Full Allegations Emerge on Rich Rodriguez's firing
EDITED (12:58PM)
By suggestion of other posters I have removed a college of excerpts which others felt trivialized the magnitude of the allegations.
I encourage all to read the full details before coming to their opinions. Appreciation goes to the others who have suggested ways to improve my post on this sensitive topic.
January 4th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
This is all dick behavior, but my main issue here is one that was glossed over. Allegedly, Matt Dudek brought a sick player to RR and said we need to get him help. It implies they both knew he had taken too many pills. instead of acting, RR says he'll be fine and everyone says ok. Unfortunately, the player died from the overdose. That seems like a very serious claim against RR and maybe even more against Dudek. Why does he need RR's approval to call 911? Affairs and harrassment are bad, being complicit in an overdoes seems like something law enforcement should care about. If that's true, Dudek should be relieved of his duties immediately also. There is only one paragraph in that complaint about it, does anyone have additional detail about this story?
January 4th, 2018 at 12:55 PM ^
My interpretation was that Dudek knew that a player was addicted NOT that he was in immediate danger to himself. I could be mistaken.
Regardless, it's a bad look for Rich Rodriguez, who should be looking out for the well being of all his players.
January 4th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
Just reading some of the reporting on this incident, the parents sue Dudek, RR and Melissa for this kids death. It all seems to claim everyone knew he was overdosing and that it was normal behavior. Just because your boss is a dick and sexual harrasser doesn't mean you ignore a kids life. I can't believe she admitted that in the claim. I'm no bird law specialist but that seems like an admission of guilt and since she's about to be a millionaire, she's an easy target.
January 4th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
Creepy but weak. Probably why they are paying him because they know it won't go anywhere legally.
January 4th, 2018 at 12:52 PM ^
I was going to comment about how the one quote the OP provided is in no way a fireable offense, but thankfully I went ahead and read half the posted document. He obviously did create a toxic environment and the action seems reasonable.
Worth mentioning though is the one quote trivializes the situation. It would have been far more helpful to a casual reader if the OP didn't excerpt at all.
January 4th, 2018 at 12:55 PM ^
Hard to believe he only turned into this type person upon arriving in Arizona. I wouldn't be suprised if similar stories didn't start coming out of the closet on State Street.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
It's possible, but it's also possible that here he would have felt more like an outsider who had to earn respect of the department, boosters, and culture vs. while in Arizona he would have been a king acting on his will.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:23 PM ^
excellent point. He did not enjoy the same unfettered power in Ann Arbor.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
I don't know. I think this kind of behavior (if true) speaks more to a personality trait than the circumstances.
I'd be curious to hear John U. Bacon's thoughts on this, since he spent a lot of time with RichRod writing that book.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:44 PM ^
still, personality traits & behaviors can change depending on circumstances: stress, depression, support structures (or lack of) organizational culture, substance use/abuse, etc.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:53 PM ^
you forgot one - whether or not you have a writer trailing you around. He would have been on his best behavior knowing Bacon was chronicling everything. I would be interested to know if Bacon ever saw him hold closed-door meetings with female staffers.
January 4th, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^
At Michigan, perhaps he didn't think he could get away with it, whereas at Arizona he clearly did. I just wonder how he behaved at West Virginia.
Not saying he didn't do anything while he was at Michigan, though--I have no idea one way or the other. But if he was well behaved in Ann Arbor that might explain why.
January 4th, 2018 at 7:12 PM ^
have a lot to do with this kind of behavior is actually carried out vs suppressed though.
Check out the Stanley Milgram Experiments (among many others).
Doesn't excuse poor behavior, but it does mean you should be able to recognize toxic environments and how they may effect your behavior or others in the group and try to get out of them if possible.
Humans are very social and will go far to "fit in" or obtain approval from the group, or exert power as an "alpha" in situations in which one is enabled to do so (which it sounds like RichRod was in and tried to create for himself at UA). This is also why it's bad leadership and organizational structure to surround yourself/leaders with "yes" people and to discourage dissent.
January 4th, 2018 at 2:26 PM ^
but some of the stuff this columnist writes about probably sounds really familiar in A2
http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/football/greg-hansen-with-rich…
January 4th, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^
Is the author, Greg Hansen, the one formerly of 97.1?
January 4th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
Looks like he is not only good at destroying football programs, but marriages as well.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
January 4th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^
Is anyone surprised by anything in that document? Disgusted, perhaps; not surprised.
January 4th, 2018 at 2:22 PM ^
Not one whit surprised. I was off his bandwagon the day he fired the entire staff. Liked him less every day after that. Disgusting excuse for a human being who should NEVER be allowed to lead anyone, much less young men, again.
January 4th, 2018 at 3:18 PM ^
He kept Fred Jackson. Harbaugh fired everyone but Mattison I believe. RR is a dick but firing a staff is not nessarily a good indicator of dickishness.
January 4th, 2018 at 7:15 PM ^
ugly, seemingly impulsive departure from his alma mater, his weird real estate deal lawsuits, etc. that were red flags.
January 4th, 2018 at 2:40 PM ^
That he supposedly passed a lie detector test. The man has a remarkable capacity for twisting things around in his mind so that he's the victim.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:02 PM ^
Of him being a philanderer before he came to Michigan.....
January 4th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
I read the entire thing. Wow. If all true, what a sick fuck.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:03 PM ^
Triangle of Trust? Must have got that from Meet the Parents and the Cirlce of Trust. What's next the Oval of trust or better yet the Hexagon of trust?
January 4th, 2018 at 3:20 PM ^
Weren't there 4 people in that triangle? He flunked geometry I guess.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
that assistant is a hot as hell.. RichRod is deplorable and a bad football coach
January 4th, 2018 at 1:17 PM ^
That is ugly. If even a portion of that is accurate, I can't blame them for firing him.
There's something that's always seemed off about RR. Why does he seem to make enemies at every stop? Is it because of this?
January 4th, 2018 at 1:18 PM ^
I felt bad for how Rich Rod never got a fair shake here, I thought that whole episode was a worse reflection on UM than on Rodriguez. But Jesus H., if half of this stuff is true, to hell with Rodriguez. That's as slimy as it gets.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:18 PM ^
January 4th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
The Circle of Trust is Urban's Triangle of Secrecy. Wonder how many people had to keep his banging coeds a secret.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
I read most of it. Good read. Rich Rod always seemed like a sleeze to the highest level.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:28 PM ^
I found the Demand Letter from Melissa's atty to be entertaining but so poorly written. Good luck getting $7.5 million. Maybe $750k. Either way, Rita is gonna kick Rich Rod's ass.
January 4th, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^
"The Hideaway Book was a book authored by Rodriguez... This yielded such things as the saying: 'Title IX doesn't exist in our office.'"
EDIT: deleted lame joke because it was lame. Instead, I'll pose this question: what are the implications if she has a copy of the book? That, and her texting history with him are the smoking guns.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:29 PM ^
Looks like a certain someone will not be getting any of Ms. Rita's World Famous Nacho Cheese Dip anytime soon.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
7.5 million!?
January 4th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
January 4th, 2018 at 1:41 PM ^
January 4th, 2018 at 2:45 PM ^
I think Miguel Cabrera was pulling the same stuff with his wife and side-action in the stands at the same time.
January 4th, 2018 at 5:32 PM ^
All of you A-holes making jokes about this situation need to actually read the entire 9 page deposition and attempt to see youself working in a similar environment. Grow up.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:46 PM ^
A couple things that jump out at me.
First being "Title IX doesn't exist in this office". They've been using that quote as a click-bait title and making it seem like RR said that. In reality, that was a quote from the plantiff. Makes a huge difference to me, especially when the person saying it is trying to get $8 million.
The second thing is the timing. I always have to give things a second glance when allegations come out after the fact. She worked for RR since 2011, why not do something while things are happening instead of afterwards when it's hearsay now? But the link shows that her daughter was on some type of scholarship because of her position in the AD. That changes everything for me. That's leverage that can be used against her and I can completely understand waiting until her daughter graduates.
As much as I think RR is a scumbag, he deserves the right to defend himself. When looking for a $8 million payout, this appears to be a really weak case. Or it could be a warning shot to RR, that he doesn't want to go to court and have all of his personal business included in the discovery. I'm beginning to think that might be the case, and would make a lot of sense with the statement Arizona gave firing him.
January 4th, 2018 at 2:13 PM ^
It is indeed that. The letter is not suing for $7.5M, it is spcifically offering to settle out of court for $7.5M.
This is the first step in a negotiation. Hence the "we can get a lot of money out of you in the current #METOO environment because juries will want to set an example".
They are not worring about any kind of precision or legal justification here, which is why it reads like a soap opera, they are trying to scare RR into settling this out of court.
January 4th, 2018 at 2:58 PM ^
Not only was her daughter a student, she was also an equipment manager for the football team. The letter was sent, and received, the day after their season ended. Which, perhaps not coincidentally, would have been the first day RR and his staff didn't have any direct contact with or leverage over her.
(The "scholarship" you mention was a reduction in tuition available to employees' dependents. That was definitely a reason she was silent so long--she talks about that in the letter--but I don't think it determined the timing. She hasn't graduated yet as far as I can tell.)
January 4th, 2018 at 3:02 PM ^
January 4th, 2018 at 9:07 PM ^
To be clear, those numbers are exorbitant for a sexual harassment settlement (as is $7.5m). The only reasons numbers would ever get that high is you're dealing with a very high-worth individual who wants to shut everything up completely (and honestly, in my opinion, probably did something wrong if you're paying out that amount).
The claims in here, while disgusting, aren't even worth a quarter of a million, let alone $7.5m. Yes opening salvo and all that, but it's high.
January 4th, 2018 at 9:13 PM ^
What 's the potential impact on a future divorce settlement of having this go to open testimony? Or on a possible wrongful death suit from the Hemmilas?
January 5th, 2018 at 9:50 AM ^
I don't practice family law, so it's outside of my area of expertise. However, I suspect a lot of the damage is already done with the public allegations being out there.
Re: wrongful death - it's hard to tell from the letter, but it might be hearsay from Dudek. Given it's only one small paragraph in a 9 page letter, I don't think there's much to go on there. That is a big flashing potential issue if they had more they likely would have made a bigger deal out of it. Also, although I don't know much about the case, I believe it was an OD, so probably facing a bit of an uphill battle on that lawsuit anyway.
January 4th, 2018 at 1:43 PM ^
January 4th, 2018 at 1:44 PM ^
Who would've thought RR would actually be a asshole..