U-M's Bill Martin apologizes for two incidents at games
I guess even the AD needs credentials
http://detnews.com/article/20091109/SPORTS0201/911090419/U-M-s-Bill-Mar…
November 9th, 2009 at 7:36 PM ^
I mean, c'mon. Use a little common sense here... how can these folks not know who their boss is?
But Martin definitely fucked up bigtime, regardless. Thank god it wasn't RR...
November 9th, 2009 at 7:38 PM ^
"The employees -- Michigan student Jackie Turner and Eastern Michigan student Arif Khan -- did not pursue criminal charges against Martin, according to documents."
I have no idea why, but that line made me laugh.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^
Arif Khan is most definitely not a Michigan Man
oh wait.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:42 PM ^
The funny thing is that he did it twice. What a dork.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:38 PM ^
Once you could chalk it up to him having a bad day, didn't know the new security rules, whatever. But twice? Yes, dork.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:54 PM ^
I was wondering when this was going to come out. Took longer than I thought. Anyways, Bill was an idiot for reacting like he did even when he should be known by everyone in the AD.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:52 PM ^
This reminds me of a story. Way back during the 97-98 hockey season, my roommates and I worked parking for hockey games. We lived just a couple blocks away. You could park in the Schembechler Hall lot if you had a VIP permit, but frequently people didn't realize they needed a special pass. My friend Matt was working that lot one afternoon.
Matt: I'm sorry, sir. You need a VIP pass to park in this lot.
Driver: No I don't.
Matt: Sir, this lot is restricted to people with VIP passes.
Driver: No it's not.
Matt (exasperated): I'm sorry sir. You'll have to turn around. I can't let you park here.
Drive: Sure you can. This is my building!
Matt (bends down to get a better look at the driver): I'm so sorry, Mr. Schembechler!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:55 PM ^
awwwwww shit!!!!!! i woulda felt like such a jackass for months if i did that. that is a funny story right there and it made me lol
November 9th, 2009 at 8:00 PM ^
classic
November 10th, 2009 at 8:36 AM ^
Awesome story!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:52 PM ^
Some people think this is just the beginning of what is going to come out about Martin in the next few days and it aint gonna be pretty.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:59 PM ^
So, what non-pretty things do "some people" think will come out about Martin in the next few days?
November 9th, 2009 at 8:10 PM ^
Dead hooker. It's always dead hookers.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:14 PM ^
dead hookers who play capable secondary...
November 10th, 2009 at 12:07 PM ^
"I've never seen so many dead hookers in all my life."
November 9th, 2009 at 8:10 PM ^
You're not Obes, you can't do this.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:25 PM ^
...but not for the reason you think.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:32 PM ^
i literally laughed out loud just now
November 9th, 2009 at 8:12 PM ^
oh just like the future text messaging scandal about RR
and how the freep was sitting on more significant info
and how Martin was quitting bc the football team was so bad
and how RR knocked up an African American WVU cheerleader
and how Judas was just 'texting' about Jesus
and how Stonehenge was not a crack den
and how the dinosaurs built a giant magnet that attracted the metal in a meteor
November 10th, 2009 at 2:28 AM ^
...say what you think or don't say anything at all. Stop being douchy about it.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:42 PM ^
Care to enlighten us common folk?
November 9th, 2009 at 7:59 PM ^
red-can you elaborate?
November 9th, 2009 at 8:00 PM ^
well he shouldn't have touched them, but it's pretty bad that they couldn't identify Bill freaking Martin for crying out loud.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:23 PM ^
when he offered them hard candy and a check for $8 dollars on their birthday it was pretty obvious and they all had a good laugh about it.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:22 AM ^
Don't you know? All those white people look the same.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:44 PM ^
I have also heard that Martin's announcement to resign was timed they way it was because of this and a few other things. By a few I mean 2.
But who knows.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:12 PM ^
neg that? Really?
November 9th, 2009 at 10:36 PM ^
I'm upvoting this because if you're being sarcastic, you did an amazing job of slipping under people's radar (including mine), but on the other hand, if you're seriously wondering why that post would be negged, that's really funny.
November 9th, 2009 at 8:47 PM ^
I heard Bill Martin was the driver of the car when Boubacar had his troubles on Belle Isle
November 9th, 2009 at 9:23 PM ^
Great, more nonsense that could have been avoided, but doesn't seem like front page news to drag our program down.
November 9th, 2009 at 9:25 PM ^
How is it that an EMU student has the job of greeting and screeening guests entering the Michigan Stadium pressbox? An EMU student who does not know who Bill Martin is?
I say that the person who hired an EMU student for that job needs to be begging for his own job. Do we not have Michigan students, Michigan student-athletes, etc., who can use that game-day job?
The place that I have most often seen Bill Martin before kickoffs on game days is in the Blue Lot, and sometimes the Green Lot, occasionally elsewhere, by himself, walking around, observing traffic, and tailgating, watching pedestrian flow, talking to people, answering questions, and listening to complaints and peoples' observations. In other words, doing exactly, precisely, what you want an AD to be doing at that time. I don't see him doing that every football game-day. I have seen him doing that on many football game days.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:14 PM ^
EMU has UM students work games and vice versa.
Did it ever occurr to you that there might not be enough UM students who would want to do this type of job? Consider the job and the student population of UM. The vast majority come from wealthly families who do not need to work. Those who do need the money are already hired or working jobs that pay more. As someone who volunteered in a AD, jobs like the ones above do not pay much at all.
Both schools do alot of "sharing" in terms of students working games in the SID, event staffing, etc.
November 9th, 2009 at 11:02 PM ^
"The vast majority come from wealthly families who do not need to work."
Uhhh.
November 10th, 2009 at 12:06 AM ^
Replace "The vast majority come" with "Everyone comes"
November 10th, 2009 at 9:10 AM ^
The vast majority come from wealthly families who do not need to work.*blink*
Those who do need the money are ... working jobs that pay more.Oh, I get it, you're making a joke! Haha, nice one!
November 10th, 2009 at 9:59 AM ^
Well, U-M's student body skews wealthy, but I don't think it's accurate to say that the "vast majority" come from wealthy families.
Whatever the AD's reason for hiring non-UM students to work in the stadium, it isn't because among the 25,000 undergrads they couldn't locate anyone interested in doing it.
November 9th, 2009 at 10:09 PM ^
Bill Martin, at least in this instance, acted like an asshole.
An employee of the University attempted to do their job, and Martin pulled a "Do you know who I am??" Let's not explain this away by holding the students to our standard of Michigan fandom. This job is probably not seen by them as an opportunity for hero-worship; they are likely just trying to pay for school. They didn't deserve this.
If this story had come out about Dantonio, Tressell, or even Carr, we'd have been nursing our wounded pride with 100+ posts of pure glee. Let's hold our guys to the same standard.
As an aside, the two reported incidents occurred during/after a) the signature win of this season, and b) an enormous blowout victory. Could you imagine if he was in a bad mood?
November 9th, 2009 at 10:57 PM ^
Absolutely correct. Just cause the guy goes to EMU doesn't mean Martin is excused for his dickishness. They were just doing their jobs. So they didn't recognize the guy, they still did exactly what they were told to do. Glad Martin apologized, but anyone who sides with him because "They should know who the AD is" or "the guy goes to Eastern" is an idiot. Still surprised this is frontpage of ESPN worthy though.
November 9th, 2009 at 11:51 PM ^
This is a headline on ESPN's CFB front page right now.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4639664
November 10th, 2009 at 12:43 AM ^
Martin had the right, in fact, to be wherever he wanted. His lack of the proper pass might well have been an inconvenience to the paid hourly staff. But BILL MARTIN is the guy who hired the guy who hired the guy who hired the service that hired the guy who hired the guy who hired these students. We are not running football stadium operations for the benefit of hourly student employees from EMU.
Bill Martin didn't hurt anybody, he didn't intend to hurt anybody, he didn't put anybody in any danger, he didn't harm anyone in any way. Nobody pressed any charges because nobody should have pressed any charges.
What kind of crazed - p.c. environment does the University and the media exist in now?
You want the hourly employees to have a nice clear set of rules to work by? Okay. Here goes. "Don't let anybody in unless they have the proper credentials. Unless it is Bill Martin; because he's the guy who ultimately issues your own badge. Uh, okay?"
November 10th, 2009 at 9:22 AM ^
Is this for real?
November 10th, 2009 at 10:17 AM ^
about the substance of the original story. Are we to understand, that an hourly employee filed an "incident report" because Bill Martin, the Michigan Athletic Director, "pushed past" them, to get to the Regents' box, where he was authorized to be, because he didn't have his hall pass?
I mean, I understand why Martin apologized. He apologized to keep a lid on a story -- a pointless, irrelevant, silly, meaningless little story -- of a kind that the press seems to love these days. And so, being in a public position, he has to do the p.c. thing. But the more I think about it, the more that I am amazed that there isn't more blowback along the lines of, "You're joking; an INCIDENT REPORT?"
November 10th, 2009 at 11:02 AM ^
Bill Martin assaulted two university employees. How is that not newsworthy?
November 10th, 2009 at 11:16 AM ^
Unless of course by "assault," you're referring to the most minimal physical contact imaginable, in which case the guy sitting behind me at the game last week "assualted" me twice with his knee in my back, and I similarly "assaulted" the guy who sits in front of me and whom I've known for about ten years. Oh and let's not forget that I was also assautled by the two guys who pushed past me to go to the bathroom at halftime.
Yes, marlon, I think I understand what you meant by "assault" - what you meant, as afar as I can tell is:
"I am such an unbeleivable political corectness crybaby, that virtually any 'touching' can be a technical battery under the law, and so why not call it an 'assault', because that word sounds so good and carries with it notions like 'lawsuit' and 'criminal charges' even if such a thing were laughable in fact." As this was.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:25 AM ^
So apparently Bill Martin posts on Mgoblog as Section 1. Of course we all consent to certain kinds of touchings when we go into a crowded football stadium or ride a bus. However, pushing security guards is not that kind of consensual touching. Next time you a security guard, push them, grab their name-tag and see what happens.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:12 AM ^
We could compare the case of ex-Democrat Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who defied the order of a Capitol Police officer (much more serious than Martin's encounter with hourly student employees), and physically struck the officer (incomparably worse that Martin's "pushing past" or grabbing a name tag), and then alleged "racism" in the incident. Oh, and insisted that indeed all Capitol Police officers be trained to recognize Members of Congress on sight.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/06/mckinney/index.html
Nothing happened to Cynthia McKinney, except the voters turned her out of office in the next general election.
Of course, nothing is going to happen to Bill Martin either, and nothing should happen to him. And indeed his effective "punishment" is to be shamed by a hostile press and forced into a standard apology. Like McKinney's. Yawn.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:18 PM ^
No we did not. We just said that he was being a dick, which he was.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:21 AM ^
It is not appropriate in a work place environment to place a hostile hand on a co-worker. The fact that this was a supervisor makes the offense all the more egregious. This conduct is absolutely indefensible--and he did it twice. What makes this situation worse is that the employees did there job. I have no clue what Martin looks like. Maybe I would if I worked for the AD department, but who else are they supposed to know? The Regents? Other athletic coaches? The governor? (public school) To fault the students here is ridiculous. The whole point of their security job was to keep people out who did not have proper credentials. If either of the student "took his word for it," it would be a serious breach of their duty, especially in a post-9/11 world. He should have calmly asked to speak to their direct supervisor. Instead he was jerk.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:32 AM ^
When you hire minimum wage hourly employees, you can't expect much from them.
So, in an ordinary, practical world, after this incident, the student employees in question might have done well to go to their supervisor and say, "That man, the one in the blue blazer, tie and khaki pants, he pushed past me, saying that he was Bill Martin, the Athletic Director." To which a supervisor might well have replied, "Yes, that is Bill Martin. He belongs here. I'll go have a word with him, and tell him to have his pass next time."
Instead, what we have are "incident reports," FOIA requests, national news stories, and message threads in the blogosphere with people talking about "assaults."
November 10th, 2009 at 7:34 PM ^
They better recognize the governor because in her case not only will they get a "hostile hand" but she'll also make them change their name to Granholm.