Football Team's letter to Griz Nation

[Mineral Griz]

My family (12 in all) will be at the Spring Game........WE love the GRIZ......We have our season
tickets........We are GRIZ NATION.........

GO GRIZ

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

 

[kcjc69]

We understand and accept the fact that a few of our teammates' actions, whether intended and deserved or not, have contributed to this unfortunate situation. Whether or not true, regardless of obvious motivations and despite the facts, or lack of them, we have learned that the rules in today's public arena are about perception and expediency.

Yet they still couldn't help but get in a passive-aggressive wank. The program is dirty under any circumstances in any era. This does not help your cause.

And so is society as a whole to include every other non-athlete on campus. These young men showed more class today than any of their "mentoring" adults to include faculty has shown in this whole fiasco in the last two days!

 

[Oldgriz72]

We understand and accept the fact that a few of our teammates' actions, whether intended and deserved or not, have contributed to this unfortunate situation. Whether or not true, regardless of obvious motivations and despite the facts, or lack of them, we have learned that the rules in today's public arena are about perception and expediency.

Yet they still couldn't help but get in a passive-aggressive wank. The program is dirty under any circumstances in any era. This does not help your cause.

You are a bitter sad person. I feel sorry for you. You were obviously never in an athletic program or just upset with your life in general. I know these kids and respect what they said. At least they said something.

 

[EverettGriz]

Terrific letter from a great group of men.

We are proud you are GRIZZLES!

 

[Bay Area Cat]

We understand and accept the fact that a few of our teammates' actions, whether intended and deserved or not, have contributed to this unfortunate situation. Whether or not true, regardless of obvious motivations and despite the facts, or lack of them, we have learned that the rules in today's public arena are about perception and expediency.

Yet they still couldn't help but get in a passive-aggressive wank. The program is dirty under any circumstances in any era. This does not help your cause.

Agreed. Inside the bubble that is a football team and its rabid fanbase, these words might not sound like anything to worry about, but in terms of playing a PR game for the entire community, this isn't good stuff to have in there.

It's unfortunate that there wasn't someone who could have reviewed that and just had them cut that one section out. Absent that section, it's a great letter. With that section, it will probably just stir up more trouble within the community.

I should stress that my "agreed" comment related only to the last sentence in the preceding post. I don't want to touch the rest of it.

 

[grizcountry420]

We understand and accept the fact that a few of our teammates' actions, whether intended and deserved or not, have contributed to this unfortunate situation. Whether or not true, regardless of obvious motivations and despite the facts, or lack of them, we have learned that the rules in today's public arena are about perception and expediency.

Yet they still couldn't help but get in a passive-aggressive wank. The program is dirty under any circumstances in any era. This does not help your cause.

says the passive-aggressive wank...

 

[Dannyboy03867]

We understand and accept the fact that a few of our teammates' actions, whether intended and deserved or not, have contributed to this unfortunate situation. Whether or not true, regardless of obvious motivations and despite the facts, or lack of them, we have learned that the rules in today's public arena are about perception and expediency.

Yet they still couldn't help but get in a passive-aggressive wank. The program is dirty under any circumstances in any era. This does not help your cause.

says the passive-aggressive wank...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[MooUBaby]

Funny how everybody thinks that all these players are classy and great gentlemen. A majority of them are I would say probably 90% of them are, but remember the kids are the ones who have put O'day and Pflugrad out of a job, and into the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Maybe take this letter with a grain of salt, considering the fact that if the players would have acted right in the first place all of this could have been avoided.

 

[Dannyboy03867]

Funny how everybody thinks that all these players are classy and great gentlemen. A majority of them are I would say probably 90% of them are, but remember the kids are the ones who have put O'day and Pflugrad out of a job, and into the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Maybe take this letter with a grain of salt, considering the fact that if the players would have acted right in the first place all of this could have been avoided.

Your dumb!! I don't think that is what anyone is s :roll: aying.....

 

[Bay Area Cat]

To be brutally honest, a letter from the team in the midst of all of this that would fall into the "classy" category in my mind (and my opinion probably is reflective of a vast majority of people) would be one in which the players proactively spoke out against sexual assault and/or placed the emphasis of their concern on the well-being of victims of sexual assault. Or maybe one where they acknowledged the problems the team has had off-the-field and pledged to "be their brother's keeper" going-forward to police each other in order to prevent players from getting into trouble among their own ranks in the future. In other words, a classy letter would be one that admits fault and pledges to be proactive in making things right.

Instead, this letter seems to be primarily a plea for support from their fanbase for their on-field activities, along with a (as it has been described) passive-aggressive section in the middle where they seem to play the victim and take no real responsibility for actions they as a team collectively have taken that led to their coach and AD being fired.

I'm reading this letter as a MSU alum and as if this letter had come from our MSU team right after Kramer was fired, and this is how I would have responded then, so it's how I read it now.

 

[bigtyme]

We understand and accept the fact that a few of our teammates' actions, whether intended and deserved or not, have contributed to this unfortunate situation. Whether or not true, regardless of obvious motivations and despite the facts, or lack of them, we have learned that the rules in today's public arena are about perception and expediency.

Yet they still couldn't help but get in a passive-aggressive wank. The program is dirty under any circumstances in any era. This does not help your cause.

Agreed. Inside the bubble that is a football team and its rabid fanbase, these words might not sound like anything to worry about, but in terms of playing a PR game for the entire community, this isn't good stuff to have in there.

It's unfortunate that there wasn't someone who could have reviewed that and just had them cut that one section out. Absent that section, it's a great letter. With that section, it will probably just stir up more trouble within the community.

That's BS! They have the right to add anything they want in the letter that THEY write. They don't need some stinkin' lawyer or PR person to tell them they shouldn't write something. It is true to them and true to thousands of people that support the Griz. So leave the tally wanking politically correct garbage at the door and say what you feel.

 

[Bay Area Cat]

That's BS! They have the right to add anything they want in the letter that THEY write. They don't need some stinkin' lawyer or PR person to tell them they shouldn't write something. It is true to them and true to thousands of people that support the Griz. So leave the tally wanking politically correct garbage at the door and say what you feel.

I totally agree that they have the RIGHT to say whatever they want to say.

I'm saying that, for an organization that's on pretty thin ice, perhaps it wasn't best thing to say (and that perhaps it WOULD be good to have an eye on the PR of any public statements coming from the team).

Like it or not, public perception is a pretty big deal and has a huge impact on the fates of football programs at any public university, but particularly at MSU and UM in the last decade.

Any person in a high profile position or any business owner has moments in their life where they would LOVE to make a public statement that expressed their frustration or anger about something, but it's quite rare that going through with an honest expression of those emotions is a good idea. At the end of the day, it's almost always the best path to edit and edit and edit and edit until they have a nice diplomatic statement that doesn't have the opportunity to upset decision-makers/consumers upon which they rely.

 

[Gaeilge1]

I couldn't disagree with you more Bay Area! While I appreciate the spirit in which your comments were made the fact of the matter is that not one single player has been convicted of the allegations that have been leveled at these young men. Only one has been arrested and he has pled not guilty.

Given the nature of the situation how can you expect a team letter to state anything more than this one does? The point they are trying to make is one of solidarity, not throwing one another under the bus. In today's age, anything you say or do may be used against you not only in a court of law but also in the court of public opinion.

I, for one, applaud this letter and complement the team for both a speedy and obviously heartfelt response to what has to be a very difficult situation for them right now. I do not recall the MSU team acting in this sort of solidarity when Coach Kramer was terminated under somewhat similar circumstances. But the University community at MSU rallied and bonded and Bobcat Football is in it's best shape in 40 years, which I also applaud.

Incidentally, I believed that MSU was wrong in that instance and unless more evidence to support Engstrom's actions becomes available I believe that UM is wrong in this situation.

 

[argh!]

oh, there's more evidence alright. oh well.

 

[Bay Area Cat]

To that point, I suspect the days of assuming that just because somebody has not yet been convicted of a crime that nobody has done anything wrong have come to an end at UM. This seems to be one of the message implied in the firings.

 

[stubbins]

I couldn't disagree with you more Bay Area! While I appreciate the spirit in which your comments were made the fact of the matter is that not one single player has been convicted of the allegations that have been leveled at these young men. Only one has been arrested and he has pled not guilty.

Given the nature of the situation how can you expect a team letter to state anything more than this one does? The point they are trying to make is one of solidarity, not throwing one another under the bus. In today's age, anything you say or do may be used against you not only in a court of law but also in the court of public opinion.

I, for one, applaud this letter and complement the team for both a speedy and obviously heartfelt response to what has to be a very difficult situation for them right now. I do not recall the MSU team acting in this sort of solidarity when Coach Kramer was terminated under somewhat similar circumstances. But the University community at MSU rallied and bonded and Bobcat Football is in it's best shape in 40 years, which I also applaud.

Incidentally, I believed that MSU was wrong in that instance and unless more evidence to support Engstrom's actions becomes available I believe that UM is wrong in this situation.

:clap: :clap: :clap:
I dont' think the team letter went far enough in condemning the actions of the knee-jerk and guilty before trial crowd. It would've been nice if they would've added a big fat fuck you.

 

[Bay Area Cat]

I do not recall the MSU team acting in this sort of solidarity when Coach Kramer was terminated under somewhat similar circumstances.

Well, they did, obviously, but they didn't issue a public letter about it. Had they done so right after Kramer was fired, I'm sure it would not have helped things at all. The nerves would have been too raw for anything they had to say to have a positive impact on the situation.

 

[Copper Griz]

To be brutally honest, a letter from the team in the midst of all of this that would fall into the "classy" category in my mind (and my opinion probably is reflective of a vast majority of people) would be one in which the players proactively spoke out against sexual assault and/or placed the emphasis of their concern on the well-being of victims of sexual assault. Or maybe one where they acknowledged the problems the team has had off-the-field and pledged to "be their brother's keeper" going-forward to police each other in order to prevent players from getting into trouble among their own ranks in the future. In other words, a classy letter would be one that admits fault and pledges to be proactive in making things right.

Instead, this letter seems to be primarily a plea for support from their fanbase for their on-field activities, along with a (as it has been described) passive-aggressive section in the middle where they seem to play the victim and take no real responsibility for actions they as a team collectively have taken that led to their coach and AD being fired.

I'm reading this letter as a MSU alum and as if this letter had come from our MSU team right after Kramer was fired, and this is how I would have responded then, so it's how I read it now.

I think you are not accounting for the emotional element of this and the fact that young men feel betrayed by the administration. This could have been handled much better by Royce and the administration. When you leave kids in the dark pertaining to why their coach was fired - they are going to be frustrated. To compound the problem, many of these kids know details related to some of the allegations and charges filed against their fellow players. Stuff the rest of us have no idea about. I think this letter was pretty well written considering the emotionally charged atmosphere. I support the team, these kids, their parents, and Griz Nation!

 

[EverettGriz]

It's a letter from a college football team. Seems to me that their understanding that things must be done the right way both on and off the field is rather implicit in the letter. Why anyone would suggest they need to delve into greater detail escapes me.

 

[Bay Area Cat]

I think you are not accounting for the emotional element of this and the fact that young men feel betrayed by the administration. This could have been handled much better by Royce and the administration. When you leave kids in the dark pertaining to why their coach was fired - they are going to be frustrated. To compound the problem, many of these kids know details related to some of the allegations and charges filed against their fellow players. Stuff the rest of us have no idea about. I think this letter was pretty well written considering the emotionally charged atmosphere. I support the team, these kids, their parents, and Griz Nation!

You make excellent points, and I agree with everything you said (except the Royce part ... I really have no idea how else he could have handled it).

I'm just saying that the letter would have been much better had they removed that one section. But I do understand that they section was their emotions speaking, and it looks like they tried to word it as well as they could to mask their emotions, but they still come through. But at the end of the day, it would have been ideal, for PR purposes (which are absolutely important right now), if they had just decided to cut out that whole bit of emotion.