It was upsetting to say the least. I don’t even think he realized how bad it was. I hope he’s sincere when he says he now stands with survivors. https://t.co/SWKtHGafgz
— Brenda Tracy (@brendatracy24) January 29, 2018
Yeah, this is an extreme response to this post. I don't agree with the premise, but at no point is this excusing either of these guys.
read your initial response down below, and I don’t entirely disagree with it. But I just feel like oscracizing Izzo as some kind of villain without a conscious or compass is to possibly both lose his perspective on a systemic problem in major college athletics that he actually may have insight on how to solve or address. Why did this happen Tom? I kind of want to know. I kind of want to actually listen to the answers if he would really answer them. Tom Izzo did not create the problem, nor was he a heinous man when he started coaching. It is possible that he is an otherwise ordinary person who behaved in exceedingly bad fashion due to a variety of factors. It is time to truly analyze these factors without treating it as though these guys are sociopathic monsters. A good of their other deeds in life would contradict such a conclusion. There is something afoul at play when otherwise upstanding and law abiding people fall hideously short in matters of basic decency and it requires mature discourse. (When I say “these guys” I obviously am not including Nassar, that is s different thing entirely. I am referring to “they” as Izzo and those similarly situated).
and about wanting to be part of the solution. He truly seems like he is lost. He doesn't know what to say or do or feel, except to keep coaching. I don't think he's going to figure it out during the season either. Someone above said it looks like he's aged ten years in the last week and I agree. A monster wouldn't do that.
Well, I don't think anyone thinks he (or Dantonio, Hollis, Simon, etc.) is a totally pathological person. None of them (besides Nassar) wanted people to get raped. But they were utterly spineless when it came to doing the right thing, and in their cowardice, ended up causing more harm by obstructing justice. And they were surrounded by Yes-men who applauded them at every turn and told them they were doing the right thing.
The fact that he shows remorse now shows he's a human being, but he could have shown some compassion a lot earlier in his career.
of that humanity from Art Briles. I don't think we've seen it from Simon either, to be honest.
Maybe remove the boobs avatar before climbing on that high horse.
Fuck you too.
There is a lot of truth to what you wrote. I am angry. I shouldn't vent on the internet. His words suggest to me that he doesn't get it completely. His responses remind me of Nassar's letter to the judge. I want him to accept responsibility for tolerating a culture (if not enabling) where wins and losses are more important than victims of sexual assault.
EDIT: Part of my anger with Izzo is that I consider today's press conference as strike 3 in dealing with this. Strike one was the asinine (paraphrasing) 'hope they got the right guy' comment. Strike 2 was the wandering press conference Friday night where he kept clinging to the PR talking points. Today, he is still focused on his team and himself. I don't care if this is tough on Izzo. I don't care that it was tough on Simon. This is not about them.
If "miserable fuck" is the harshest term you'd use to describe Larry Nassar, you might to expand your vocabulary. Yes, Izzo and Dantonio did not sexually assault 150+ young women over 20 years. But they absolutely ignored/failed to properly handle sexual assault charges involving players and staff. At times, you could even argue they tried to subvert established protocols. And they've spent the past week or so showing virtually no remorse. They are part of the culture that allowed all those women to be assaulted, and all the while they got paid millions of dollars to coach sports. So yeah, I think you can call them miserable fucks and still have a space beyond that for the more monsterous of people.
You're going to get negged to oblivion but you are correct.
I agree that Izzo looks like a guilty, beaten man. But I don't like your characterization of him being "screwed," like he's somehow a secondary victim.
I think about the people his players victimized, the ones that went to Allswede and that were blown off by MSU (and apparently, the ELPD) - and it becomes very hard for me to feel bad for him. He's been adulated for over 20 years, an absolute idol over there. He's made crazy money (and will probably get a nice going-away package). He thought he could do no wrong and finally is learning that he couldn't get away with this. It's basically the first real adversity he's had in that job.
Izzo is a weasel and watching him try to get himself out of this mess is disturbing. You can tell he is trying to protect his legacy and say all the right things, but as I tell my kids, One lie leads to another lie and the truth will eventually come out. That is exactly what is happening to him right now. In the words of Jack Nicholson "YOU CAN"T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!"
I agree under normal circumstances, cleaning house would include the coaches whose player committed these heinous acts and weren’t properly punished. That said, Izzo and Dantonio have the thing that holds the most value, deep down, to most MSU students and Alums: the ability to beat Michigan. It’s a psychology that many of the land grant schools have across the country, and is very strong in Michigan.
Spartans were happy to see Nassar punished, Simon went away with relatively little resistance, Hollis was next with slightly more. But now you’re seeing the realization that not only is the thing they hold most dear about to be take away, the past years that they’ve felt that fleeting feeling of superiority is about to be tainted. I don’t expect a quick end to this.
their morality quickly evaporated when their beloved leaders started taking heat.
Cowards.
is complicit. They are actually the people who delivered incomplete and misleading materials to victims, OCR and other agencies.
The first group to go needs to be the Gen Counsel staff.
Wow, he looks haggard.
As for the "We've always cooperated" . . . didn't ESPN have to sue them to get them to honor their FOIA request?
Pretty sure they are still obstructing ESPN's investigation.
bitched and whined the entire MD game. I think he done.
He's got to be cursing his buddy Hollis for hanging him out to dry. What a shitshow. Chickens are coming home to roost.
Not sure why you believe Izzo feels left out to dry. I'm sure he's been in the loop with Hollis. I mean, I saw the transcript of Hollis' press conference, his retirement has been in the works for years. He was totally planning to retire mid January of this year and it has nothing to do with his sexual assault hiding/athletic empire crumbling around him.
Izzo will finish out the season and Dantonio has coached his last game at State!
Captain Obvious.
the season. That could be two more months of public questions like we saw today. Not a good look for the university.
This has been going on and many of us saw the sweeping under the rug of many of Dantonios and Izzos players transgressions..37 incidents wre reported to Mark Emmert the NCAA President and not one damm thing was done. The culture at MSU was to PROTECT the precious athletes at all costs and Dantonio and IZZO were in on it. That the NCAA KNEW and Emmert did nothing makes Him just as culpable.
I dont see how any of three survive
He also said he cooperated with every investigation & will cooperate with every investigation not all of this was even investigated because some of it was hidden by him and his AD
the display of absurdness by Spartan fans in the Twitter comments. complete idiots.
Yep. I read them, too. They are simply in denial. They also stupidly think this Outside the Lines thing is for clicks and views. No. Not at all, MSU bros. OTL is doing its job. I’m sorry you hate that they are targeting your scandal-ridden programs.
I think Izzo has been coached by the attorneys for the university to respond in this way. You don’t want to make careless admissions that can be used against you later, hence the vanilla response about always cooperating. And maybe he personally did, while at the same time sluffing off responsibility for the decisions to the AD or prosecutor or whomever. He did effect a weary look, but that could be genuine dismay and regret over the situation, or again simply something he was coached to do. Sooner or later his role will be known, and then we will see where this goes.
I think they need to go shopping for new counsel.
That's some pretty poor legal advice he got if "stumble through incomplete answers and act surprised" was the best they came up with.
just a brutal 3 mins there on the video.
A part of you feels sorry for him and then you remember what he allegedly did. If true there will be no hugs or sorrow
This is going to get worse for MSU before it gets better
Popped into RCMB to get a pulse on how they were going to spin this disaster. There is very real concern over there after this presser.
My take: His absolute non-answer to a very simple "any regrets?" question spoke volumes. Clearly he does have regrets...Shit I thought he was going to start crying as he looked down before answering with his "we cooperated" BS. Now the question is: are his regrets because these past events are going to be his undoing, or are they because he knows his program has left a wake of victims behind it?
I was thinking the EXACT same thing. This is gonna take a toll in short order...it seemed almost surreal he could be caring about a basketball game after it has come out what he helped cover up...
Uses it as disrespekt
and, have they completely Sparted themselves and not hired anyone to, you know, do some crisis management. 'Cause Rule #1 bout being in deep shit is you don't take unscheduled, unprepared for questoins about being in deep shit.
again, exactly!
Izzo seemed almost completely unprepared. How does that happen? The answers to the Walton questions were really bad. I understand that saying, "I'm only taking questions about the game" would come off as somewhat callous, but it would have been a lot better than the answers he gave.
I'm floored that MSU has not defined a communication plan for this topic and named an attorney or spokesperson to defer questions to. The coaches should open with a standard line: 'I'm here to answer questions about the game tonight, any questions regarding the investigation I direct you to....'.
To have Izzo out there like that winging it is just stupid.
Or maybe they've tried to teach him what to say and he just couldn't pull it off. He's an emotional guy, seeing his legacy potentially being destroyed, and that "regret" question cut him deep.
“It can’t as bad as MGo says it is”.
Wow. It is.
He answered every past tense question about Walton and 2010 with a present tense phrase “I’ll cooperate with any investigation...”
I don’t think it could have been worse. There’s no now to put on this but goodness it was bad
It'd help Izzo a lot if he'd show some fucking leadership up there. I bet he acted like the same coward when these rapes were being swept under the rug.
Some of the MSU brahs are claiming that we want Izzo out simply because he dominates us.
The thing is, Izzo hasn't dominated us in recent years. The past 8 seasons we have a winning record versus Izzo - look it up.
Perhaps, we just want to end rape culture and that means looking into the evidence that ESPN has presented.
Do they realize that it's not just Michigan fans? People all over the country are talking about MSU at the moment - not in the way they'd like...
Well, they're finally nationally relevant...
They need to start sticking mics in Dantonio's face. I want to see him flip out.
I don’t want to see him go down but I do want him to have to answer for the culture he’s created and nurtured.
They should let Harbaugh do it.
"What's your deal?"
Getting a free pass? He’s had guys in jail play the next day, 17 cases since he’s been there, and to the casual observer, a culture on edge when they play.
I don't know that he's getting a pass. Izzo just had to give this press conference, since they had a game today.
So that makes sense in this regard. I am wondering when Danton is going to be questioned. Perhaps he is by those who hold sway.
.
I doubt it will be in public, though with Danantonio I could see him holding his own presser to go down fighting in an inferno of DIRESPEKT. I suspect it'll be much more outwardly benign but when he's sitting across from a federal agent and the authority that person will have behind them, I suspect that he'll definitely start answering some questions.
This isn't football season and he doesn't have to answer to the media all week.
I vividly remember every detail.Most appalling to me is Izzo's new found desire to 'help the survivors' and 'be part of the healing' he is wrapping them around himself like a politicians wraps the flag around them.Are there any adults at MSU?
old. Does he include the survivors of his basketball program? How is he helping them heal?
Other way?
For example a frustrated victim and or family member trying to get someone to care or do something about it and e-mailing the Big Ten about lack of action.
I thought the same thing when news that Emmert and the NCAA was notified several years ago. I would think the logical chain of command would be complaints to the university, then the conference, then the NCAA.
focus on the Walton story in her first chance? Why not Payne/Appling? Why ask if he has regrets about how incidents were handled in the past?
My theory: Smoking gun. Hollis abruptly resigned on Friday and she is setting the hook on Walton because ESPN has a smoking gun that the supposed assault incidents with Walton & 2 players on these 2 students were never properly reported by Izzo and Hollis. They kept it within the AD and now ESPN has evidence (the article cites Hollis as knowingly involved) to corroborate the issue was swept away. Clery, Title IX, legal implications in one big provable incident. All right of the FOIAs were very pointed about time frames and ESPN must have found some discrepancies.
With Payne, there is the stock response about what a great guy he is, since he befriended a little girl, which somehow proves that he couldn't have committed rape.
Walton had no such Hallmark moment to distract everyone.
Uh, no, their daughter is dead.
With Payne thing was known and there's also more blame on the cops and the DA. The Walton thing was far more hush hush afaik.
I’m kind of thinking the same thing, that espn has a smoking gun on both programs, and on the department as a whole. They’ll stretch it out a couple of weeks to get all the clicks they can, then drop the bomb after Izzo and dantonio hang themselves with denial. Could happen.
Speaking of the Walton incident, didn’t they have another guard transfer to ISU right around that time? Can’t remember his name.
I don’t know if they part of it because Izzo clearly let Appling/Payne stay after their incident.
The other issues with the Walton implication: 1. HE had an obligation to report the two players in his role as a GA assistant and 2. he was living in Izzo’s basement.
The fact that Walton acted unaware of the issue when asked by ESPN indicates there really is some deep disconnect on this situation.
Any idea why espn can just say Walton was involved, but doesn’t name the other two players? Do they know?
Izzo never really denied anything yesterday. He was just careful in saying that he cooperated with investigations.
Was unbelievable. He was hugging his players and was almost in tears. He knew the press conference was coming but he also looked like a man coaching his last few games. If he makes it that far.
the more of this is seen by the masses. Let him go to the sweet 16 squirming at every press conference.
He proceeded to impugn ESPN because of their sexual harassment issues, say that ESPN should be held to a higher standard than MSU, and said that MSU releaased all the pertinent info and that there is nothing more to discover.
The denial is strong.
doesn’t matter. You dont get a pass because your prosecutor made an unrelated mistake. Avoid social media. It lowers your IQ and raises your BP.
Anyone else fielding Fab B comparisons? Is MSU really that delusional?
I was at RCMB for a bit but had to leave because it honestly made me dumber just reading their posts . They can barely comprehend the English language over there . Society has failed them.
Looks and sounds like someone finally getting a long overdue reality check
for this spot on observation?
That post-game press conference is the first time I thought Izzo might not survive this. There is something deeply troubling with the Winston story that he does not want to come out. I mean, more than the guy getting to plea to "littering" when he punched a woman unconscious, and then allegedly raping another woman.
You know damn well ESPN isn't going to let this go. One of the top college basketball coaches? They are going to send reporters out to every remaining MSU practice, presser, game, every chance to get access to him, and they are going to continue to hound him with questions over and over. "You ready to talk yet,Tom? When is that going to be? You talked to any attorneys for the U, Tom?" Or worse, questions with details from years ago.
Eventually, he'll either say something inappropriate or inaccurate and then it is going to be over.
Both Dantonio and Izzo have spoken to the media since the story came out, and neither one has mentioned victims or survivors of crimes or accusations against their own players. They talk about sympathy and support for the victims of Nassar, but no sympathy for the other women in these reports. Man up and admit there is a problem. Also, I was completely shocked by Dantonio saying MSU is a safe place while responding to a question that asked what he would say to parents of daughters who wanted to attend MSU.
Is in the deer in the headlights stage of the investigations. He is tied by legal in what he can and cannot say. All the coverups have come to light - I would be surprised if he lasts until the end of the season.
https://twitter.com/brendatracy24/status/957779156787277824
Brenda Tracy works with NCAA schools on how to handle sexual harassment and assault, as well as educating athletes on consent and other issues related to rape culture
I spent an hour on the phone w Izzo last April discussing me possibly working with his team. His rhetoric was full of victim blaming. It was upsetting to say the least. I don’t even think he realized how bad it was. I hope he’s sincere when he says he now stands with survivors. https://t.co/SWKtHGafgz
— Brenda Tracy (@brendatracy24) January 29, 2018
Without Simon and Hollis there to provide guidance, it looks like Saban is lost, confused, and worried. I thought at several moments he looked about to break down sobbing. He is obviously repeating a line the lawyers instructed him to say when asked these types of questions. He looks like he aged 20 years in the last week and this has only just begun. I don’t think he lasts until the end of the season because it’s only going to get worse and from what I saw today, he doesn’t have the fortitude to keep this up.
is now involved! Who knew!
This goes farther back than we thought. Sheeeesh!
Meant to say Izzo but maybe I’m being prophetic....?
Your keys aren't in the fridge, and also that you're not driving.
“I am not going to answer any questions that don’t pertain to basketball or to what I want to talk about right now.”
Tom, ALL of these questions pertain to basketball and specifically how you overlooked sexual assault accusations in order to protect your players and your university.
This ain’t going away.
I’m not going to answer any questions that don’t pertain to basketball but I will cooperate like I always have.
Boy...that Izzo grilling was painful to watch
Most posters on RCMB are still claiming this is all a witch hunt. Typical.....
of their fan base is doing that and jerking each other in the corner about how great Mike D'Antoni is and how izzo is a saint. Donetonio is a classless pansy. Could you imagine how pissy state fans would be if harbaugh made fun of a sparty players height in a press conference?
I guess they're really upset that the people protesting on campus are occupying the spots they reserved for their couch burning.
There are apologists, yeah, but that’s to be expected. What surprised me was the % of RCMB posts disappointed in their sports programs and its leaders. All this makes me wonder how we’d handle this if it happened to us. Guessing there are a lot of us wondering that.
every thread I've seen on sites, not just RCMB, they are all calling it a "witch hunt", "old news"
It is old news. Everything about the basketball and football programs was known. It’s just that nobody cared until now. It’s not just MSU that was complicit but the media in Michigan, law enforcement, government and quite frankly the citizenry. Nobody seemed to care what the MSU AD was doing until Nasser exploded.
but the way they are using the term is implying that it isn't relevant or shouldn't matter. by that logic, the nassar cases before 2016 shouldn't matter because they were already "settled". F'in spartans man. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt then they still show their little brother tattoos
Are you talking about Nasser threads or Izzo/Dantonio threads? In the former, yes, there are posters calling out the school but the latter are almost 100% pro-coach and anti-media ("witch hunt!").
I can’t imagine Beilein even recruiting someone who would go on to commit rape, let alone not punish him to the fullest extent. Same pretty much goes with Harbaugh, he has been quick to discipline.
I knew him in HS and he was a bit of a dick then. This piece puts it all on the media. Essentially it says that none of the charges ever stuck so izzo and dantonio are not guilty of anything. Great take except that the athletic dept including both coaches knew that nothing would come of allegations. That’s how their system was set up. Ignorant.
https://www.platinumsportsmediagroup.com/single-post/2018/01/27/Tom-Izzo...
You're gonna fit right in. Everyone here is innocent, you know that? Izzo, what you in here for? Didn't do it. ESPN fucked me.
it would be hard to be a reporter and keep battering someone who is already so beat looking. kudos to the reporter for just steamrolling him.
Wow. Izzo looks totally worn out. He known what’s coming.
looks like he knows everyone now knows he sold his soul to the devil. Mike Dantoni usually looks like the devil himself.
That was brutal to say the least. The Michigan AG has said there will be an investigation into the AD on down. Theses clowns will not be last.
Can anyone name a coach that has survived something like this? I can’t off the top of my head other than Butch Jones for a little while. A lot of coaches have been fired for far less. The only thing keeping them around at this point is the fact that they are the two most successful coaches in their program’s history. They will get more benefit of the doubt because of it.
Also, who will send their kids to play for these guys now? As a parent, I would have difficulty with that.
Jones survived it. He was fired for the poor on-field performance of his team. But he was perfectly fine other than that. UTenn should have been more shamed by the media...
I am curious to see how this will affect their recruiting going forward.
Was just on a detroit Radio station. As predicted, more victims are coming forward and feeling comfortable talking...this is gonna take a turn for the worse before it gets better...ONCE NIKE starts putting the heat on MSU regarding sponsorship...these coaches are TOAST.
I seem to recall a successful head coach who was fired by his AD just before the beginning of the NCAA tournament. A team that had a lot of talent but had underacheived during the regular season. Some unknown assistant took over and the rest is history.
An MSU assistant who wasn't around during all of this who won't have to face any scrutiny and just gets to coach basketball being elevated to head coach before the tourney may have better success than Dead Man Walking Izzo.
I hope Izzo stays until the bitter end of this season. Make him have to endure these pressers for eight more regular season games, the B1G tourney and especially, under the bright lights of the NCAA Tournament.
Was Scott Baio ever on the MSU Staff?
My gut tells me they both stay. People have short memories. Some other story will come up... Sparty will move on. The fact of the matter is that people are sheep and will believe whatever they are fed if they are fed it for long enough. Penn State is winnning championships and the NCAA lifted their sanctions early.
When everyone is in on the conspiracy, the police, the brass at the university, the prosecutors, the trail will be covered up. These sacred cows might be untouchable.
