Press release, Warde Manuel statement on W Gymnastics assistant coach hire
Not the best look to drop the press release after the news blows up but here it is.
https://mgoblue.com/news/2019/1/12/womens-gymnastics-u-m-announces-faehn-to-coaching-staff.aspx
"The well-being and safety of our student-athletes is always our highest priority. Our current student-athletes had a prominent voice throughout this search process to provide their perspective. This included a meeting between me and the captains before a final decision was made.
"After our exhaustive due diligence, we felt comfortable that coach Faehn reported all information available to her regarding Larry Nassar and that she cooperated fully, including voluntarily participating in all investigations and offering testimony before Congress. Neither an internal investigation by USA Gymnastics or a criminal investigation by the FBI have assigned culpability or resulted in any charges against her."
January 12th, 2019 at 4:36 PM ^
The Department has handled this poorly by bringing her on the staff and then only releasing a statement after there was pushback. Even if you believe her to be innocent of any wrongdoing, I cannot see the benefit of hiring someone directly criticized by victims for not immediately reporting the matter after being informed. This is before you get to the matter that the person you hired is replacing a coach who was dismissed for sexual relations with a student. This is an insane level of scrutiny to invite, especially for an assistant coach.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:38 PM ^
Why the hell would you want anyone who worked with that shit bag around you? Bad hire!
January 12th, 2019 at 4:39 PM ^
"consultant in a coaching capacity".........Translation: we recognized the potential for a shitstorm and structured it in a way where we can claim she's a consultant rather than an employee if we have to cut bait. Knew there was an issue but still went forward anyway but handled the PR reactively.
She's obviously also dramatically overqualified for an assistant coach job, but she still took the job anyway, which demonstrates her association with Nassar is too toxic for her to get the high level type jobs that her resume would otherwise support.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:53 PM ^
Yes, it's like Michigan decided it would help with her rehabilitation. Not good.
January 12th, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
This feels like a Nick Saban coaches rehabilitation move. Bring scandal ridden former head coach in as an analyst so you get someone overqualified and they get a couple years of working to rehab their image.
Except instead of sleeping with hookers and paying players, the coach failed in properly handling the discovery that athletes under her charge were being sexually assaulted.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:48 PM ^
I'll send an angry email a day to the athletic department until she's fired.
Who do I address it to?
January 12th, 2019 at 4:54 PM ^
Send real mail:
ATTN: Ben Blevins and AD Warde Manuel
Weidenbach Hall, First Floor - 1000 South State Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2201
January 12th, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
Screw the AD, they’re the dumb fucks who hired her. Send it to the President and BOT.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
I guess my question is what value does she really add that Michigan needs? The women's team has won five straight conference championships, makes the tournament and wins regional championships on a regular basis.
Completely disregarding the bad press she brings with her, do you really even need her? Your program is doing just fine without her. More than fine, really.
January 12th, 2019 at 4:57 PM ^
No national championships. That's the only thing missing from the trophy case. Plus, the postseason performances have been underachieving for awhile now.
We last made the NCAA Super Six in 2011 (the final round of the tournament where six teams compete).
We've finished national runner-up twice under Bev but that's been it.
Michigan has won 23 of the last 27 B1G Championships including the last 5, but a national championship has to come.
Rhonda Faehn might be a coach-in-waiting type hire. She's won 3 national titles in a row when she was last a HC
January 12th, 2019 at 5:03 PM ^
Women's gymnastics is so fucked up I couldn't care less. The standard should be "do gymnasts leave the program feeling like the damage to their psyches from the elite circuit has been healed."
January 12th, 2019 at 5:14 PM ^
If a National Championship is your one and only measure of success, then I suggest you find another team to root for.
Am I doing this right?
January 12th, 2019 at 6:11 PM ^
So you’d want a national championship if it meant bringing this kind of stain to Ann Arbor? All for a damn trophy?
You’re one of the folks around here, WD, that I would’ve expected to take a stand against all of this. So many of us around here talk about the Michigan difference, about how moments like these are supposed to separate us from the Ohio States of the world. How the University of Michigan is not supposed to be all about winning on the field/court/mat. Moves like this throw that talk right out the window.
I can only speak for myself here, but Michigan does not need her. And if she is the only thing that can bring women’s gymnastics a national title, then I don’t want a national title. I’d say the same thing if this meant bringing her football equivalent to Ann Arbor.
Michigan is above this. Or it’s at least supposed to be.
January 12th, 2019 at 6:27 PM ^
You asked why was she hired, and I simply answered.
From everything I've seen, the athletes like the hire.
January 12th, 2019 at 9:54 PM ^
Fair enough. I shouldn’t have jumped the gun on you the way I did.
But I still stand by my opinion. This was a move that, in my opinion, the gymnastics team didn’t need to make.
January 12th, 2019 at 5:08 PM ^
Weak and late, Warde.
We expect better.
And we demand better.
January 12th, 2019 at 5:15 PM ^
At least it wasn't sent out at 1am.
January 12th, 2019 at 5:41 PM ^
Tweet from senior captain Olivia Karas
SO excited to have @GymRhonda a part of our Michigan family!!! ? https://t.co/suFb5cTYQn
— liv karas (@lil_livkay) January 12, 2019
January 12th, 2019 at 11:35 PM ^
Because a student athlete subordinate/dependent on an Athletic Department for their very livelihood is going to tweet anything else? If this is anything like the Brandon years, these kids all got emails asking that they show support for The Team, The Team, The Team.
Think critically.
January 13th, 2019 at 12:49 AM ^
I'll be more interested in how the wider student body reacts.
January 13th, 2019 at 9:35 AM ^
My boss's daughter is a Michigan commit. I'm going to see him this week and am curious to find out what, if anything, the program said to parents of incoming recruits about this hire.
January 12th, 2019 at 5:52 PM ^
nothing pisses me off more than the ‘(s)he was never charged with a crime’ justification. that’s exactly the type of thinking that mork, urbz and their ilk rely on. we’re supposed to be better than that.
January 12th, 2019 at 6:15 PM ^
Jeezus, you can't tell me there were no other qualified candidates that would consider coaching for a perennial B1G and NCAA gymnastics power like UM. Were optics not even in the realm of consideration here?
January 12th, 2019 at 6:19 PM ^
Still crap. Be better Warde. Absolutely terrible hire.
January 12th, 2019 at 7:05 PM ^
I'm admittedly ignorant when it comes to anything relating to women's gymnastics. But it seems to me this is akin to the football program hiring somebody that was in any way a part of the PSU/Sandusky horrors. I don't care how minimal their role is/was; I wouldn't want them in any capacity a part of our team and University. This feels similar, and as an alum, I'm ashamed this person is in any way connected with Michigan.
January 12th, 2019 at 7:36 PM ^
Not currently under indictment is the hiring and admittance standard at MSU.
We are supposed to be better than that.
Way fucking better.
January 12th, 2019 at 7:44 PM ^
I’ll go against the grain here and say I’m ok with it. She told her boss and was told he was taking care of it only to follow up shortly after, find out he didn’t and go to the FBI directly behind his back. Took a couple more days than it should have but I can’t incinerate her career from now until forever because of that delay.
The players were involved in the decision and if they were ok with it I can’t tell them they are wrong.
The press release timing looks bad, but that’s a secondary issue and I don’t think the players whose safety we should be concerned with care one bit about the press release.
January 12th, 2019 at 7:48 PM ^
Don't understand why we'd go anywhere near anyone associated with Nassar. That's idiotic.
I also don't know anything about this woman. Never heard of her and won't preemptively bury her knowing next to nothing about her role in that whole shit show. I guarantee Warde Manuel and Michigan Gymnastics did way more homework on this than any of us. That they're willing to stick their neck out should tell us something.
But still, don't understand why we'd go anywhere near anyone associated with Nassar. That's idiotic.
January 13th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
The one instance where I would is if it were clearly demonstrated that the person was not the top rung on the ladder and risked backlash in order to do the right thing. If that were the case (and assuming the person had the skills for the job), I would give her/him the opportunity to interview and if I hired them, I would make sure the press-release emphasized the integrity factor as much or more as the skill.
January 12th, 2019 at 7:59 PM ^
Das ist Scheiße.
There must be at least 1 other human being on the earth not related to staee Nassar gymnastics that Michigan could have hired. Why select this individual - even IF this person is 100% innocent and 100% did everything appropriately? Why? - seriously, there's nobody else?
Eat another jelly donut Pyle! errrgh, Warde.
January 12th, 2019 at 8:43 PM ^
Pathetic, the university can have different standards for the well being of its athletes than criminal negligence
January 12th, 2019 at 8:43 PM ^
This is a tough one. Sounds like Faehn ran her information up the chain of command in a reasonable amount of time then acted again when the up line failed. Not sure how else that’s supposed to go... the only alternative is to go full whistleblower right from the jump. I wouldn’t rust anyone who did that in a delegatory role. The threat of immediate harm is different (Mcqueary). Hard for me to conclude she was protecting Nassar, seems like she was trying to give the chain of command a chance to react appropriately, gave it a chance, and then responded when she was let down by her superiors.
That said, Major mistep here by Warde Manual. They needed to explain the reasoning behind their decision immediately after it was made and before others questioned it. I don’t doubt that they knew criticisms would follow the decision. Handling this way only serves to amplify the knee jerk reaction by people who definitely don’t know what the hell happened with Feahns involvement in the Nassar fiasco other than the fact the she was let go in the aftermath.
it sucks and I understand the criticism
January 12th, 2019 at 10:51 PM ^
Your statement was well thought out and it is a thorough thought. However, the people in here and you know who you are, that are taking a stance that,”Warde has shown me nothing and I wasn’t impressed with his hire.” Bring back Hackett, Fire Pep, bla, bla, bla, you have a history of complete bias, and it explodes all over Mgoblog daily. This was a huge misstep, however it’s not a fireable offense by our extremely qualified, Athletic Director!
January 13th, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^
But Faehn WAS the chain of command at USAG. As a Senior VP and the head of the Women’s Gymnastics program, only Steve Penny, the org’s President, outranked her.
At a moment of crisis, she lacked the moral fortitude to the right thing. Would she do things differently now? Probably. But when you have the stripes of a SVP, you’re expected to make the calls that may jeopardize your career. That’s literally why she was paid the big bucks.
January 13th, 2019 at 6:38 PM ^
I’m sorry but the vast majority of people are grossly under informed over what Faehn did once she had the opportunity to act. She received information, the organization investigated, and they terminated Nassar five days later at which time they alerted the FBI. I would honestly like to know what course of action on her part would have been better or more expedient
At this I believe people are entrenched in their opinions regardless of whether those opinions have been formed on accurate information.
January 12th, 2019 at 8:59 PM ^
So other than the optics, have any of you all talked to her? Is anybody here on the women's gymnastics team? What do you have to say? So who here has a face-to-face discussion with this candidate? Who here has their opinion verified?
I would love all of you with inside knowledge to step forward now and go right directly to the athletic department on this hire. Other than that you were just reading newspapers and the web. I have no dog in this hunt. But the hypocrisy here drips with spoiled blood. All you insiders with your inside knowledge, go now and show what you know. Do it! Or, or.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:37 PM ^
No, we only care about optics and faux outrage.
As a society we need to show that sweeping these things under the rug is unacceptable, but I haven't seen anything to suggest that she swept this under the rug. I don't think she deserves to have her career burnt down due to her actions. I think if we burn her career down it will only lead other people to sweep these types of sexual assault cases under the rug, lest they get left destitute for trying to do the right thing.
January 12th, 2019 at 10:54 PM ^
She (nor her superior) never informed his other employer. That is sweeping something under the rug. This isn’t just people complaining about optics. This is a legitimate concern and people dismissing it as optics is why we have cover ups or ignorance throughout many industries
January 12th, 2019 at 11:10 PM ^
Bacon I’m not sure that you have a clear thought in this matter. So, by your standard alone and not the US athletic departments and the other entities that she worked for. You find her guilty by what, association? I guarantee you that in today’s time that you couldn’t stand up to your own idiotic standard. So if you’re at work soon please report, everything that you see wrong this week. And please tell me how that works out for you!
January 13th, 2019 at 9:58 AM ^
She’s not guilty by association. She’s guilty - not in a legal sense and I’ve never said there should be legal consequences for her - because she didn’t do the right thing.
I’m a mandatory reporter. If if am working with a kid and I have suspicion of neglect or abuse, I make a report to child services. They decide if it’s worthy of further investigation. I am legally required to have a child’s welfare at the forefront of my mind. So she I do see/hear something wrong, I do report it. This coach could have reported much earlier and also informed Nassar’s other employer of her report. Not that MSU would have done anything about it, but she’d have at least done the right thing.
But you don’t sound like you know anything about what we are talking about. This isn’t some squabble about the best way to perform a function of a job. This is about the moral decisions when it comes to someone’s well being.
January 13th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
Here again I’m not certain this is a reasonable expextation (notifying Nassar’s employer as well)... mandatory reporting CPS is one thing, but are you also obligated to go around and identify/inform every other institution the perpetrator is involved with (church groups, youth sports teams, etc)? I admit that I don’t know what is and isn’t required in this situation but that seems like a grossly unrealistic expectation to me.
January 13th, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
Look, the FBI didn't inform the other employer at the start, either.
This gets tricky because often when you bring something to the FBI they tell you that you cannot tell anyone else about this because it is now an active FBI investigation, and they will make the referrals as needed (to whoever). They do this because otherwise its very likely that someone you tell will serve to undermine their investigation and they won't get as much as they otherwise would.
They make the decision on any imminent danger, i.e. arrest the guy right now..
January 12th, 2019 at 9:35 PM ^
This is the single most emberassimg thing the athletic department has ever done. I hope the regents pipe up on this one
January 12th, 2019 at 11:21 PM ^
Warde is a dope
January 13th, 2019 at 12:27 AM ^
I feel like if you have to ever put out a statement defending your hire, that should be a red flag to not hire the person. I think it would've been best just to keep our hands away from this whole thing. It feels dirty.
January 13th, 2019 at 12:36 AM ^
I thought I posted a comment but don't see it here. In any event, I am quite disappointed in this hire. Why would Warde go this route? Are there no other qualified coaches to hire? This makes no sense to me. Warde deserves any fallout from this ill-advised, unnecessary self-inflicted wound. Including his removal.
January 13th, 2019 at 8:20 AM ^
You are hilarious. His removal??? Are you suggesting that the US government move in and seize all of his records and oust him? You are definitely short of any mark as to how business is ran. Yeah hey Warde, Hchiti Chiti Bang Bang suggested that we remove you, so let’s get that desk cleared out immediately.
January 13th, 2019 at 9:12 AM ^
If you have to issue a press release like this, the hire should not have been made. Embarrassing.
January 13th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
I’m disgusted. This is not the Michigan I know and love. #metoo
January 13th, 2019 at 1:42 PM ^
Michigan doesn't owe this woman or anyone else from MSU a second chance or the benefit of the doubt. We should not hire anyone who was anywhere near that. This is disgusting. There are other people qualified to do the job she's filling, they should find them. It's bad enough that people out of state can't tell the difference between Michigan State gymnastics and Michigan gymnastics, now we're hiring from the MSU predator team too? This is really disturbing.