December 5th, 2022 at 6:17 PM ^
Here it is from a low level AD guy at U of M. This is his/their point of view:
Harbaugh/U of M medical wanted All to “work through” and rehab his injury and All did that for a while. Then he decided to get another opinion. He came back to U of M medical with that opinion and insisted he have surgery. U of M staff disagreed but All insisted so they offered some other people for All to reach out to for other opinions. Including some surgeons. All then opted to go to this place in Florida to have a surgery done against Harbaugh/U of M medical/U of M staffs wishes. All assumed because him and Harbaugh are close that Harbaugh would go to bat for him and get him cleared after the surgery. U of M medical told him if he went out of network there was a strong likelihood they wouldn’t clear him to play for U of M after. Again, he assumed his great relationship with Harbaugh would come into play and Harbaugh would get him cleared. Harbaugh didn’t want to address until after the season. Now that the regular season is over they had a discussion and Harbaugh essentially told him he doesn’t have control over U of M clearing him medically.
Essentially he shouldn’t have gone out of network to the place he did to get his surgery. They don’t feel the place he went was up to par basically. U of M medical now won’t clear him and All feels like Harbaugh turned his back on him because Harbaugh will not help him get cleared. U of M medical has made it clear he will not be allowed to play for the U of M and there is essentially nothing Harbaugh can do. All thought him being close to Harbaugh would change that somehow and he would get special treatment after explicitly not listening to anyone on the U of M staff. Its not even that he couldn’t get surgery, it’s that he went to a non-reputable place to have it done and they don’t feel comfortable with what went down so they won’t clear him for fear of him getting hurt worse.
There you go. I would guess Seth or Brian can verify this because it came directly from a guy in the AD.
December 5th, 2022 at 6:23 PM ^
If true, that sucks but I wouldn't classify it as a scandal.
Hope he remains healthy and has a good career.
December 5th, 2022 at 6:47 PM ^
Seemingly, he would have to get clearance at another school too. And those with quality medical staffs/systems may not take a chance. Seems like a strange decision by a young man. UM medical professionals or a spine shop?
December 5th, 2022 at 8:13 PM ^
Putting the medical issue aside for the moment, EA Jr and Sr have to know that Harbaugh is an employee of the University with no subject matter expert in medical issues, thus would have next to no pull on these matters. Right?
Having said that, the UM medical staff are not infallible. Justin Fargas could attest to that.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:13 PM ^
WTF is Harbaugh supposed to do? It's a liability issue for him at this point.
The really shady part of all this would be Iowa just saying, "yeah you're good come play with us," despite UMHS's unwillingness to deem him safe to play
December 5th, 2022 at 10:58 PM ^
That's what Minnesota did with St Juste
December 5th, 2022 at 10:58 PM ^
So … assuming this is on the up n’ up … why was All so adamant to go against UM doctors direction? Placing your future in … relationships, pulling strings, etc. is a stupid ass way to go through life. Rules are rules. Period. Gonna go to the NFL? Ya better get use to them.
December 6th, 2022 at 6:32 AM ^
Yeah I don’t really understand the pot shots. Whatever team, if he gets drafted is gonna make this drama an issue as to why they should take a chance. His dad out there tweeting like a jilted high schooler isn’t a good look either. I raised a D1 athlete and it was tough to bite my dam tongue at times but it was always the best thing to do. In this case it looks like the Apple didn’t fall far from the tree and I’m completely shocked. All had a huge case of the dropsies and Harbaugh and Co stuck with him and developed him into a day 2 draft guy. Show some respect or at least a little self control for god sakes.
December 6th, 2022 at 5:06 PM ^
The surgeons who founded this Doc in the box chain, Biospine Institute have medical degrees from Nova Southeastern University, ranked 94 out of 125 so its not exactly a revered institution of higher learning in the medical field.
The interesting note to me is that both founders have ties to the state of Michigan, both did fellowships or internship in MI, one at St Joseph Mercy in AA. Probable a coincidence but I wonder how All ended up at this place of business. How this for profit chain of spinal centers convinced the All's that they had better medical info than one of the most respected and highly ranked medical facilities in the world.
Snakeoil anyone?
December 7th, 2022 at 12:19 AM ^
You'd think students would read the historical archives to understand what happens when coaches mess around with things that Medical should be taking care of.
December 5th, 2022 at 6:59 PM ^
Now his dad is out there tweeting nonsense and getting in fights with Twitter fans. I expect an emotional and immature response from a 20 something year old. His dad doing it is kind of embarrassing.
December 5th, 2022 at 7:11 PM ^
It's so weird how this went from Harbaugh saying he would take in All's child if need be - Donovan Edwards even mentioned it in the post game press conference - to All leaving within a short time. I wondered why EA went to Florida to get his surgery when I saw his tweet. I mean, I know they must have great surgeons in Michigan, right? But then I figured he must have been sent there by U-M because it was a great place for back surgery. Now it makes sense. Anyway, I hope he isn't saying that Harbaugh doesn't have his players' backs - not everything/everyone are what they seem - because Harbaugh can't overrule doctors. It's not like JH didn't want him on the team!
December 5th, 2022 at 7:49 PM ^
Why the fuck would someone go get back surgery at some rent-a-surgeon shop in Florida when you have free access to world-class surgeons at UM? That’s just wildly stupid if true.
December 5th, 2022 at 8:03 PM ^
For the same reason some people think that holistic care will cure cancer: The Internet.
I’m guessing that EA’s dad or mom or some one in his circle did a whole bunch of “research” on what procedure/course of treatment would best ensure EA’s football success (read: earning potential) long term - and was persuaded to take a medical course of action against the University of Michigan’s advice.
The more that EA’s dad is going to war in the twitter comments about the lack of future EA would have had if he went with UM doctors seems to corroborate this.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
This x 100%. People get very anxious about scary health news and will very often look for treatment options that allow for them to maintain their beliefs and preferences ("I don't like the bad news that the first three doctors have told me from Harvard, Hopkins, and Stanford, but Dr. Nick and his online degree and overseas clinic say that peach pit extract will cure my cancer so I'm gonna go with him..."). The internet and patient fear drive a lot of that.
December 5th, 2022 at 8:19 PM ^
I would assume UM Drs wanted him to PT his injury and if that failed to produce results then surgery would be an option. However, it would appear for whatever reason, that schedule of events wasn't to the liking of EA Sr and Jr.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:22 AM ^
My son got Tommy John from Kremchek, (Cincinnati reds) team doc and one of the best in the country. I could have saved a shit ton by going to a local ortho, but you always want the best. My daughter will be working at U of M health soon because in her opinion “they’re the best”. Sounds like Mr All and Eric didn’t like what was being said and I get it. I didn’t like what Kremchek told us either.
December 5th, 2022 at 9:15 PM ^
Cryptic tweet surprising. All was a Michigan hero and deserves to remain one. A great player and a great wolverine. Circumstances only he understands but the Michigan fan base wishes this Michigan man nothing but success.
December 5th, 2022 at 10:32 PM ^
All this detective work...
Maybe he's just too Team Cade?
Maybe he doesn't want to earn his spot back?
Maybe he had a difference of opinion with UMHS and can't get medically cleared?
Maybe he really likes corn?
Silly MGoBlog, the real answer is easy.
Erick All just wants to be coordinated by Brian Ferentz.
December 5th, 2022 at 11:22 PM ^
Good luck to All, wish him well. A football team has 100+ kids whether your record is 13-0 11-1 6-6 or whatever there is no way you can keep everybody happy.
December 6th, 2022 at 10:05 AM ^
I really wish we could just lock this thread with that last post. Simple and on point. Every program has situations such as this, doesnt matter if it's a top ten or bottom ten. 100's of kids go through the programs each year, each with varying degrees of ego, pride, confidence and narcissism etc. and each with parents also driven by those factors.
I am really disappointed the All's would feel this way but I'm sure that in their world, in their minds/hearts they feel justified. I would bet that over time they will be able to eliminate the emotion attached to this decision and see things more clearly.
December 6th, 2022 at 9:52 AM ^
Hard to know if the Alls are making the smart decision or not. If this is a ruptured disc and they decided to go with surgery to speed up the recovery, that is probably a stupid decision. Ruptured discs will heal on their own in about 6 mos. You just have to manage inflammation and pain and the body will eliminate the part of the disc that has ruptured and is pressing on the nerves in the spine. Surgery to have a doctor remove the part of the disc that is ruptured is a bit faster, but there can be so many complications and problems that can arise from surgery and recovery from surgery that the couple months you save is not really worth the risk. If this is the situation, it borders on reckless that the Alls would go the surgical route.
I am speculating that it is a disc issue. I suppose it could be a fractured vertebra. If that were the case I don't think UM would be telling All to just do PT rehab to get ready to play D1 football again. But who knows. Back surgery is very risky and the success rate is not super high, so it would be understandable that UM would be conservative in it's reco no matter what the nature of the injury was.
So there is probably some liability concern and CYA on the university's part, along with just a philosophical approach about what is best for Erick's health in the long run that obviously is frustrating the Alls. It's too bad that this seems to smack of a dad worried about missing out on a pay day from his son, and he is willing to put the pay day ahead of his son's long term health.
December 6th, 2022 at 2:02 PM ^
I think this is the best estimation of what happened that I've seen on this whole thread. If this is the story, though, I still ask: Why does UMHS deem All's back surgery such a liability that he can't be cleared to play but Iowa is ready to suit him up?
December 6th, 2022 at 3:13 PM ^
December 7th, 2022 at 8:12 AM ^
Again, that does not explain why Iowa would take the chance, which was really the question you replied to.
December 7th, 2022 at 12:43 PM ^
I don't really know, few possible reasons:
1. Iowa legal team may be generally less risk averse.
2. The fact that the original injury didn't happen while All was playing for Iowa indemnifies them to a bigger degree than it does Michigan.
3. Iowa is more desperate for help on offense than Michigan, so they are being more aggressive in clearing players.
December 7th, 2022 at 12:26 AM ^
Now what school had Rhabdogate, again??
December 6th, 2022 at 11:39 AM ^
Things are getting spicy again this morning. Schoonmaker tweeted a video of Sainristil embracing Harbaugh after the Ohio State game and defended Harbaugh and the team culture. JJ McCarthy replied "that's my captain" and a handful of folks are retweeting them such as Sherrone Moore, Will Johnson, and Sam Webb