Gymnastics Hire article from The Michigan Daily
I really don't think this is something the moderators should be locking and preventing discussion of.
https://www.michigandaily.com/section/sports/rhonda-faehn-joins-michigan-womens-gymnastics-coaching-staff
[Ed-Seth: yes we are leaving this one up and comments open. I removed the other because it was locked after 2 comments]
January 12th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
Honestly, you probably shouldn't ever work as a high level accountant at a public company again, especially if you had a hunch that something shady was going on and did nothing...
January 12th, 2019 at 11:02 AM ^
Professional skepticism is a requirement an accounting should have of all clients. That doesn't mean one acts with out facts. If this were the case, no audit opinions would ever be rendered.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:49 PM ^
Put it this way, if you're hiring a new accountant for your business, and you hire a senior accountant for Enron that was documented to know about the goings on there, would you expect your shareholders and other employees to be OK with that? I'm not an accountant, so I don't want to try to force this analogy past its usefulness, but this just seems like a very bad decision. No one here is advocating for her to be blacklisted from every job opportunity for the rest of her life, but she should not be working for a university gymnastics organization.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:10 AM ^
Further, we work off of evidence not hunches, hear say, or what have yous
January 12th, 2019 at 12:30 PM ^
All evidence points to this being a shitty hire.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:34 AM ^
I don't know. I worked out pretty well for Larry Johnson the OSU Associate Head Coach/DL coach. He was on staff and involved in the whole Penn State scandal and the Buckeyes hired him to the same position and he's been there since. They've been able to deflect any flack on that.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:12 AM ^
A typically stupid opinion from you.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
From the guy who won't put money where his opinions are to benefit a charity. I would pipe down troll. You've been well exposed
January 12th, 2019 at 11:33 AM ^
Not even close to a good analogy. Enron was not a case involving the rapes of hundreds of girls and women, and subsequent cover ups by multiple institutions and governing bodies.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:10 PM ^
Having worked there, Arthur Andersen & Co. is the correct spelling of the former CPA firm.
Having a remote (very remote) association with the Enron scandal never affected my ability to be hired, thank goodness. As a senior staff accountant during that time but never directly assigned to the engagement, I had no knowledge of the fraud being perpetrated. There were many fine CPAs employed by AA that would never have allowed that fraud to happen. A few rogue individuals brought down a great CPA firm and ruined many lives including owners and employees of Enron, pensioners, owners of AA and employees of AA.
Larry Nassar and Enron seem disparate as does the comparison of Rhonda Faehn to AA.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:45 PM ^
I know we are way off topic, but Andersen was cleared of all wrong doing by the supreme court in 2005 (too late for commercial viability, of course). Fun fact: guess which prosecutor led the case against AA and whose case was overturned by SCOTUS? If you guessed Robert Mueller, you are correct!!!
Mr. Duncan has no criminal record and settled civilly with the SEC. He wasn't rogue enough to serve jail time or receive a conviction..... just saying....
"remember our retention policy"
January 12th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
By the way, it is Arthur Andersen with an "e". I know this because when I graduated I sent them a resume. Of course I spelled it Anderson and promptly received my "thank you for your interest..." letter. Ultimately everything worked out just fine as I ended up working for a fantastic local firm in Ann Arbor.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:50 AM ^
I'm all for second chances, but as has been said, "Leaders and Best," probably means this hire shouldn't have happened. Obviously don't know all the details, but if this happened somewhere else, I'd definitely be giving it the side eye and questioning their judgement.
I hope they know what they are doing because this really looks bad.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:50 AM ^
Don't waste words here, emails to AD is where they need to be shot from.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:51 AM ^
Mgowill is quick to lock threads
January 12th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
Please everyone read the article before commenting.
The Daily posted the article at 1:39AM on a Saturday. That alone raises questions (about the Athletic Department, not the Daily. I assume they ran with the story when they got it.) The University knows the optics are bad and tried to bury the story.
However, the article states she told her boss and within a week they told the FBI. She was only with USGA for a couple years. She was not turning a blind eye to Nassar for a couple decades like others involved in this.
I know the first impulse is to be holier than thow, like Bando, but how about we make room for the fact that life is complicated, people sometimes make the right decision but it takes them a little time to get there.
It’s not like she covered for Zach Smith for a decade or Nassar for 2 or Sandusky for 3, or Catholic priests for a Millennium or 2. They went to the FBI within a week.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:56 AM ^
Nice personal attack. But I expect more out of my university than this. Leaders and Best: It means something.
The optics of hiring this person at this time are bad. Full stop.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:01 AM ^
Am I wrong about you, though? Your inability to forgive Yost and your rush to judgment in this case suggest a pattern. Were you involved in the hiring decision? Do you have all the facts? I’m guessing no, but it makes you feel morally superior to condemn this woman nevertheless.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:02 AM ^
This isn't about me.
January 12th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
lol because you know he's right
January 12th, 2019 at 3:27 PM ^
I'll gladly take the negs for standing up for the values of the university I attended, whether it's recognizing St. Yost's problematic and documented record on race as both a coach and administrator, or in this instance, having a big problem (as many others do) with a problematic hire of a coach who helped cover up systematic sexual abuse within USA Gymnastics.
Maybe someday you'll understand why some of us feel so strongly about the reputation of the university. It's more than just a name on a t-shirt or the wins and losses of sports programs. It's more than propping up legends just because they're legends. As I said, Leaders and Best means something, and it means a lot to those of us with a stake in the university's reputation. So, -1 me if you want. I don't care. Some things are more important.
January 12th, 2019 at 3:39 PM ^
You just come off as so pompous in every post. It would be different if you tried to seem down to earth.
I shouldn't be surprised though since you've said that people who are alumni are higher on the totem pole than us lowly common folk.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:04 AM ^
She willingly worked with USA Gymnastics to not report something in a timely manner. She’s the freaking VP. One person above her. If she was not on board with waiting to report, she could have easily pressured the boss into doing so simply by saying “if you don’t report this, I will.” It’s not like she was a low level staffer with little influence. Aly Raisman said Farhn knee the details of the abuse. You report it and then law enforcement runs with the investigation. This is not the type of allegation you sit on for any sort of amount of time. I work with kids. If one of them says they’re abused, I have 24 hours to report it or I’ve done a very bad thing.
Im not saying she should be in jail or unemployed the rest of her life. But she shouldn’t be overseeing young people at all.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
This is exactly correct. Humans being human, the courage to tell a boss that you're prepared to follow the law even if he isn't exceeds what many possess. Nevertheless, she was a VP. If she wanted that title, she needed to accept the responsibility that came with it.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
She was specifically identified as a person who was told directly of abuse by multiple victims. She wasn’t removed from the situation. I believe people should get a second chance but her second chance shouldn’t be a job where she is responsible for the well being of young women since she has proven she can’t do that
January 12th, 2019 at 1:18 PM ^
This is a good point, especially given the person she was hired to replace.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:56 AM ^
Yeah definitely a solid choice to wait a week to report athletes being molested by the team doctor. Definitely something that should be pondered and thought over for 7 fucking days before saying anything. Jesus Christ are you serious with this shit? Quit comparing it to other incidents as well whataboutism means less than nothing.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
I am OK with what you are saying. Sometimes it does take a week to navigate a moral compass, and square it with the person you thought you knew (or you thought they were reputed to be).
I assume such a controversial hiring decision - coming off both the MSU scandal and our own gymnastics resignation / coach sex scandal - went at least through Warde, and maybe even higher. It certainly must have been legally vetted.
Given that assumption, the AD or the University need to announce the hire, including a statement the depth of review, and their logic in this environment. After all, we do not want to be MSU, Ohio State or Penn State ...
January 12th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
In this case, the law specifically requires notification of law enforcement in a matter of hours. No delay due to a "moral compass" is allowed here.
But let's assume that she has the discussion with Raisman and is trying to figure out her first step. That's easy-peasy: per what I assume were the ethics policies of USA Gymnastics, based on literally every organization for which I have ever worked in almost 30 years, she makes at least one phone call: to the Legal Dept. She may also have been required to call HR and/or her boss. Legal would have told her what the law required; but if their reaction was instead to go into damage control mode, HR would have told her what she needed to do.
January 12th, 2019 at 2:44 PM ^
Ok, but how do you know she didn't report it to legal? Her boss? Local authorities?
January 12th, 2019 at 4:29 PM ^
It doesn't matter who she told or didn't tell internally. As the person to whom Raisman confided, it was her responsibility to ensure law enforcement was notified by the following day. It took a week.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
You don't have a functional moral compass or morals at all if you think waiting a week to report a potential sexual assault is ok or even within the realm of reasonable. Stealing office supplies, simple mistakes stuff like that is worth pondering but potential sexual assault of anyone let alone athletes by the team doctor is something that needs to be reported immediately and I question your sanity otherwise.
January 12th, 2019 at 3:01 PM ^
Or sometimes it takes a week to get your stories straight.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
If there is no reason to question the hire why did the university bury it? Why was it only discovered she was hired when she was seen on the sidelines? Clearly the university themselves think there's reason they should not have hired her, yet did anyway.
January 12th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
Great post.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
These mods are annoying. No reason to lock the last thread. Any negative light or some criticism of the university and they try to silence us. Yea that's not gonnna happen
January 12th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
The new mods are, anyway
January 12th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
Whatever you do, don't click on the "To the white men..." article on the most-read list.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
I hate when someone tells me not to do something, because then i want to do it. I know better, and yet i still do it. You were right vlad, and i should've listened..... but i didn't, and i regretted it the moment i started reading it.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
And definitely don't read the ensuing comments to said article.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
Why are we posting about gymnastics hires?
January 12th, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
Because unlike the football team, they win titles.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
Because it is a newsworthy development at U of M and within the very same Athletic Department that nearly all of us follow.
Not all that complicated, IMO.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
If the only two comments posted were those that remain there--yes, it was a mistake to lock that thread. The mgoblog braintrust wants to establish quick clarity about how to proceed.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^
The locked thread says she failed to inform. That is factually inaccurate and should be reason enough for that thread to be deleted. Or that thread should have been edited to state that she failed to inform the FBI within a week of being told about Nassar.
Read the article.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
Mandatory reporting laws require notification to a civil service or law enforcement within 24-48 hours in most states. Raisman wasn’t a minor, but it’s still good procedure to follow the mandatory reporting laws. She - and USA Gymnastics - fucked up majorly by waiting a full fucking week.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:39 AM ^
I understand how the failure to report can happen at an institution like USA Gymnastics. I'm sure on one level, there was a sense of disbelief that it could happen; followed by several days when leadership is informed and the "What the f- do we do now?" questions get asked and decisions get made.
That doesn't excuse a failure to report, however, regardless of one's fiduciary responsibilities. The law is the law.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:20 PM ^
I understand their reasoning behind why it happens but that’s the whole reason why it shouldn’t happen. They look at these situations as a PR problem and how to present instead of recognizing the humanity on the situation. Someone said they were sexually assaulted by a USA Gymnastics employee. You get the accusers statement down as best you can. You report it to the authorities within the next day. Law enforcement contacts the victim and talks with her. They decide what happens after that. There is no negative involved with following these steps. The worst that happens is a rumor. And that’s it.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
I agree, and that’s what I tried to write. Most organizations treat this as a risk management problem and therefore try to identify and minimize any potential fall-out before they take any action.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
And the locked thread said she waited a week to report it. Not that she failed to.