USA Today Article Provides Details about Dantonio's Childishness

Submitted by Michael Scarn on

Yes, this the third thread on this, but here's an article that lays out the facts and has quotes from the actual dispute, as well as an explanation from Larry Merx of the coaches association.  Needless to say, Dantonio comes off like, well, his petulant self.  

Link

Hecklinski told the coaches "everything starts" in the state of Michigan. Dantonio, who was hooked up to a microphone, jumped out of his seat and cut off Hecklinski, who did not have a microphone.

"OK, here's what we're going to do," Dantonio said. "We're going to get other people up here. We're going to talk about more than the University of Michigan.

"How many guys got a guy that's going to play in the Big Ten?" Dantonio asked the high school coaches. After a couple raised their hands, Dantonio said: "One, two - so the two guys can go back there in the corner and talk about that. All of us right here, we're going to talk about recruiting for everybody. Let's go."

Larry Merx of the coaches association said there was a misunderstanding on the format because Dantonio decided to stay for the entire 90-minute panel discussion, rather than leave after giving a 15-minute presentation, as he had planned.

"I told him we would have arranged things differently had we known he was going to stay," Merx said. "What happened, Mark's a good guy. He helps us out a lot. He's a good guy for high school coaches. He got to a point where he'd spoken and couldn't leave. He didn't want to jump ship and wanted to stick around.

"We'd have changed the whole situation. Because Mark wanted to be good for us, it wound up having the Michigan coach think he had more time to speak, and Mark lost his patience a little bit."

 

 

 

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cozy200

January 20th, 2012 at 11:10 PM ^

I would go with rude, disrespectful, classless, immature.. If he wasnt aware of how things worked then he definitely had zero business re arranging the entire program.. Also shows how much he pays attention to these events and their outline.. I know its beneath him to read and all but i dont think for a second this happens with hoke up there so what does that say? Im red hot he had the balls to speak let alone interrupt our schools' allotted time.. What an asshat!

Joined: 01/02/2011

MGoPoints: 2430

BRCE

January 20th, 2012 at 10:16 PM ^

Why does this story make people angry? Dantonio only made himself look bad to anyone who isn't a Spartan slapdick. We certainly didn't learn anything new about his personal makeup.

Very overblown story.

Joined: 12/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3239

BRCE

January 20th, 2012 at 10:23 PM ^

People view things through pre-existing biases. Most of these coaches are Michigan natives who probably favor one program over the other and have their whole lives. If they are in Sparty's camp (Larry Merx sounds like a fan), most of them will think it was great. If they aren't, they will think Dantonio is the insecure prick they likely thought he already was going into the event.

I understand why people are talking about it but the fact that it is completely blowing up message boards is kinda silly.

Joined: 12/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3239

Cope

January 20th, 2012 at 10:28 PM ^

I think a lot of us have been hoping this would pick up steam and the msm would rail him for it. I see all accounts to be very mild and open to interpretation. So all we are left with is hoping a few coaches decide to steer their kids Michigan's way instead of considering state.

Joined: 10/07/2010

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Michael Scarn

January 20th, 2012 at 10:28 PM ^

1. While I agree many coaches will just use it to confirm their biases, the fact remains that not every HS coach grew up on one side or the other, and relationships with schools don't last forever. Otherwise, people would never focus on local roots for coaching candidates. If college coaches can't influence how a high school coach views their school, it wouldn't matter, schools would permanently fall in line.
<br>
<br>2. College football season just ended, we're dying for anything. At least I am.

Joined: 01/21/2011

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bacon1431

January 20th, 2012 at 10:20 PM ^

I think it is overblown a little bit. 20 years ago, this wouldn't be an issue. But with the internet, everybody knows.

My interest in it is because his actions just don't make sense to me. I don't know why he thought it would be a good idea to interrupt when he admitted that he didn't know how things were run. MInd boggling.

Joined: 07/26/2008

MGoPoints: 25285

blueheron

January 20th, 2012 at 11:19 PM ^

Picture the people who fully bought the mainstream media version of RichRod before reading Three & Out. Some have (right here) admitted that they judged him too harshly.

Now, picture similar types in MSU's base.

Spartans aside, I've met at least a few people who have said something along the lines of "MSU seems to be doing well. That Dantonio fellow has, I hear, brought some long-needed discipline to that program and cleaned it up."

I'm serious. Some people know only what's in the Det News or Freep.

Joined: 03/26/2009

MGoPoints: 30964

fatbastard

January 21st, 2012 at 11:33 AM ^

There is no saintly image of Dantonio.  He's a prick and most people acknowledge that.  Spaties will deny it, but the way he handled the engineer beatdown and the remarks about the bowl game from that team have everyone else understanding what they're all about.

Joined: 01/03/2009

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MGoSoftball

January 21st, 2012 at 9:51 AM ^

It never ceases to amaze me how much sparty hates us.  They can take a pure classless situation and turn it into a heroic effort.

I wish sparty would join the MAC where he belongs.  We can still play them in basketball once a year and in football every 4th year or so.  I have to laugh when they have the "poor me" attitude.  I realize that I am closer to sparty than many on the blog, and I have a clearer view of the sibling rivalry, but sparty is sparty.  He will never change his hatred for us.  Its been that way since my earliest childhood memory.

Let's say for a minute that Dantonio was a class act and truly had an issue with the format.  He could have still interrupted but said a number of things differently.  For example, he could have said, "Im sorry Mr. Hecklinski but may I interrupt for a second?"  Then proceed to ask the moderator a question.

Most of us on this board were raised by a two-parent household.  We were taught to say "excuse me" or "Im sorry but..." and then proceed.  I do not have a problem with Dantonio interrupting the event, its the way he chose to do it.  Its all about class.

Izzo showed his lack of class too.  He never gave us any credit.  All he talked about was how his team lost the game, and not how we won the game.

Anyone that thinks Dantonio was right, it classless.  Does that make them bad people?  Not necessarily, but there is rarely a sparty out there who has class.

 

Joined: 10/18/2010

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MGoSoftball

January 21st, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^

about the fact that my sister is an alum and part time instructor.  She is also in the PhD program.  Her husband works for a company that is a supplier to sparty (not us thank God) and gets special access to many things.  I live close to EL and have been there many times for other events (graduations etc).  I have several friends who went to sparty and I have been to the "Village" many times. 

I worked for a company where the CEO is king sparty (top tier booster) and only hires sparty.  I got lucky and was hired before he became CEO.  I also worked along side a former sparty FB and BB player.  My company was basically a cesspool for washed up sparty athletes.  Many didnt not show up for work for days on end.  I was told to "keep quiet" so I did because they paid me well and I never had to compromise my principles.  My office was always maize and blue and I took a lot of $hit for it.  There were a few of us who banded together.  We were good if we just didnt get into the water cooler talk every morning.

 

 

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Magnus

January 21st, 2012 at 5:46 AM ^

It makes me angry because we've been losing to MSU for the last four years, and Dantonio proves over and over again how much of an asshole he is.  It sucks losing to assholes.  It also makes me angry that he was an asshole to one of Michigan's coaches, because Hecklinski seems like a decent guy and he's one of our own.  It also makes me angry because I generally hate assholes.

Joined: 07/17/2008

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Hoek

January 20th, 2012 at 10:19 PM ^

I just can't wait till we beat them the next 5 years in a row, and it goes back to the way it use to be. I swear every 20 years MSU is good thier fan base gets cocky then the team falls apart and the fans go and hide in the dark, just waiting for the next great MSU run. 

Joined: 01/29/2010

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dj89

January 20th, 2012 at 10:19 PM ^

"How many here expect to have athletes on work release?  One, two, three ... stop I can't count that high.  You all come in this corner and talk to me.  Let's go."

 

"How many here expect your players to do more reading in prison than they do in college?  One, two.  Good, you are with me.  I will show you our Plax Program."

Joined: 11/04/2011

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RedondoWolverine

January 20th, 2012 at 10:29 PM ^

both psychological and emotional. This guy just can't chill out and be cordial. Okay, so what if some other coach might have gone a little bit longer than what you were comfortable with. WHAT DOES IT MATTER? This isn't some life or death situation, people are just presenting and trying to build a relationship with the HS coaches of this state. What a fool.

Joined: 12/09/2011

MGoPoints: 84

Broken Brilliance

January 20th, 2012 at 10:38 PM ^

I think Hecklinski has really changed the tide on the (lesser) rivalry. Hell high school coaches in Michigan don't mind listening to him for 20 minutes. Never in a million years I would have thought that. "Getting in Dantonio's head" is a great start.

Joined: 09/07/2010

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Bronson

January 21st, 2012 at 12:00 AM ^

Congratulations on being the first MSU fan and/or alum to ever use the term "indicative" (nevermind use it correctly) in a sentence. Big improvent, I hasten to add, over the combination of guttural noises and harmonic mouth-breathing that is being strung together over on your native boards, each comment more than the last serving as nothing more than an increasingly perverted affront to the King's. YOUR BOARDS- where, by the way, the threads on this same topic are extremely limited in number and rarely commented upon. Fact is, you as a fan base, but more importantly you as an individual person, are beneath us. Your coach is just an extension of this basic principle, and so we can't help but revel and bask in the butthurt he consantly exhibits in the wake of what has been for you a period of unqualified success. The window has slammed shut on his cold, arthritic hands, hands that have likely never masturbated to anything other than Kirk Cousins' press conference highlights in the entirety of their existence. He knows its over: so do you, I'm guessing. Hes just a douche. Attitude reflects leadership, by the way. ? We can't help but giggle a bit at all of- sorry if we offended..

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