Mel Pearson’s Side of the Story
Fired hockey coach Mel Pearson speaks for the first time on ‘what really went down' at Michigan
https://www.therinklive.com/mens-division-1/big-10/fired-hockey-coach-mel-pearson-speaks-for-the-first-time-on-what-really-went-down-at-michigan
After 40 years as a college hockey coach, Mel Pearson will not be on a campus this season, having been dismissed from the University of Michigan in August. The claims against him and others there were numerous and thoroughly investigated. In an exclusive hour-long interview with The Rink Live where no topics were off limits, Pearson offered his side of the story regarding the case made against him and his hockey program.
September 29th, 2022 at 5:21 AM ^
Hire poison, get sick. Law firms are not stand-ins for HR or judgment. This is helpful to understand. I think the University could have handled this better. I wish Mel well.
What an amazing season under that cloud. Lessons here will not be repeated by current staff. I don't need a lawyer to say that.
September 29th, 2022 at 7:57 AM ^
Isn't this an example of CYA? I mean that's a lot of smoke, so there has to be a flame somewhere that might burn the whole hockey program down sometime in the future. Better to be safe than sorry, especially in todays climate, and on the heels of the Robert Anderson scandal.
September 29th, 2022 at 11:06 AM ^
Without commenting on the Pearson situation/investigation/firing, I think the mindsets of "lot of smoke, must be fire" of "better safe than sorry" are fraught with their own dangers when it comes to employment. A risk-averse mindset in hiring leads to disqualification due to criminal arrests or convictions (which is so bad for job-seekers it's banned in California), and that disproportionately hurts minorities. It privileges those who have the money, connections, power to defend themselves and hurts those that don't. In the workplace, a take-no-chances policy gives power to accusers and can lead to firing talent over minor issues.
The proper mindset is to prioritize fairness and proportionality in adjudicating workplace conflict. Take in all the facts and assess fairly, but do not bias toward an outcome before making any decision.
September 29th, 2022 at 12:46 PM ^
That may work for low profile positions or companies, but for an employer on the scale of Michigan for a role as important as Head Hockey Coach, perception (which translates to reputation -> which translates to positive or negative media coverage) is a factor which has to be taken into account.
If you had two candidates for the position of University President and both had equally glowing credentials, experiences, and personalities but one had a DUI on their record and the other didn't, a school like Michigan has to pick the non-DUI candidate every time. There's simply too much risk to the institution. Say you hire the DUI candidate and a year later someone takes a picture at a fundraiser with the person holding a glass of wine. Even if it was only one glass consumed over 3 hours, some jackass on social media is going to post the picture with a comment about the DUI or drinking and driving. Then some jackass editor at the local newspaper is going to run it as a front page story. That doesn't happen with the non-DUI candidate.
I don't want to minimize your point about the impact on minorities which is very real. That systemic institutional issue needs to be addressed.
September 29th, 2022 at 5:31 AM ^
Wow. Great read. Thanks for sharing. Certainly casts a whole new light on things. Especially the “wasn’t truthful” part which turns out to be a different interpretation on whether someone is yelling versus raising their voice!
September 29th, 2022 at 6:58 AM ^
That's the problem though.
The wasn't truthful part was never addressed. There is no follow up by the author. The recording of the meeting that Mel denied multiple times is never brought up by the author.
Shields stuff, WH cleared Mel.
I think that the Mann stuff was not good, but Mel setting his culture in his way.
This is Mel finding a friendly author and telling his side. There is nothing new here though. And the biggest problem in the WH report, dishonesty, is never addressed.
I hope that Mel makes a few changes and does well in the future, but this does not read like a person who is accepting any responsibility.
September 29th, 2022 at 10:15 AM ^
It seems pretty clear Mel thinks he did no wrong which based off the report taking away any legal wrongdoing is reason enough to fire him
September 30th, 2022 at 3:29 PM ^
Definitely a good read and glad I got to hear his side of the story also. However I have always found in these situations there are three sides to every story, yours mine and the the cold hard truth. Anyone being interviewed will always put themselves in the best light.
I don’t know if he should’ve been fired but so believe he probably did handle some things poorly and the school felt there was enough there to fire him so I’ll stand by their decision
September 29th, 2022 at 5:45 AM ^
If I ever get stabbed in the back, I hope it’s not by a guy that I let live rent free in a room above my garage.
September 29th, 2022 at 10:18 AM ^
Agreed. I'd much rather have the guy living rent free in my basement do it.
September 29th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
Saying he gave him a place to live rent free leaves out the context that Pearson begged him to come take an unpaid volunteer job in the middle of nowhere.
September 29th, 2022 at 6:52 AM ^
I’m obviously a big M fan but I don’t consider myself some slappy nor do I live or die on the hockey program. I say all that because I don’t have much of an opinion on Mel - and it seemed clear to me reading the news from the report that much of the allegations were very subjective. I’m glad to see this side of the story and wonder if any of those calling for his head will change their tune.
in a highly subjective discussion, I always try to look for objective facts to back it up. I don’t think you can get more objective than this when looking at whether or not the culture is “toxic.”
Looking back on all that he did and all that was investigated and revealed, Pearson admits that he was not perfect, and there were areas where he could have done a better job with the people around him. But, for example, if the hockey program was as toxic as some claim, the fired coach wonders why all those NHL draft picks chose to go there rather than signing pro contracts. In this transfer portal era, Pearson had just one underclassman depart his program early. Josh Groll, a forward from San Diego, played two games for the Wolverines in 2020-21 then transferred to Minnesota State, skating in 40 games for the Mavericks last season.
September 29th, 2022 at 9:13 AM ^
There are plenty of examples of people staying in toxic situations despite being able to leave. Top consulting companies still get great talent despite long histories of overworked alcoholics tanking their marriages and families for the bottom line of their employers. Cults come to mind, too. People staying in a situation is not a reliable test of whether or not it’s toxic.
September 29th, 2022 at 12:04 PM ^
This person big fours!
September 29th, 2022 at 8:31 PM ^
Sounds like law firms to me
September 29th, 2022 at 9:15 AM ^
I imagine I care even less about the hockey program than you, and I won't read or listen to whatever this is, but that last paragraph sounds a lot like "well if she was getting so abused, why didn't she just leave him? Lots of fish in the sea." Or "if you hate it here so much, move to Canada." The number of out-transfers or early pro departures are data points, but they're not an objective indication of anything without asking the players why they stayed.
And the players have already been surveyed. It didn't look great.
September 29th, 2022 at 4:15 PM ^
Sure - I guess you can compare battered wife syndrom which has multiple deep-seated reasons (children, finances, psychological) that cause it to...whether or not a player transfers in today's climate where transfers are easier than ever.
Anyways, I am not saying it's the end all be all. It's all data points and if you're telling me there is a culture problem but there's literally no turnover then I am going to look at that skeptically.
September 29th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
A lot of the stuff is definitely subjective. One thing that was noted by somebody that has really resonated with me -- there has been a noticeable lack of people coming out publicly defending Mel.
He's a super successful coach who has coached hockey for 40 years. A bit shocking how little public support he's gotten.
September 30th, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
By that same token, on the flip side, why was there absolutely zero noise in defense of Mel or dissent at the firing when it became clear he was gone? No cryptic tweets about injustice or unfair treatment, nary a comment or even vague reference to the AD making a snap judgement or not having all the information, whatever.
All programs have some proportion of "bought in/with the program" people and some that are disenchanted/malcontented with the environment, and that can be anywhere from a few players who aren't getting/deserving playing time they way think, to a divided staff/locker room roughly 50/50 or one where everyone, or nearly everyone is checked out on a coach and while maybe not vehemently against them, are perfectly fine with them being ousted. It would "seem" that the last example is the case here, but admittedly that is almost purely conjecture based on team survey results, the absence of any negative response to the firing, the anecdotal info from people familiar with players/staff, and my own tea leaves.
Mel's view here that he really did nothing wrong is probably the same attitude that led to the persistence of the situations that got him canned, so I don't think anything was learned here. The "could have handled things better" take is still illustrative of a sort of "big deal, we could have fixed that and moved on" type of attitude, rather than realization that the leadership required would have been preventative in nature, and barring that at minimum an immediate response to rectify and issue and hold people accountable.
September 29th, 2022 at 7:41 AM ^
I am still not sure how to feel about every that went down. It definitely seems like a situation where it is best for everyone to move on. I don't think this was as bad as I feared and there's definitely some differences of interpretation.....but Mel wasn't going to get any slack after all of the other things that have gone on at Michigan that have come to light recently. Sadly, because Michigan didn't deal with those other situations properly they had to take more stern action here and a suspension wasn't really going to cut it.
Hopefully the program moves forward and keeps the momentum Mel started and hopefully he learns something from this and improves in his next role.
September 29th, 2022 at 7:52 AM ^
Could be wrong, but it seems like when you really wanted Warde to speak up forcefully--to renounce forever the kind of stuff that went on with Anderson under Bo--you did not get that. And when there was some pretty minor stuff that could have been corrected with stern warnings and (perhaps) monitoring, as with Mel, Warde senses that the lynch mob is out and fails to stand up for Mel.
I don't think I read this right at the time--it sounded like there was evidence Mel should go. If this account is true he was set up. Tolerating the abusive employee looks like his biggest screw up, and it sounds like the guy had played a kind of get things done enforcer role for quite some time. A lot of orgs have a guy like that, it's worth noting.
I am 100 percent a guy who believes that abuse should not be tolerated, but in an atmosphere where a whole lot of people are finally being called on the carpet, centuries of certain attitudes getting course-corrected, you have to acknowledge that not every call is going to be right. America likes its lynch mobs; we're not the only ones, but we have got a problem with that.
September 29th, 2022 at 7:53 AM ^
I'm glad Mel got to tell his side of the story. The firing seemed inappropriate to me, just based on the report itself and the fact that it cleared him of the most serious charges.
September 29th, 2022 at 8:00 AM ^
But Brian told us to hate him, it was very clear that he was a very bad person who needed to go based on Brian‘s expert understanding of the legal report.
September 29th, 2022 at 8:15 AM ^
Did anyone else find it odd that the people that write for this blog were absolutely adamant Juwan shouldn’t get fired for his transgressions but were completely the opposite for Mel?
I understand the circumstances aren’t the same but at the end of the day you have proof of a coach acting inappropriately either in public or with respect to matters that became public and yet the reaction was a complete 180.
September 29th, 2022 at 9:19 AM ^
Not even a little surprised, no. Completely different situations and contexts. It's sort of disingenuous to even suggest it, tbh.
Juwan's transgression(s?) include defending players and striking an opposing coach once. Mel's include a pattern of abusing or refusing to protect players and people in his own program.
September 29th, 2022 at 9:38 AM ^
I duno. I still feel he should have been fired for that one transgression. Not to compare to Mel, part of a hockey program that I passively follow because its from my alma mater, but Juwan's smack - TO ME - was grounds for dismissal. I was disappointed that they did not fire him and it will follow him and the school and the team for as long as he is coach here.
He's clearly a friendly guy, and has many admirable qualities, but anger just beneath the surface seems to be coupled in with it..
I'm not saying I wouldn't have done what he did, or more. Just saying, I expect more from those who represent the school in any capacity.
But that's not what we're talking about, so disregard. But, this comment made me recall my sentiments at the time, and after a solid 30-60 seconds more of thought, I still feel like it was best to move on from Juwan, despite his entrenched stature on campus and his celebrity off.
September 29th, 2022 at 9:46 AM ^
How am I being insincere or disingenuous? Juwan did something that 99% of people working a 9-5 get fired for and their reaction was ‘meh’.
Mel did enough bad things over a period of time that the university deemed severe enough to find job termination as the appropriate consequence. I’m not debating whether that was right or wrong.
I guess I don’t know how you can defend one and not the other but maybe I’m missing the boat on this.
September 29th, 2022 at 11:56 AM ^
Why don't you just come out and say you think Mel was fired because he's white and Juwan wasn't because he's black and that Brian, etc. went easy on him because of that? It's clearly what you're insinuating, so why are you so scared to say it and playing coy?
FWIW, I think the argument is bullshit, but I just don't get why you types are so afraid to come out and actually say what you're thinking?
September 29th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
It's clearly what you're insinuating, so why are you so scared to say it and playing coy?
FWIW, I think the argument is bullshit, but I just don't get why you types are so afraid to come out and actually say what you're thinking?
the only time race entered my mind in reading this was after scrolling down and read your comment.
i think the only thing clear in this back and forth is you never skipped leg day because the monumental jump to conclusions you just performed was incredible.
you just literally made up something in your head, then got all bent out of shape and judgmental over the things you made up in your head, then judged someone else (you types?!?) because of your imagination.
I guarantee you don't know him personally (neither do I) so how in the hell can you know his "type"? that was just an ignorant sentence that says way more about you than what you think you were pointing out about him.
maybe be less judgmental and stop generalizing people's views on race based on a simple question.
September 29th, 2022 at 1:12 PM ^
Yea, not really sure what else folks are supposed to take away from the comment when this is what he chose to lead with knowing the left-leaning political inclinations of Brian, Seth, and others "who write for this blog" and tried to argue against the clear distinctions between the two situations (Juwan being a little hot-headed but taking responsiblilty for his actions and taking the suspension in stride and being an otherwise loved coach and alum versus Mel keeping a toxic culture and lying to investigators):
"Did anyone else find it odd that the people that write for this blog were absolutely adamant Juwan shouldn’t get fired for his transgressions but were completely the opposite for Mel?"
It doesn't take much to read between the lines.
September 29th, 2022 at 1:53 PM ^
your entire response to me is purely based on assumptions you made of another person you don't know based on a single comment.
he didn't argue about anything. so again you're making things up in your head and then stating other people actually did what you imagined. all he did was said it was odd. most people on this very blog though juwan was gone. most people thought mel wasn't. in fact, in reading this thread, there are a ton of people who thought this very same thing. i guess all of them are racist?
I don't "read between lines" because i read words as they are written. i do not make up stories or backgrounds or beliefs of people i've never met, or pretend to know what is "really being said." i tend to go off of what was ACTUALLY said.
not really sure what else folks are supposed to take away from the comment
you seem to like to pretend to know what people are "really trying to say" without knowing anything about them, or the intentions behind their comment. maybe just try reading what they actually said and take it at face value. what i took away from it was that he thought it was odd. lots of others do too.
I still don't get how you took a simple question and went from "racist" to now "politics of Brian/Seth."
people like you are why there is no civil discourse anymore. someone asks a question and knowing nothing about them you've already labeled them racist and right-wing (and probably 9 other things), even though there is nothing they typed that even remotely hints at that, besides the "between the lines" stuff you made up in your head based on your own biased assumptions. get over yourself.
September 29th, 2022 at 12:22 PM ^
Blue 89
It's clearly what you're insinuating…
I didn’t see it that way. But I don’t look at Juwan as black before anything else. Maybe it says more about YOU?
September 29th, 2022 at 1:08 PM ^
yo man this is so colorblind erasure bullshit, c'mon.
September 29th, 2022 at 12:29 PM ^
How in the hell am I supposed to know why Brian and Seth felt one way about Juwan and another about Mel? They have never commented on it that I can recall. I said it was “odd” and I 100% stand by.
I don’t know Brian and Seth but I’ve read this blog for roughly 12 years and they usually have a pretty defensive stance towards players/coaches/administrators at Michigan until things reach critical mass and I would expect that from anyone running a pro-Michigan website. Given that, I was genuinely surprised they seemed adamant that Mel should be canned after they defended Juwan but acknowledged what he did was wrong.
If you do want my opinion, I feel that if you didn’t want Juwan fired you shouldn’t have wanted Mel fired. End of story. You’re attempting to find a narrative in my post that doesn’t exist and is completely off-base for a self-serving reason.
Both situations involve a coach acting highly inappropriate in the scope of their job. I’ll just ask you this: If you berated one of your staff members and were constantly abusive to them at your place of employment would you expect to keep your job? How about it you slapped someone from another department?
Explain to me how one of those gets you fired and one doesn’t. That’s the only point I’m making here.
September 29th, 2022 at 1:15 PM ^
i think the big difference is with juwan, if a player during a game goes to slap a guy (head claw?), he gets a flagrant 2, and gets thrown out of the game. no big deal.
if a coach does it, he needs to be fired?
abusive behavior by the head of a program - apples and oranges, my dude.
and to be fair - if harbaugh tackles ryan day after the game this year, he should be fired. (and we should build him a statue immediately).
September 29th, 2022 at 1:26 PM ^
Should Woody have been fired for what he did?
September 29th, 2022 at 4:00 PM ^
yeah - that's fair.
i think the difference is that woody punched a player (who is not a peer) vs. juwan going after another coach (who is a peer).
if juwan had hit an opposing player, i'd say he should've been fired.
weirdly, i also feel like if an player hits an opposing coach, they need to be kicked off the team too.
i dunno - it's splitting hairs, despite the outcomes being very different.
September 29th, 2022 at 11:55 AM ^
Hey, personally I wish Juwan had hit him harder.
September 29th, 2022 at 9:24 AM ^
Same. It was obvious what this was from the beginning and that the truth would all come out in the end. It was just so obviously vindictive retribution and it’s still stunning to me how many can’t (or don’t want to) see that. If there is any one anecdote that sums up this whole thing, it’s this:
”After his firing was revealed, Pearson was told that a Michigan staffer who had clashed with the coach in the past showed up at the home of several Wolverines hockey players – at least one of whom was underage – with alcohol. When they opened the door, the staffer said, “We got the motherf–ker. Let’s party!”“
And that person still works for Michigan. How this whole thing was handled is why I’m done with Michigan hockey.
September 29th, 2022 at 9:38 AM ^
One anecdote, completely uncorroborated, from a known liar.
September 29th, 2022 at 10:01 AM ^
Oh it's true...she was promptly asked to leave and the players reported it.
September 30th, 2022 at 11:48 AM ^
Who is this person?
September 29th, 2022 at 1:02 PM ^
So where is literally anyone coming to his defense then? At any point during this whole thing?
September 29th, 2022 at 7:58 AM ^
He makes a lot of coherent arguments, particularly his ability to recruit and retain top talent who could go anywhere they wanted. There are two sides to every story, and it was nice to hear his. I wish him well in the future. Looking forward to watching another outstanding Michigan hockey team with new leadership, too.
September 29th, 2022 at 8:00 AM ^
It's strange how this reporter never asks about the lying caught on tape.
September 29th, 2022 at 9:09 AM ^
This really says it all. Why should we care about Mel’s side when we know he’s a liar? Why would anybody, as many commenters here seem eager to do, uncritically accept what he has to say as factual when we know he’s a liar?
September 29th, 2022 at 9:40 AM ^
AGREE
October 1st, 2022 at 8:08 AM ^
What did they expect he was going to say?
September 29th, 2022 at 8:19 AM ^
as they say, there's two sides to every story and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle