11W with a scorched-Earth Nassar headline
February 1st, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^
I don't think I'm advocating more policy, particularly, but like you the actual application of same. More rules/guidelines just equals more administrators and that didn't exactly work out in past at either PSU nor MSU. I have read Freeh's recommendations (released verison) and he spoke specifically to the PSU context though as you note other schools could leverage this content.
I agree it comes down to people doing the right thing (see: Mandatory Reporters) that said, at Michigan State and Penn State when people tried to do the right thing administrators shut that down to protect the school, the brand, their personal interests. This cost PSU the reputation of #JoeKnew, it's president and AD and tied the school forever to a life of linkage to child rapist/paedophiles and it's going to cost MSU the same thing. Outside of a few sycophants in Happy Valley and Lansing these will forever be the images of those schools and the stain won't come off. Baylor is not any different, FWIW.
I really hope that other schools are paying attention. Every school is vulnerable to this and the costs are immeasurable. I think we agree that "people just have to do the right thing" but how often do we see just the opposite.
February 1st, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I think most people would say "no." There are always going to be some people who do not do the right thing. The human race is what it is.
So MSU and PSU had "people who do not do the right thing" folk in positions of the power. And thus the entire school's image gets "stained", as you said.
So it goes. Other schools, you're right, they ARE paying attention to this MSU story. Just as they paid attention to the PSU story. Policies will get changed, et cetera ....
But this is likely: in the not-so-distant future, some quasi-similiar situation will still happen at one of these schools. And we'll have this same conversation: how do we stop this, how does my school become less vulnerable to this, et cetera.
I focus on me and my closest compatriots doing the right thing. Family, friends, people I work most directly with. Unfortunately, there are other people in my "tribe" who I have some but less power to control. The CEO of my company, co-workers at an overseas location, my 4th cousin in Seattle, coaches and admins at my 1500 miles away and 15 years removed college alma mater. They can all do the wrong thing and thus affect my life to some degree. So it goes.
Anyway, that's my spiel. And yes, to acknowledge your 2nd use of #JoeKnew (I'll take the bait) --- JoePa was at fault as regards Sandusky.
February 1st, 2018 at 1:33 PM ^
Obviously, you can only control the space in which you operate. That said, we do have some influence within the cultures in which we work. The problem for PSU/MSU/Baylor and in the past decade to a much lesser degree for tOSU (Tressel) there has been tremendous pressure for schools and administrators to look the other way on transgressions. The enhanced power of coaches/Athletic Directors due to their bringing eyes to the school, enhanced exposure, potential donor monies plus tv money etc. is really a problem when coupled with this new class of entrenced administrator. The use of revenue sports, in particular, to enhance image has given them an influence unknown prior to the mid-ESPN era.
When bad things happen the brand too often takes primacy and people make bad decisions. I can't stop people from murdering but I can question the policies of my institution when it comes to their balance on academic/athletic funding/prioritization/equity etc.. Full disclosure, I did my grad work at Temple and they are currently dealing with some of this balance and it will be interesting to see how it works out on the new on-campus stadium but I expect it to be built as the school now (40 years late) sees the value/influence of a solid football program to their brand.
As to Joe Paterno, I think he knew also but I can't get my head around the sycophants/apologists in your fanbase nor their volume. Amazing.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:51 AM ^
I took it as another way to look at the priorites and culture that could enable this catastrophie. I don't think he is saying that going after trademark violations is wrong.
February 1st, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
trademark issue, but missed the giant horrible (x150+) felony right in their lap. or to put it another way: You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
February 1st, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
they saw and didn't do the right thing.
February 1st, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^
Why bring up the fact that MSU goes after Trademark violations in making that point? Every school does that.
and that was the answer - the extreme hypocrisy of chasing the little things and letting the gargantuan problem go free for decades.
February 1st, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
I think the larger point of the story is that universities - especially many that are powers in athletics circles - have strayed so far from their core mission that their priorities are in serious question. I think Ramzy is absolutely right - had this been a trademark case, MSU would have been all over it, but it took them 20 years to fire a man who sexually abused hundreds of girls, some as young as six years old, a man only now learning his fate one jurisdication at a time. The larger point still stands, though, and I think a lot of schools should do some serious introspection even if they haven't even done anything. It shouldn't take something like the Nassar case for people to see the problem, in my opinion.
February 1st, 2018 at 5:16 PM ^
In my experience it's not the school so much as the College Licensing Corp, except with Ohio State and Notre Dame. Both, incidentally, are run by lawyers. Ohio State is just litigious to the extreme--we can't do a Hail to the Victors or We Are! book because they tried it and the school sent them cease and desists and threatened to tie them up in court until it was a huge net loss. Notre Dame is just petty--they are infinitely sensitive about any slight or perceived negativity. Every other school I've dealt with (Michigan, Penn State, Illinois, CMU, Tennessee) just lets the CLC inform them when there's something that might bother them. Except Michigan has someone (Ablauf's wife, in fact) who will respond to you directly and explain their reasoning. There were a few times under Brandon when that got ridiculous, but the point stands: 11W has a much tougher school to please than we do.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
Reading through the comments on the 11W story confirmed one sad thing that I'm quite concerned with about this whole mess. The simple fact that the BoT imposed Engler, and the investigation is being 'led' by Schuette and his special investigator Forsyth. I worry because people (largely) outside of this site don't see the surrounding circumstances, and appear to be failing at grasping the larger issue.
One commenter summed it up - he knew Engler was a previous MI Gov and an MSU alum, so he thought the excutive experience and political connections would help to clean house. The commenter was completely unaware of the good ol' boy network shennigans that are going on there. He didn't know that Engler endorsed Schuette for Gov and is on the Board of Secchia's company. Let alone that Secchia is Mr Moneybags booster around MSU. Nor did he know that Forsyth's retirement party was financed by Secchia. And he probably doesn't know that Schuette's book was forwarded by Mick Dumtony. I'll also bet that he hasn't seen pictures of Engler, Dick DeVos, and Secchia courtside laughing it up with Izzo. (DeVos is the husband of the Sect of Education, which is also 'investigating' MSU.)
Until mainstream media picks up on this and condemns it for what it is - good ol' boys covering for each other - nothing will change at MSU.
February 1st, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
February 1st, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
Irrelevant.
The Dept of Education relaxed Title IX requirements. The Dept of Education has publicly stated it will investigate MSU against Title IX requirements. The Sect of Education - the person that runs the Dept of Education - is the wife of the guy hobnobbing with MSU power brokers.
Whether Dick DeVos has Steve Jobs smarts, or is the intellectual equivalent of road kill, is completely irrelevant. He's doing two things that we will never do - bangin' Betsy and hanging courtside with Izzo...
February 1st, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
How did we let non-profit academic institutions become so driven by money? What the hell have we allowed to happen under our noses in this society?
February 1st, 2018 at 5:02 PM ^
As time went on, more schools started football programs. The interest grew as more people went to college and more students had access to view and play the game. People who couldn't see the game in person wanted to find some way to watch it another way. The piles of money came pouring in, and eventually somewhen sits there and says "the only thing better than $500 million is $600 million." It's never enough.
The Ivy schools saw it coming and dropped their hats out of the arms race a long time ago. We'll never see Yale or Princeton win a title every again, but they'll never have their names dragged through the mud like this. And I think they're just fine with that.
February 1st, 2018 at 8:19 PM ^
We monetize everything. My father died recently, and the funeral home was totally preying on our grief. They tried to steer us to the most expensive casket. There was branding all over the place: on the packs of tissues, the mints in the lobby, on the pens and the thank you notes. If they can monetize funerals, they can monetize anything.
February 1st, 2018 at 1:00 PM ^
According to a lot of MSU fans on Twitter, it "isn't the right time" to discuss this, or "it's not a good look" - though none seem to have actually read the article.
February 1st, 2018 at 1:06 PM ^
That "it isn't the right time" rejoinder is straight out of the post-Sandusky Penn State playbook. "Please, don't say mean things when the student body is hurting" is a frequent refuge for schools in these situations.
Here's the thing - it's not mean to say things that are absolutely true. And Ramzy's overall premise is 100% spot on.
(Not aimed at snarling wolverine, but rather at the dipshits making the argument he's relaying.)
February 1st, 2018 at 3:24 PM ^
Ramzy is an extremely talented writer, despite being a Buckeye.
February 1st, 2018 at 9:30 PM ^
This is Ramzy at his best. I didn't even read who the author was, and I knew it was Ramzy two paragraphs into the article. He's the only writer on that site who is on par with Brian.