Unverified Voracity Is Just A Bunch Of Mad Quotes Comment Count

Brian

Okay. Time to go, guys.

Ain't nothing to f with. God bless the Daily.

From the paper:

“What I can tell you is we would never, ever, put a guy on the field when there is a possibility with head trauma. We won't do that.”

He later added the following in the same press conference:

“We would never, ever, if we thought a guy had a concussion, keep him in the game.”

More than 12 hours later, at 12:52 a.m. Tuesday, a statement released by Athletic Director Dave Brandon confirmed sophomore quarterback Shane Morris had indeed suffered a “probable, mild concussion” resulting from a helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Minnesota.

Small actions. There is a petition that anyone with a uniqname can sign that has hit 4200 signatures already. And there is a Diag rally calling for Brandon's firing at 6 PM.

This is very depressing. As you probably noticed on Saturday, Lloyd Carr's grandson has an inoperable brain tumor.

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If you're inclined to pray, keep Chad in your thoughts.

All the wrong stuff. Maize and Brew:

"Without the benefit of replays." Apparently the 20 million dollars worth of scoreboard on each end of the stadium wasn't quite enough. Besides the fact that everybody in that stadium saw the replay, the bigger question is how in the world did anybody not see the hit? Even assuming every coach turned away from Shane the moment he let go of the ball and nobody saw the hit coming, shouldn't the team neurologist have his eyes glued to Shane? After all, on a passing play concussions will come either at the QB or the WR, but given his ankle injury and Michigan's offensive line concern I'd say QB was much more likely. Plus shouldn't all team health staff, medical or training, be looking at the limping QB under center? For Dave Brandon to say nobody saw the hit on the field means he either believes it or believes we will believe it. That makes him a liar, an idiot or both.

Andrew Kahn talked to the guy who does concussion stuff for the Jets and Giants:

“It was obvious to anyone who saw him in the aftermath of that hit that he was not right,” says Kenneth Perrine, a clinical neuropsychologist at New York Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Medical College and the consulting neuropsychologist for the New York Jets and New York Islanders, where he evaluates players with concussions. “At the very least he could have sustained a concussion.”

More reactions. Spencer Hall:

if you are one of the 10 people whose primary beef is to claim it's irresponsible to say that Morris had a concussion, you have internalized the language of the law, reaching insane abstraction in defense of the indefensible. Morris took the crown of a helmet to his chin, then was visibly disoriented while having serious difficulty standing. An MMA ref would have stopped this fight cold. That's how bad this looked: an MMA event would have taken better care of Morris than a collegiate athletics staff did on Saturday.

But sure, point to the man on fire. Tell someone you don't know that man's on fire. You did spy the application of gasoline. You did see the striking of a match and the ignition of a flame on a person's body. But you don't know the fire was what did the damage, do you? Did you establish this with medical personnel? Did you obtain a record of that? Fire's done a lot for us as a species; indeed, we would be long dead without it. Don't just slander fire like that. And who can say the person applying the match knew what he was doing, for sure? Did you ask them if they have an understanding of gasoline/fire relations, chemically speaking? Prove these things, or say nothing.

Spencer's coming up for the Penn State game, by the way, so… yeah. That'll be quite a piece.

Jane Coaston:

I am an extremely loyal person. Too loyal. Especially to Michigan.

Hoke demurred to protect a player dismissed from the university for a violation of the sexual misconduct policy, and I didn't really say anything, because apparently I'm only a feminist until it gets awkward and uncomfortable. Brady Hoke explained away losing in a dipshit manner to opponents less hamstrung by idiocy, and I sighed and tried to move on, because I'm a Michigan fan.

Maize and Blue Nation with the clutch Lebowski embed:

Either Hoke is lying, or Dave Brandon chose not to include Hoke in his meetings with all related parties. One might be attempting to separate themselves from the other here, but its not going to work. This is on both of them. Hoke is Brandon's guy. That can't be undone.

The Daily:

Even 24 hours later, Hoke didn’t acknowledge the possibility of a head injury, referring only to Morris “further aggravating an injury to his leg” in a statement to reporters. He added he is “confident proper medical decisions were made.”

They very clearly were not.

Whether Hoke witnessed what occurred on the field or not, it’s his job to know everything that goes on around his football team, with the health of players at the forefront of those responsibilities.

And so it is the position from all four of us on The Michigan Daily Football Beat that Hoke be fired immediately.

The Mood hits an all time low:

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The Hoover Street Rag imagines a way in which Hoke could have given a non-repulsive press conference:

Good afternoon, everyone.  After the game on Saturday, I watched the footage of Shane taking that shot to the head.  I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't catch that live, and I didn't see him stumble afterward.  That's on me.  We as coaches need to be aware of our players' safety at all times, and I failed there.

As a staff, we should have immediately gotten Shane out of that game, regardless of whether he wanted to come out.  Shane's a tough kid and a fighter, so of course he wants to stay in, but it's our job to sit him down there.

MVictors:

But why was Hoke hung out to dry and not told this was all happening?  This isn’t just a “medical report”.  If Hoke was told this was all happening, at the Monday presser could have talked about his responsibility and perspective on Saturday, but then he should have added, ‘..but we’re reviewing everything that happened to understand what mistakes (if any) were made’ and that the ‘details will be coming soon’, etc. etc.

Nick Baumgardner:

On Monday afternoon, Brandon allowed his head football coach to step to a press conference podium in an absolute no-win situation. Hoke was unprepared, unsupported and left there to face live bullets.

Alone.

On Monday afternoon, Brandon threw Hoke -- a man he hired in 2011 -- under the bus, and hung him out to dry.

Hoover Street Rag:

…the statement comes about 24 hours too late. If that statement is issued at 12:52 AM on Monday morning, there's grumbling and some side-eye. At 12:52 AM on Tuesday morning, everything has changed. Michigan has been put under the microscope on not just ESPN, but has crossed all the way over to Good Morning America. You've promised the media a "medical statement" that never really showed up, unless this is it. And you've sent your head football coach up to his press conference to stand there and look like someone's idiot cousin you wouldn't trust to run a doughnut shop, let alone a multi-million-dollar football program where young men risk their health and safety on a daily basis.

To be fair, this may be the case. Brandon's statement says that Morris was diagnosed with a concussion on Sunday. Brady Hoke didn't get in touch with his injured quarterback to ask how he's doing? Or Shane Morris didn't know he has a concussion? Neither of these seem reasonable, and one is more plausible than the other.

HSR again:

My one-year-old's still figuring out this whole language thing, but she has a couple of sentences figured out. Her first sentence was probably "Go dog go," which she uttered in order to request the book of the same name. Lately, she has been saying "Are you OK?" a lot. These two sentences are apparently enough to make her a qualified medical professional for Michigan football:

NATALIE: Are you OK?
SHANE MORRIS: I'm fine.
NATALIE (pointing Shane onto the field): Go, dog, go!

The hundred-million dollar elephant in the room. Stephen Ross on Dave Brandon:

"He's probably the most qualified athletic director in the country. I think he's terrific," said billionaire real estate developer Stephen Ross, a UM alumnus who has given the university $310 million in recent years.

This is a problem. It's a lot less of a problem than when the article came out just hours before the Minnesota game—Ross may like Brandon just fine but have we shown you these other guys who aren't flamingly incompetent?

Also in the room, Brandon's terrible contract:

Michigan signaled its approval of Brandon's work when it gave him a new contract in July 2012 that pays him a base salary of $900,000 in 2014-15. The six-year deal is through 2018, and pays him a $5.55 million base, and he can earn up to $1.3 million in deferred compensation through 2018. He gets fringe benefits such as free tickets, use of two cars, a golf club membership, and travel reimbursement for his wife.

Brandon's contract stipulates that if he's fired without cause prior to Jan. 1, 2016, the university must pay him his remaining base salary and his remaining deferred compensation. Firing him after that date reduces the payout to 50 percent of both the remaining base salary and deferred compensation.

100% guaranteed until 2016. Unbelievable. What possible reason would you have to do that?

BTW, that article includes the credulous claim that Brandon was a "finalist" for the NFL commissioner's job, something that is not true.

Cheaper. Hoke's buyout is a chump change two million, at least:

If he’s not -- if he’s fired by athletic director Dave Brandon, or the university board of regents, or U-M president Mark Schlissel or any of the above -- it will come at a heavy cost.

According to Hoke’s contract, signed on March 28, 2011, he will be owed $2 million to buy out the remaining two years (2015, 2016) left on his contract.

That's nothing compared to Weis/Ferentz level buyouts.

Much better shirt repping. This guy understands his apparel:

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Etc.: Center Ice on the new blueliners. Bacon's on every radio station in the country today; here's his appearance on Here and Now yesterday. Headsetssssss. We're in the New York Times so I guess that coo—oh it's about the concussion. Also the Daily Mail.

Might?

Comments

azul97

September 30th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

"Brandon's contract stipulates that if he's fired without cause prior to Jan. 1, 2016, the university must pay him his remaining base salary and his remaining deferred compensation."

 

For the lawyers out there, is this debacle enough to demonstrate cause?

Ali G Bomaye

September 30th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^

The word "cause" is almost certainly defined elsewhere in his contract.  Usually executive employment contracts define "cause" to mean things like commission of a felony, fraud or embezzlement, crimes of moral turpitude, and so forth.  It's almost always defined in objective terms like this, rather than just an employer determination that you suck at your job.

dragonchild

September 30th, 2014 at 1:25 PM ^

IANAL, but short of an clear-cut policy violation it is very difficult to prove incompetence at one's job to the extent that the employer's assessment is objective enough to avoid a lawsuit, which is the real bar here.

The whole point of "firing without cause" is not to literally fire without cause.  The idea is that you shouldn't have to have extensive hearings or (god forbid) a lawsuit to dismiss someone for doing a crappy job.  An employee could be a walking disaster but it's easier to fire "without cause" than prove an absolute to outsiders.  There's a reason why most people pass the buck; money's on the line and it's easy to do.  Head coaches are all too often scapegoats so I'd wager these buyout clauses are extremely common.  If anything, the meager $2 million indicates Hoke was confident he'd keep his job.

Anyway, "you suck" is not "cause" in a legal sense, and there's enough plausible deniability that Hoke didn't knowingly violate NCAA rules re: the Morris incident.  Frankly, I do believe Hoke didn't intentionally play Morris while he was concussed.  He really is just that shockingly bad at his job, and while I personally make no distinction between malice and incompetence in a position of responsibility, the reason why people do try to look stupid is precisely because policies and laws are far more forgiving of idiots than assholes.

Promote RichRod

September 30th, 2014 at 1:43 PM ^

As others have said, have to look at the contract definition.

Almost all definitions have commission of a felony, crime involving dishonesty, etc.  Also, most have gross negligence or willful action/inaction in performance of duties, material breach of the employment agreement, drug abuse and violation of restrictive covenants (e.g., confidentiality, non-competition etc.).

Unless he got a REALLY favorable contract, Cause could definitely be argued under a gross negligence-type prong.  In reality, this almost never happens because people don't want to fight these out.  90% chance they negotiate a private separation agreement for 1/2 to 3/4 of what he's "entitled to" under the severance clause.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that actions/inactions bringing material harm to the organization's reputation is another pretty common Cause trigger.  DB/Hoke wouldn't look so good under that one.

Autostocks

September 30th, 2014 at 2:37 PM ^

I do not draft these agreements for a living, but I negotiate deals for a living.  Unless the definition of cause in the contract is extremely weak, the University should be able to use the recent meltdown as a reasonable threat of termination for cause, which then would likely set in motion a negotiation that either ends in a settlement or litigation - and probably neither side wants to litigate.  In any case, it really shoudn't matter what it costs to get rid of these two.

The FannMan

September 30th, 2014 at 2:03 PM ^

I won't add to what others have said - it depends on how cause is defined in the agreement.

I will add this - One strategy is to fire him for cause and make Bradon come after you and prove that you didn't have cause to termination him. You could then try to settle with him for less than the amount in the contract.  This has high risks for both sides - especially if there is no arbitration clause (I do assume that there is) and the case would could to open court. 

 

kevbo

September 30th, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^

Here is the termination for cause provision in Brandon's contract:

  • With Cause by University. The University may terminate the Director's employment at any time for Cause. For purposes of this Agreement, the term "Cause" shall mean: (i) the failure by the Director to perform in any material respect any of his duties or obligations under this Agreement; (ii) the Director's conviction of, or plea of, nolo contendere to a felony charge, or conviction of, or plea of, nolo contendere to a misdemeanor involving any financial impropriety, moral turpitude, or harassment of a University student or employee; (iii) conduct of the Director that offends against public decency or morality as shall be determined by the standards prevailing in the community, or any other conduct by the Director that materially and adversely affects the reputation or the assets of the University or one or more of its athletic programs; (iv) "Misconduct" as defined in Sections I and IIA of the University of Michigan Standard Practice Guide 201.12; (v) a determination by the NCAA, the Conference or the University that the Director has committed an intentional or major violation of any NCAA, Conference or University rule, regulation or other matter covered by Section 5(c); or (vi) any violation of NCAA or Conference rules that results in the University or one of its teams or programs (w) being placed on probation, (x) having to forfeit scholarships or games, (y) having to pay a material fine, or (z) suffering some other material penalty, in each case of which the Director knew or should have known about with reasonable diligence and oversight. If the Director's employment is terminated under this Agreement for Cause or if the Director resigns, the Director shall be entitled to receive, in full discharge of all obligations of the University under this Agreement or otherwise owed to the Director, any unpaid Base Salary and additional compensation earned by and expense reimbursements due to the Director under Sections 3 and 4 through the date of termination.

And Section 5(c) describing compliance with NCAA rules:

  • The Director shall, and shall use best efforts to cause the University's athletic programs, coaches, student athletes and other Athletic Department personnel to, at all times abide by and comply with: (i) all applicable laws, including, without limitation, laws relating to the hiring, termination and treatment of employees, and (ii) the rules, regulations, policies, procedures and agreements of the University, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its applicable divisions (the "NCAA") (including, without limitation, the Constitution and By-Laws of the NCAA), and the Big Ten Conference (the "Conference"), in each case as in effect and interpreted by the applicable body from time to time. In the event the Director becomes aware, or has reasonable cause to believe, that violation of any of the foregoing may have occurred, he shall report it promptly to the President. The Director hereby acknowledges, agrees and understands that if he is found to have committed or participated in a violation of any Conference or NCAA rules and regulations, he may be subject to disciplinary or corrective action as set forth in the applicable disciplinary or enforcement Conference or NCAA procedures, in addition to any disciplinary or corrective action imposed by the University.

Hoke's for-cause termination provision, in relevant part:

  • The University has the right to terminate the employment of the Head Coach for cause in the event of only the following: (e) The NCAA, the Conference, or the University determines that the Head Coach has committed a major violation of the Governing Rules, has intentionally committed any other type of violation of Governing Rules pursuant to Sections 2.04 and 2.05 of this Agreement, or that a major violation of Governing Rules has occurred within the Football Program during the Term of this Agreement and such violation occurred as a result of the Head Coach's failure to appropriately supervise the Program.

And the compliance with rules paragraph:

  • The Head Coach shall abide by and comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the University (the "University Rules"), the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its applicable divisions (or any successor association, the "NCAA") (including without limitation, the Constitution and By-Laws of the NCAA) (the "NCAA Rules"), and the Big Ten Conference (or any successor conference, "Conference") (the "Conference Rules"), in each case as in effect and interpreted by the applicable body from time to time and which relate to the Program (the University Rules, the NCAA Rules and the Conference Rules are hereinafter sometimes referred to collectively as the "Governing Rules"). He will also use best efforts to ensure compliance with Governing Rules by the Program's student athletes, assistant coaches, and all other .Football Program personnel that directly report to Head Coach. In the event that the Head Coach becomes aware, or has reasonable cause to believe, that violations of Governing Rules may have taken place in connection with the conduct of the Football Program, he shall report it promptly to the Athletic Director. The Head Coach shall cooperate fully with the University in efforts to establish, educate, investigate, and enforce these Governing Rules for the Football Program. The University agrees that it will provide relevant updates and training to the Head Coach and his staff regarding any changes in NCAA Rules.

 

Whether sufficient cause could be shown would likely hinge on whether we've adopted, implemented and, on Saturday, followed adequate concussion management protocols, or if not, whether that failure would violate NCAA rules. The tricky part is that the NCAA doesn't seem to have the most stringent requirements around concussion management at the moment, and what they do have seems to be in the form of "guidelines" rather than formal rules, so it may be that they're not picked up in Brandon's and Hoke's contracts.

UMaD

September 30th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^

"Brandon threw Hoke under the bus, and hung him out to dry."

I guess if you throw someone under the bus, the least you can do is hang them up to let them dry.  Maybe Dave Brandon is turning a new leaf making this situation clear as mud on a cold winter's day as the crow flies with the downhill running back that is caught between a rock and a henhouse.

 

maizemama

September 30th, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^

You wouldn't want to put the cart before the horse and close the barn door after the horse got out, especially if you close that door on the cat with nine lives (who got out of the bag) and you certainly can't let that fox into that henhouse, even if you are stuck between it and a rock. Now, let me tell you how I have to walk uphill both ways to from that barn to the henhouse and how there's 3 feet of snow, because, back when I was your age, that's what I had to do. Both ways! Up hill!

west2

September 30th, 2014 at 1:21 PM ^

Our prayers go out to the Carr family and their precious grandson.  Its a reminder that although football is important on a certain level, its really not that important.   

93Grad

September 30th, 2014 at 1:33 PM ^

or training staff not see a hit to teh QB that everyone else in the world saw?  And if Hoke didn't see the hit why was he asking that the Minnesota player be penalized after the fact?

 

This just really stinks all around.

Indiana Blue

September 30th, 2014 at 3:39 PM ^

from those that were at the game.

I don't remember ever seeing the "hit" replayed in the stadium.  I was yelling like crazy because it was obvious that Shane needed to come out, because he could barely walk (and actually he could barely walk after the hit he took in the 3rd quarter too).  I'm was in Sec. 16, didn't see the hit, but could see him waving off the sideline ... like saying "I'm OK".

If you were at the game - please tell everyone if the helmet to helmet hit was shown to the crowd?  I think it wasn't because the place would have gone insane!

Go Blue!

InterM

September 30th, 2014 at 4:22 PM ^

and I didn't see the late hit on Shane until I got home Saturday night.  If they showed it on the video boards, I didn't see it -- and as you say, I'm assuming there would have been more of a crowd reaction, calls for an ejection for obvious targeting, etc.

What was apparent to me, even in the southeast corner of the stadium, was that Shane was woozy after that play.  Putting two and two together, with the late hit call and Shane staggering around, you had to figure the hit had something to do with it.  When the coaches left him in, the boos started -- and while I can't speak for everyone, I and those around me were booing at the coaches for leaving an obviously injured QB in the game.  That was followed by an extremely sarcastic cheer when the coaches finally replaced Morris with Gardner.

Indiana Blue

September 30th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^

I really think they never showed the replay in the stadium.  I really doubt any of the coaches were even watching a TV replay since there was no question about possession or marking of the ball.  TV likely made an issue of the hit, but the majority of the fans never knew it happened.  The crowd reaction was to get Shane out of the game because we could all tell he was hurt - but he waved that off ....  

Really conviced a replay on the screen would have diffused this entire incident, because everyone there, INCLUDING the coaches would have watched the replay.

Go Blue!

mGrowOld

September 30th, 2014 at 1:34 PM ^

"On Monday afternoon, Brandon allowed his head football coach to step to a press conference podium in an absolute no-win situation. Hoke was unprepared, unsupported and left there to face live bullets.

Alone.

On Monday afternoon, Brandon threw Hoke -- a man he hired in 2011 -- under the bus, and hung him out to dry."

This is what is so galling to me.  As somebody who's spent his entire adult life in management this is what has absolute struck me about Brandon during this episode.  His cowardly abdication of any visable support of Hoke and his leaving him on an island to fend for himself.  It's wrong.  

If you feel that strongly that what Hoke did was wrong grow a pair and fire him.  Dont torture the guy by making him look like an absolute idiot in front of the entire country like he did yesterday.  Can you imagine just how much Hoke must've DREADED getting up there knowing what was coming?  And can you imagine how embarrassed and humiliated he must've felt after he learned what was coming out in Brandon's letter?

Look I want the guy fired like everybody else.  But i dont think he deserves to be fucking put through the wringer emotionally on his way out.  It's not fair to him and it's not fair to the team itself.

dragonchild

September 30th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

I doubt throwing Hoke to the wolves was Brandon's first plan.  He only did that to save his skin once he realized the medical staff was taking a stand.  It's kind of a quibble because he's a douchebag either way, but there's no evidence Brandon was out to "torture" Hoke.  I think he went into "pointy-haired boss" mode (i.e., planned to take charge while having no clue), told Hoke he'll take care of it, went to the doctors for a statement, fought to have the word "concussion" removed and when the docs told Brandon to GTFO he realized there was no way to sweep it under the rug, shit a brick and threw Hoke under in a panic.  That's the scenario that fits the timeline and developments.

Anyway, I don't care about Hoke anymore.  The more forgiving opinions are that he's delegated too much of the work but I call it a classic case of irresponsibility.  It's one thing to trust others to do their jobs, but if Hoke wanted to know how his QB was doing (and mind you he claims to care about his players like family), he could've just made a phone call.  People keep talking about how he was kept in the dark but c'mon; the presser was Monday.  In the time between the hit and the time Hoke needed answers at the absolute latest it's not like he'd need to even use 21st century technology.  Telegraph, the Pony Express or even just HAND-DELIVERING A PAPER NOTE would've been fast enough to get the update on Morris' status on Hoke's desk.

Like Paterno, he may not have known initially, but once he was informed of it there is NO way he couldn't have found out if he tried.  He's the HEAD COACH.  He'd better have the team doctors' numbers on his goddamn cell phone, if only to find out which QBs are showing up to the next practice.  That's not necessarily going over Brandon's head; that's just doing his damn job.

umchicago

September 30th, 2014 at 2:30 PM ^

that is exactly my take on hoke post-game.  he was hoping the truth could get scrubbed.  i've lost almost all respect for him now.

the block quote above from hoover street rag is what hoke should have said on monday.  just speak the damn truth and admit an honest mistake.  

i just wonder what the hell his coaches in the booth were watching.  they had the best view of the hit and aftermath, yet appear to have communicated nothing except "we just got a late hit call" to nuss.

maizenbluenc

September 30th, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^

This is how they act - they are your best buddy until you are expendable in order for them not to loose face or their position. Have been watching similar behavior here at IBM.

Brady Hoke needs to watch his back, because he is on an island on this one.

We'll know Brandon has survived the Board of Regents in a month or so.

davidhm

September 30th, 2014 at 3:24 PM ^

That Brandon treated Hoke this way is appalling, especially coming from a guy who inserted himself into the "stretch" scandal months before he officially became AD.  But when it comes to backing his "guy"  - nothing.  And it's not like Hoke is a wordsmith or good at the podium in the first place.  For Brandon to send him out there, alone, and without all the details is probably the biggest dbag move ever.  Hoke is guilty of not managing the on-field situation the way it should have been, but that doesn't mean he deserves to have his boss throw him into another situation in which he's destined to fail and bring further disgrace to the University.  Absolutely pathetic.  Not "leaders" and certainly not the "best".

Don

September 30th, 2014 at 1:40 PM ^

If the allegations that the athletic department pressured the medical personnel to lie about Shane Morris's condition can be credibly corroborated, it seems to me that's "cause" in blinking red neon.

Yo_Blue

September 30th, 2014 at 1:41 PM ^

Can we stop it already with the headset / no headset meme?  That is so unimportant at the moment.

It seems that no headset was good enough for this guy.  Would you rather he emulated the guy behind him in BOTH PICTURES?

 

So it seems that you CAN be successful without hearing a headset.