Michigan Releases Stake Statement Comment Count

Ace



WE CLAIM THIS FIELD IN THE NAME OF COMMITMENT AND HARD-TO-SEE OBJECTS

This is a real thing.

October 26, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Below is a statement from University of Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke:

“I want to publicly apologize to Coach Dantonio as well as the players and supporters of Michigan State for our act of poor sportsmanship displayed pre-game yesterday. I spoke with Mark earlier today and expressed to him that we meant no disrespect to his team. During our regular Friday night team meeting, one of the topics presented to motivate our team was a history lesson addressing commitment and teamwork in a tough environment. A tent stake was presented to the team as a symbol of this concept. The stake was brought into our locker room as a visual reminder, and one of our team leaders chose to take it out on the field. As the leader of our football program, I take full responsibility for the actions of our team. We believe in displaying a high level of respect at the University of Michigan and unfortunately that was not reflected by this action prior to kickoff.”

We're very sorry a thing meant to be driven into a field was driven into your field.

Comments

MetricSU

October 26th, 2014 at 6:47 PM ^

1. That was a 2005 John L. Smith team.

2. ND players planted their flag in the visitors' corner in Spartan Stadium in 2004.

3. ND didn't bring the Megaphone Trophy to the 2005 game, so there was nothing for the MSU players to celebrate with.

It still wasn't right, but it also happened to be after a win. The stake before the game was pathetic.

Bossman23

October 26th, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^

What happened to the Bolden spear thread? I was laughing my ass off at like 3 in the morning reading that people were disgusted Hoke let them carry a weapon on the field. Finding out it was just a tent stake makes it even funnier lol.

ksgill99

October 26th, 2014 at 2:57 PM ^

Maybe I'm getting old, but win some meaningful games before you start antagonizing your rivals. Mike Hart had some right, though it was probably poor sportsmanship, to say what he did. But anyone since, keep your head down and wine the game.

snoopblue

October 26th, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^

Brady Hoke is pussy and a terrible football coach. He is basically just waiting for his check. It sucks that he failed at his dream job, but he knew what he was getting into. He was just surprised someone actually wanted him. For that, David Brandon is at fault.

blue95

October 26th, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^

This is downright fucking embarrassing.

Let Shane play so he can get his suck out this year instead of next and get this fucking thing over with.

blusage

October 26th, 2014 at 3:02 PM ^

Somehow, I think Brandon is behind this spear thing -- it smacks of bad advertising gimmick.

Then making Hoke offer an apology for it when it went bad.

He did this type thing to RR too: make the coach in question do embarrassing, humiliating things just to try and keep their jobs. Brandon is a sadistic, manipultive F*#% and is making Hoke twist in the wind -- just because he can. The program is rotten from the top down.

They both need to go.

btn

October 26th, 2014 at 3:02 PM ^

Brandon was brought in for his PR skills?

The sad thing is that there were probably 5 or more executive level marketing people in the AD that had their hands on this pathetic statement. Every single person involved with it should be canned.

GoBLUinTX

October 26th, 2014 at 3:05 PM ^

I really wish Brady Hoke would have apologized to the fans, players, and the football staff for the contemptibly inept team he fielded this year as he tendered his resignation.

bluins

October 26th, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^

This was adressed the day after and nothing on Shane for 2 or 3 days? It would be funny if it weren't so absurd and depressing. Maybe the program is making progress.

 

Hoke having to apologize to the coach who just kicked his ass again is going to be the hallmark of his tenure.

Erik_in_Dayton

October 26th, 2014 at 3:11 PM ^

1.) Dantonio is a very smart guy and a great motivator. He's going to find or invent slights to motivate his team until he retires. Michigan's behavior doesn't matter.

2.) MSU won yesterday because they are the better football team.

BlueGoM

October 26th, 2014 at 3:18 PM ^

That does summarize things nicely.   What should have been a footnote is now highlighted again.   Just like the mishandling of Morris, they should have said something and been done with it.  This one they should have just let go.  Instead they made it worse.

 

Mocha Cub

October 26th, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^

October 26, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

I want to publicly apologize for actually watching the entirety of that poor excuse for a rivalry game. I want to apologize for any faith I had in this coaching staff. However, I do not apologize for expecting more from a Michigan Wolverines football team than what has been put out on the field this year.

BlueGoM

October 26th, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^

Here at the clownshow university we apologize to teams that kick our ass.

Just like the Gibbons incident, which Brandon instructed Hoke to not say anything, this has the stench of Brandon's mishandling all over it.

At this point I fully expect Indiana to come in and beat the snot out of this team.

 

Little Jimmy

October 26th, 2014 at 3:17 PM ^

and it had to do with a tent - then I am lost.  Watching that video looked more like a team building exercise in which our players used it as a"team"  middle finger towards MSU.

A middlge finger that MSU promptly broke off and shoved up our collective rears.

BlowGoo

October 26th, 2014 at 3:26 PM ^

Dammitdammitdammitdammitdammit!

 

The program is a dumpster fire! Hoke's career is careening! We got our asses handed to us not out of unluck, but out of incompetence!

 

And Hoke (and the rest of us) get upset over a STAKE?

 

So many, many, many things that require an apology/explanation/plan.

 

But a STAKE?  Are we really buying into the mythology of the Little Brother inspiration as the source of our problems THAT MUCH that we fear a fricking $1.25 garden device because it might upset the opposition?

 

What a fricking waste of time.

 

I'm disgusted with myself at having contributed to this by writing this.

 

Waaauugh!

JamieH

October 26th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^

Hoke should have come out and said, "Yeah, the stake thing was dumb and we shouldn't have done it.  I shouldn't have let it happen.   But we're not apologizing for anything.  We're a struggling team, and a leader of our team was trying to motivate his guys in a big game by saying we were going to put a stake in the ground and make a stand to turn our season around in East Lansing.  There was no disrespect meant, and if Dantonito and Michigan State want to get all bent out of shape about it, that is really their problem."

 

See how easy that is?  Took me 60 seconds to write that, and I'm not even in PR. 

Don

October 26th, 2014 at 4:03 PM ^

What you wrote is exactly what Hoke should have said. The stake was dumb and stupid, and it put Hoke in a bad spot. It's just symptomatic of the condition of the team—why in hell do they need a prop to motivate themselves to play their in-state rival? It's mind-boggling.

The fact that they thought putting an object in the ground—other than Conor Cook's head—had a symbolic value that was going to do them any good whatsoever is indicative of how fucked the situation is.

That Dantonio is a whiny, disingenuous, hypocritical douchebag of the first order makes this all that much worse.

JamieH

October 26th, 2014 at 7:07 PM ^

Goes without saying that the situation was FUBARed to begin with.  But hey, the '97 team used those mountain climbing props for motivation and everyone thought Lloyd was a genious for it, so......

Any port in a storm.  When you're on a sinking ship, you'll try anything for motivation.  Cheesy?  Sure.  Gimicky?  Yep.  Worth Dantonio twisting up his nutsack so hard that he can't see straight?  Um, no. 

 

 

You Only Live Twice

October 26th, 2014 at 9:32 PM ^

Kudos JamieH, you're GOOD at PR for someone not in PR.  You said.... in the classiest possible way... "I'm SORRY you are such a whiny ass wimp Dantonio, F YOU"  

 

MonkeyMan

October 26th, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^

God what a mess, bad sportsmanship, getting your ass kicked, humiliating apologies

this program has morphed into a trash talking punk who always gets the shit beat out him while everybody laughs