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 11:10 AM ^
I completely agree that this should be discussed here.
I also and vehemently against the hire, although I will probably do a deeper dive this weekend into the specifics of her involvement to be sure that this is not misplaced.
Caveat: right now I know only that she was aware of and did not report the abuse, but I don't know much beyond that. I'll edit this if it turns out that she isn't entirely culpable.
Whenever looking at these kinds of scandals, my one hope is that people who don't get indicted or in some other way censured for enabling abuse, that they are at least impacted in terms of their future and that some small amount of justice is served in that they lose out on all the career equity they have built up, because they will no longer be hired, or have to gog so far down the ladder that it doesn't make sense to stay in their field.
If another school hired her I would think less of that school. I can't believe Michigan actually brought her on board. Extremely disappointing, to say the least.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:12 AM ^
This seems like a terrible idea. Why was it necessary? Our team was fine without her. Why risk it?
At the very least if you are gonna do this, you blast it everywhere and address the 800 lb rapist elephant in the room. Explain the process and get out in front of anything negative. This looks like the Colts slipping out of Baltimore in the dead of night.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
Though I understand that the City of Baltimore is largely to blame for the departure of the Colts, I still refuse to root for the Colts to this very day.
But back on point: the fact seems to remain that she was in a high enough position, as VP, within USA Gymnastics to have been able to force the issue, but didn't. She should have issued an ultimatum that IMMEDIATE action be taken regarding Nassar, regardless of the personal consequences to her job status with USA Gymnastics. She appears instead to have chosen to prioritize her employment over doing the right thing and stopping the monster in his tracks.
I don't care what her qualifications are, we don't need her and her baggage at U of M.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
Maybe she needs the team more than the team needs her.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:19 AM ^
I need to be CEO of Apple more than Apple needs me to be the CEO. They should probably hire me as CEO then
January 12th, 2019 at 11:28 AM ^
That’s not really the point I’m making and I really don’t know all of the facts in this case.
I agree with your point that when your hiring the responsibility is to the team and organization.
I am just not so sure forgiveness and getting a second chance should be off the table for this person.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:31 AM ^
I have yet to see someone say she doesn’t deserve a second chance. No one is saying she should be in jail or unemployed the rest of her life. Just that she shouldn’t be employed at a major university where she would oversee young people and be in charge of them. She can work somewhere else, but not at the University of Michigan as a gymnastics coach.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
The optics are awful. It seems within the gymnastics community she was seen as a fall guy for USA Gymnastics--she's the person who hired the investigator when she first heard about Nassar, and the victims, from what I've been told by a woman who follows gymnastics, don't consider her one of the people who stood aside.
That said, WTF Michigan? You are a college gymnastics program in the State of Michigan, just fired your coach for sleeping with a student, and tried to sneak this in without anybody noticing?!? It may be fine, but TRANSPARENCY is the difference between people giving you a chance to show it's fine and people going WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Since they've chosen the latter and the Daily had to break the story they're now going to have to take a very deserved lap through the shit. It's like they learn nothing!
January 12th, 2019 at 11:33 AM ^
It would seem if you believed in her character and wanted to hire her you would take it head on and get out in front of it with a statement or press conference defining your position.
There is just so much risk in the decision to hire. But don’t slide it by.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Here's the relevant part if the article, since I'm sure very few of us are familiar with this particular individual:
Faehn was not specifically named in the lawsuits (by gymnasts against USA Gymnastics), but faced criticism from numerous Nassar survivors who called for her removal. This included U.S. Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, who told the Indianapolis Star that she had reported Nassar's abuse to Faehn "in graphic detail," but Faehn and other officials waited a week before going to the FBI. A week after that interview, USA Gymnastics decided to part with Faehn.
Based on this, I would rather UM hire someone else, and I agree that doing this hire essentially in secret is a very bad look for UM. I hope they backtrack quickly.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
Optics are terrible! That is all.
January 12th, 2019 at 11:54 AM ^
I havent dug into the details. Ive only seen the headlines.The optics are incredibly bad from that perspective. It opens the University to a ton of criticism from the 99% of people who will only see the headlines. And those are the people who will scream the loudest on social media. So, even if after viewing the details, its a good move, the only thing that really matters is the uninformed masses screeching outrage.
Why would you leave yourself open for this? Its very myopic.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:01 PM ^
Shucks. I just got done vilifying OSU for keeping Meyer on and giving him a character class to teach, and now the university does this?
January 12th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
The lady was never convicted much less charged.
Stop jumping off the bridge every time it rains.
Give the lady a chance.
I love M. I do not think this hire reflects poorly on M. Given the facts in the article.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
Well this is certainly a take.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
Ok. But even if I buy into everything you said, why did our AD seemingly sneak her in UNTIL The Michigan Daily got wind of it and then proceed to jump (and rightfully so!) on the story?
January 12th, 2019 at 12:46 PM ^
To me, that’s really the bad part. If you really believe in her, you immediately put out a press release saying something along the lines of: she was never charged, she was never named in a suit and we’ve done a thorough review of the situation and vouch for her character.
If you do it that way, you’ve addressed it and can move on. Doing it this way just looks shady.
January 12th, 2019 at 12:36 PM ^
I’m for second chances but the optics of hiring 1) the person who Aly Raisman apparently told explicit detail of her assault and then 2) doing so without an announcement of any kind is a horrible look. This is the type of hire that would need a press release from Warde himself or maybe a full presser to justify. Hiding it means the AD is fully aware of how bad the optics are and were hoping no one would notice. Terrible judgement
January 12th, 2019 at 12:55 PM ^
I have a question. I’ve read through the thread and article. A lot of posters are mentioning reporting laws, and saying that by waiting a week (vs 24 or 48 hours) to inform law enforcement, that she violated them. If she broke the law, why didn’t she face any legal consequences? What am I missing?
January 12th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
I think it wasn’t a minor so technically not a mandatory reporting law violation. That is a reference being used to represent responsible reporting. But still arguable by those who don’t agree with choosing an internal investigation before reporting. That’s my take on the article and an interpretation of the comments.
January 12th, 2019 at 1:00 PM ^
This forum is no place to insert high moral ground upon others
January 12th, 2019 at 1:23 PM ^
So she reported it to the president and wasn't named in lawsuits.
.........
The only thing off here is that there was no press release put out.
January 12th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
Yeah, that's the only thing off here.
No.
January 12th, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
sounds like something urban meyer would say before collapsing onto a fainting couch.
let's just hope this coach doesn't have a sudden and oddly public brain condition that only flares up when she makes mistakes.
in all seriousness, this hire is fucked from an ethical standpoint.
January 12th, 2019 at 3:32 PM ^
That’s absolutely not true. Whether someone was named in a lawsuit is an absolutely terrible threshold to decide if someone should be employed at your institution or not. She was a senior employee that helped delay the report of abuse of one of her gymnasts at the hands of one of her employees. It’s a fucking big deal and the university should be ashamed of itself right now for trying to sweep this under the rug.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:21 PM ^
Yeah, but it's SOP for basically all Universities to put out a press release when they hire a coach of some sort.
For instance, the previous gymnastics hire: https://mgoblue.com/news/2017/7/28/vetere-named-womens-gymnastics-assistant-coach.aspx
So, even if that IS the "only thing off here" that's a pretty big thing to be off. It has the scent of "let me do something while taking steps to not call attention to my actions."
The dumb thing - if that was a "strategy" someone was trying to utilize in hiring Faehn, it's an absolutely stupid strategy. There was no way you could hide Faehn as an assistant coach forever. It's a public job! Of course it would come out eventually.
January 12th, 2019 at 1:23 PM ^
January 12th, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
Stellar hire if you look on the gymnastics side as she turned Florida into a dynasty. Won 3 national titles her last 3 years before going to USA Gymnastics.
January 12th, 2019 at 2:57 PM ^
So, she’s the Urban Meyer of gymnastics? Perfect for OSU, dogshit for Michigan.
January 12th, 2019 at 2:55 PM ^
Gymnastics fires a coach for screwing an athlete, and then follows that up by hiring someone with Nassar stink? Warde should not only cancel this contract, he should fire whoever is running that program.
January 12th, 2019 at 3:12 PM ^
I expect more from my alma mater than this, on a lot of levels
Recall though recently that emails and messages to presidents, athletic directors and regents, at least in some universities, can make a difference. Schiano got removed from the Tennessee head coaching job due to public pressure. I am not equating the two situations, and dont pretent to know all the facts here, just pointing out it happened...and that the Michigan Daily article says enough that my mind is made up
Email Manuel, Schlissel and the regents to make a change. Their emails are all available if you Google them on the University website
On the bright side, kudos to The Michigan Daily for breaking this story.
January 12th, 2019 at 3:12 PM ^
I expect more from my alma mater than this, on a lot of levels
Recall though recently that emails and messages to presidents, athletic directors and regents, at least in some universities, can make a difference. Schiano got removed from the Tennessee head coaching job due to public pressure. I am not equating the two situations, and dont pretent to know all the facts here, just pointing out it happened...and that the Michigan Daily article says enough that my mind is made up
Email Manuel, Schlissel and the regents to make a change. Their emails are all available if you Google them on the University website
On the bright side, kudos to The Michigan Daily for breaking this story.
January 12th, 2019 at 3:34 PM ^
A lot of the responses here lead me to believe that our fanbase would act no different than PSU, MSU, or OSU’s when looking at indiscretions of our own coaches or administration. I’m just not sure if some of you are naive or just don’t care.
January 12th, 2019 at 3:41 PM ^
They’re homers with a blind spot and flexible morals. This was a terrible choice, and easily the biggest fuck up of Warde’s time here.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:01 PM ^
It's true--most people don't care. But this is kind of the playbook here. You've got rational folks like Ace and Brian and Seth rightfully pointing out that something problematic is indeed problematic, the choir of men's rights advocates calling for everyone to slow down and crowing about virtue signaling, and the fanboys pulling up close behind to defend the university.
Rinse and repeat, see you next time.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:38 PM ^
This makes no sense. Why make this hire? Let's assume she is one of the best gymnastics coaches around. It's not worth it. Are there no other good available coaches? Aren't we a traditional power in gymnastics anyway? I am so disappointed in Warde Manuel. This is a totally unnecessary self-inflicted wound. Any and all negative effects of this boneheaded hire are well deserved. I have absolutely no words to describe my befuddlement as to this and other moves (see ND football series) Manuel has made .It's time for a new AD .
January 13th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
Well I only know 2 things about Gym coach Bed Plocki. 1. She's probably been Michigan's best coach during her 29 years here. They had won twice in the previous 2 seasons before she came, 7-15 her 1st yr and 23 Big titles in 29 years including a national championship. No all American's in M history until Wymer and never a year without one since!
So what does Warde know about Women's gym? I could easily see him not paying much attention to this non revenue sport and feeling like he has no reason to question the judgement of Bev Plocki and pay any attention to who she hires, assuming she knows everyone and knows what she's doing. The one incident with the last guy was the only one in 3 decades and had to be seen as an unforeseeable anomaly not a sign of anything.
2. I don't know Bev but I knew her daughter Liz and she's about the sweetest person there is, so she didn't fuck up her daughter anyway.
I can't imagine for the life of me though, what could possibly be so special and unique about this coach that they'd want her badly enough to overlook her giant failure to do the obviously necessary, critical and right thing when if mattered the most.