Dave Brandon's Athletic Department Continues to Use Student-Athletes to Save His Job

Submitted by Jon06 on

Facing a boycott of kickoff in protest of Dave Brandon's continued employment, Dave Brandon's Athletic Department puts out an official photo using a quote from Dennis Norfleet to try to stop the boycott. The caption on the Michigan Football Facebook page: "Fleet".

If you are like me in thinking that it is inappropriate for Dave Brandon to use student-athletes in orchestrated PR ploys intended to save his own job, you'll join me in thinking this is inappropriate, too. Boo, Dave. Boo.

Mrs. Jon06: "Is that official?"

Jon06: "Yes."

Mrs. Jon06: "...He should be fired."

ETA: Mr. Yost down below tries to convince me that this is not a new social media strategy. I asked him to provide an example from the Michigan Football Facebook page of any student athlete quote used in a 2014 ad. I mentioned that coaches' quotes had been used. His responses: basketball players from Twitter (not what I asked for), coaches (not what I asked for), and then a Funchess quote that never appeared on the Facebook page (not what I asked for), which (last time I checked) he is pretending was posted there. If anybody knows where he got that Funchess Chobani image, that'd be great to know. [Image was from Twitter. Again irrelevant. Again obfuscation from Mr. Yost who wants you to forget what we were discussing.] In any case I am just writing this here to register that Brandon supporters appear to be engaged in an active misinformation campaign here. Be careful out there, folks.

ETA2: To be fair, I should add here that Mr. Yost seems to think I'm lying by having moved the goalposts on him. I disagree insofar as social media strategies are a lot more specific than he seems to think, but you can see what you think if you read through the stuff below. The Funchess image he keeps reposting is from Twitter, per the above, unlike the FB-sourced image embedded in this here OP. FWIW, I am now inclined to think MGrowOld is right in the "Why the Surge" thread when it comes to at least part of the increased pressure to attend, but I still strongly dislike the AD using SA quotes in official materials in any way that even has the appearance of being an attempt to move the needle on a boycott aimed at DB.

JHendo

October 7th, 2014 at 11:53 PM ^

I hunted those for the longest time and finally caught one. Now it won't leave me alone in my house, always wears this sparkley thing on her finger and constantly asks if it's ok to use the credit card. Also, she created some mini human woman like thing while here and keeps saying it's mine. Sorry lady, not interested in your mini-human thing that can't even speak English.

Hunting human women was a big mistake.

JHendo

October 8th, 2014 at 8:37 AM ^

Methinks you didn't  actually get the sarcastic intent after all.  Matter of fact, I would actually say my statement veers more towards hyperbole than sarcasm, as it's intent was to go slightly but obviously too far in my comical misintepretation of my familial situation in order to elicit an uncomfortable yet humorous reaction from you all.

jared32696

October 7th, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^

Been sayin these fans are a bunch of fairies and yuppies. Grow a fn pair. "Protest will show them".... how fn retarded. Its.embarassing to the university, athletes and especially to yourselves. Everyone in the country is laughing at yall bc you really think your making difference and YOUR NOT.

Lionsfan

October 7th, 2014 at 10:48 PM ^

1 - You're allowed to swear on the internet, don't worry, your Mommy isn't gonna read it

2 - Why do you have a problem with typing/saying fucking, but have no qualms about typing/saying retarded, arguably a worse word.

3 - It's you're. A contraction for you are. Your is possessive. So it would be "Everyone is laughing cause you think *you are* making a difference and *YOU ARE* not.

HokelessRomantic

October 7th, 2014 at 11:31 PM ^

I am sick and goddamn tired of people getting a sore ass over the word "retarded". There is absolutely nothing wrong with using that word in any context except when meant to belittle someone who is not very intelligent. For that, we reserve the words "fuck-chop", "ass-bag", "Sparty", or "Brandon",but not retard. Are you offended when you read the fire-proof ratings for drywall and it's given as a "retardant level"? Grow up!

MGoScene

October 8th, 2014 at 12:33 AM ^

There are some words in the English language that are socially acceptable in one time period and become unacceptable in another. There is a movement (beyond Lionsfan's post) to end the use of this hurtful term in any context:

http://r-word.org/

You don't have to be a part of this, but please don't belittle people who care about this cause.

atom evolootion

October 7th, 2014 at 10:48 PM ^

See the sign? They're making some sort of difference if the players are noticing and commenting to the public, and the athletic department is repurposing those comments to try to draw the fans in... This is some oddball shit, like an alternate universe, like the Marvel Comics Civil War storyline. Wolverines are killing and eating other wolverines, and at the same time, they're begging each other to unify. What the fuck?!?

LJ

October 7th, 2014 at 9:39 PM ^

Or maybe Dave Brandon thinks it's best for Michigan if fans support the team and the school.  Is that so hard to fathom?  Maybe it's not always about his job.  He should still be fired, in my view, but I'm right on board with stuff like this.  You don't have to boycott kickoff to let the school know that you want him out.

Jon06

October 7th, 2014 at 10:06 PM ^

First, it's a public school, and aside from having paid Michigan taxes for several years, I'm also an alumnus (x3) and periodic donor. They include several of my academic accomplishments on various umich.edu pages to boost their own profile. How dare they not care what I want?

But you're right, aaamichfan. There's no reason in all that that some of them--e.g., Dave Brandon--can see for them to care. That is, there's no reason they can see for them to care unless they repeatedly get bad press for flouting their fans' desires. That's why the boycott must go forward. That's why the students should again be on the Diag and on the President's lawn demanding change. We have to give them reason to care what we want.

Jon06

October 7th, 2014 at 11:16 PM ^

Easy fix: I don't believe that.

ETA: there are a few people just downvoting everything I say on this thread, but maybe this one requires more explanation. Michigan taxpayers have an interest in how virtually every part of the University is run, regardless of whether their tax dollars go to any particular part of it. In the case of the AD, unused dollars become General Fund dollars, so stupidly used dollars or stupidly foregone dollars (in the case of alumni told to find other teams to support) are dollars that do not end up in the General Fund. That's a connection that involves only following the money. I also think Michigan taxpayers have an interest in their public institutions being run in a transparent and accountable manner, which is another source of interest in the AD despite its self-sufficiency on paper. There is also the fact that the current AD's points policy undermines academic fundraising by dispensing privileges disproportionately on academic donors, which both President Schlissel and academic development officers do not like. Ok. Just spelling out the rest of the easy fix for all you haters.

Jon06

October 7th, 2014 at 11:32 PM ^

I'm confused about what game we're playing here. Am I just supposed to compare a number you pick with another number you pick? Why do I care about revenue rather than profit? Do you even have to pick numbers that both represent profits or can you pick profits in one case and revenues in the other case? Are we allowed to engage in "hypothetics"? I mean, can we compare what the profit would be if DB hadn't alienated a ton of fans with what it turns out to be? 

Let me know what the rules are and then maybe you can tell me how to feel about the comparison if you're feeling generous. I mean, I hear I only have an EMU degree so you might have to help me out. My poor Eagle(?) head is spinning here.

turd ferguson

October 7th, 2014 at 9:44 PM ^

I think you're close here.

Dave Brandon should be fired for the things he's done that are in DB's best interests but not Michigan's best interests.  There are a ton of examples.  In this case, what's in DB's best interests is also in Michigan's best interests (creating a lively home environment, keeping fans interested, keeping players upbeat, etc.).  This isn't the right thing to complain about.

bj dickey

October 7th, 2014 at 10:00 PM ^

I am not fond of much of what Dave Brandon has done and I would not feel bad, nor even sorry for,hi ere he fired. HOWEVA, at no pint have I thought that Dave Brandon has acted with the intention of self Benedict over the university. I just think we disagree on important aspects of his stewardship of the michigan football program and stadium experience. I like what he's done for non-revenue sports. But the point is that there is no indication I'm aware of that his actions are intended for self gain. To the contrary I believe that he believes he has the Athletic department's interest at heart. We just don't agree on how to get there or how to achieve a happy vibrant football stadium at Michigan.