Williams: UM has recruited 'thugs' for football team

[Gaeilge1]

I have defended Pat Williams on this board before. I will not do so again. I have to assume that this story was initiated because of the JJ trial. I also assume that the reporter's questions were geared toward this trial. This leads me to conclude that Pat Williams feels that Jordan Johnson fits the description of a thug. To my knowledge there is absolutely no evidence to support that JJ had ever had any infractions or incidents to support this conclusion in the past. For a person in his position to infer as the quote appears to that the recruitment of thugs is policy is outrageous. Whether it violates statute I do not know. It should certainly violate some code of ethics with regard to his position on the BOR.

As for Milt's comments, while probably not the best thing to say, I viewed them simply as a defense attorney still defending his client even though the case is over barring appeal of the sentence if one comes. It has to be noted that Donaldson was never tried and convicted, he pled guilty. Further, Milt is not in the same position to defame the University that Pat Williams is in his current position.

The proper thing for Williams to do would be to resign his post on the BOR, but I don't see that happening.

 

[Allezchat]

We should handle this like BH handled player misconduct...First, he stays on the BOR until he goes to a trial, and is proven guilty, if he is proven guilty. I have it on good authority he may have been misquoted. :roll:
Then if he is not proven guilty or if it he is never charged, we will make him run the M a few times, and then we will stand by him publicly or just say that its been handled internally. :thumb:

Hey its the way you guys all went with for the players...what's good for the goose....

He shouldn't have made the comment.

 

[MNGriz04]

While I don't like the comments by PW and I think it paints a broad brush, I know better than to believe they are false. The comment "I don't think a problem exists" by MD is ludicrious. And finally this comment on e-Griz: "If he worked for most corporations he would be met at the door this morning with an empty box and a security guard." is part of the problem. There have many people working for corporations who have been fired to only find out later that what they were saying was spot on and would have prevented catastrophe and/or deaths. These heroes spoke out in the face of ardent opposition and berating by those basking in the largesses. Many of these heroes were working at high levels in places like Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and other financial firms on Wall Street. If somebody would have stopped to think and dig deeper, it might have been possible to prevent the economic collapse which started in 2006.

That same mindset is evident here. Whenever someone starts to attack our beloved Griz we start circling the wagons and begin a circular firing squad rather than keeping our emotions in check and hearing people out. Hopefully someone is taking a critical look at the behavior of all students at the University of Montana and that includes athletes. Hopefully someone is willing to make the unpopular decisions which improve what has happened. Like I have said before, this stuff has been going on for a long time and it is time for our University of Montana to finally own up, admit the mistakes, work to improve and prevent these things from happening in the future. A good place to start is to stop referring to women as "whores", "sluts", and "skanks". Of course, for some people that would take half of the words out of their vocabulary.

 

[AllWeatherFan]

Pat Williams is an individual board member who has no power. Don't give him any.

 

[getgrizzy]

Once again eGriz hates the truth when it punches them in the mouth.

Please tell me that ALL of you deep down know your wrong or you are a bigger bunch of idiots than I thought.



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[EverettGriz]

Pat Williams is an individual board member who has no power. Don't give him any.

Unfortunately (in this case at least), each Regent -- due largely to the small size of the Board -- has a great deal of power.

 

[Grisly Fan]

In rough terms, Pat Williams serves the same role as a member of a Board of Directors for a company. I cannot imagine ANY BoD member EVER saying to the press "our company hires thugs and it simply has to stop". No one in their right mind would want to air that kind of dirty laundry or open themselves up to the liability that could result. If they did then you could measure their remaining tenure with an egg timer. No one is suggesting anyone sweep stuff under the rug but to continually harp on it in public that now pretty much all the facts are known and being addressed is reprehensible. PW is a "Florio-up".

 

[Allezchat]

While I don't like the comments by PW and I think it paints a broad brush, I know better than to believe they are false. The comment "I don't think a problem exists" by MD is ludicrious. And finally this comment on e-Griz: "If he worked for most corporations he would be met at the door this morning with an empty box and a security guard." is part of the problem. There have many people working for corporations who have been fired to only find out later that what they were saying was spot on and would have prevented catastrophe and/or deaths. These heroes spoke out in the face of ardent opposition and berating by those basking in the largesses. Many of these heroes were working at high levels in places like Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and other financial firms on Wall Street. If somebody would have stopped to think and dig deeper, it might have been possible to prevent the economic collapse which started in 2006.

That same mindset is evident here. Whenever someone starts to attack our beloved Griz we start circling the wagons and begin a circular firing squad rather than keeping our emotions in check and hearing people out. Hopefully someone is taking a critical look at the behavior of all students at the University of Montana and that includes athletes. Hopefully someone is willing to make the unpopular decisions which improve what has happened. Like I have said before, this stuff has been going on for a long time and it is time for our University of Montana to finally own up, admit the mistakes, work to improve and prevent these things from happening in the future. A good place to start is to stop referring to women as "whores", "sluts", and "skanks". Of course, for some people that would take half of the words out of their vocabulary.

:thumb:

Good post. Almost every griz fan I know, outside of egriz, feels this exact same way.

 

[AllWeatherFan]

Pat Williams is an individual board member who has no power. Don't give him any.

Unfortunately (in this case at least), each Regent -- due largely to the small size of the Board -- has a great deal of power.

I gotta disagree, Everett. Only the Board has power, not the individual members. So I repeat, who gives a rat's ass what Pat Williams says?

 

[ranco]

I gotta disagree, Everett. Only the Board has power, not the individual members. So I repeat, who gives a rat's ass what Pat Williams says?[/quote]


Because the dip sh#t has one vote. That's one to many to give to a neanderthal

 

[AllWeatherFan]

Right. So what I'm saying is, concentrate on the reasonable board members, not the loose cannon.

 

[BDizzle]

The problem isn't the idea of what he said (UM does need to get better about the recruiting of some athletes), it's how he said it (thugs), the context he used it in (right before JJs trial), and the forum he said it in (NYT).

 

[GrizLA]

As a NY Times subscriber, and UM alumnus, I was shocked and saddened to read this article and now that has turned to disgust with the entire administration of this once proud university. I just received the usual invite to a UM "meet and greet" with the the president of this university in Palm Springs...I threw it in the garbage. UM is no longer a part of my financial planning. I have never heard a Regent or equivalent in another university smear an entire program which has produced so many good young men and women to advance the the UM on an international level. Truly, this administration has insulted every alumni, every student athlete, and hurt the already tarnished reputation of this school....Montana has hit rock bottom...

 

[EverettGriz]

As a NY Times subscriber, and UM alumnus, I was shocked and saddened to read this article and now that has turned to disgust with the entire administration of this once proud university. I just received the usual invite to a UM "meet and greet" with the the president of this university in Palm Springs...I threw it in the garbage. UM is no longer a part of my financial planning. I have never heard a Regent or equivalent in another university smear an entire program which has produced so many good young men and women to advance the the UM on an international level. Truly, this administration has insulted every alumni, every student athlete, and hurt the already tarnished reputation of this school....Montana has hit rock bottom...

Ummm, you DO realize that the BOR's are not part of the UM Administration. Right??

 

[GrizLA]

As a NY Times subscriber, and UM alumnus, I was shocked and saddened to read this article and now that has turned to disgust with the entire administration of this once proud university. I just received the usual invite to a UM "meet and greet" with the the president of this university in Palm Springs...I threw it in the garbage. UM is no longer a part of my financial planning. I have never heard a Regent or equivalent in another university smear an entire program which has produced so many good young men and women to advance the the UM on an international level. Truly, this administration has insulted every alumni, every student athlete, and hurt the already tarnished reputation of this school....Montana has hit rock bottom...

Ummm, you DO realize that the BOR's are not part of the UM Administration. Right??

I did not know that but the connection most certainly is there to the administration which is not left to its own devices. If a university board of regents, whether at Stanford or UCLA, or USC ever muttered such mindless generalization of the university athletes, I can assure you, they would be replaced or impeached or sued. You can spin it anyway you like...the entire UM community has been painted by one stroke of the brush whether you accept that or not.

 

[Grizbeer]

There certainly is some truth to What Williams has said. However the problems have hardly been limited to athletes at the University. in the past few years UM students have been arrested for armed robbery of pharmacies, soliciting sex from a minor, selling sex with minors, murder, attempted murder, and of course the Saudi Student sexual assault. that is just off the top of my head, and of course I doesn't even include the standard minor stuff like DUI, MIP, assault, shoplifting, drugs, etc. It seems more accurate to say the University in general has been recruiting thugs, and that has to stop.

What I thought strange, though, is why the NYT didn't just run the AP article the Missoulian has generated on this subject of JJ trial? Jim Robbins is an environmental writer and blogger based in Helena who sometimes contributes environmental articles to the NYT. Why would he write an article on a rape trial in Missoula? My guess would be the NYT wasn't interested in the Missoulian articles because they were too bland, but getting a Regent to say the football team recruited thugs made it interesting enough for their readers.

Wonder if Williams contacted Robbins to write the article, or if Robbins contacted Williams? I suppose it doesn't matter, Williams got his point made in the National Press that UM's athletic department is a disgrace and Robbins got paid for writing an article. Symbiotic relationship between old friends.

 

[EverettGriz]

As a NY Times subscriber, and UM alumnus, I was shocked and saddened to read this article and now that has turned to disgust with the entire administration of this once proud university. I just received the usual invite to a UM "meet and greet" with the the president of this university in Palm Springs...I threw it in the garbage. UM is no longer a part of my financial planning. I have never heard a Regent or equivalent in another university smear an entire program which has produced so many good young men and women to advance the the UM on an international level. Truly, this administration has insulted every alumni, every student athlete, and hurt the already tarnished reputation of this school....Montana has hit rock bottom...

Ummm, you DO realize that the BOR's are not part of the UM Administration. Right??

I did not know that but the connection most certainly is there to the administration which is not left to its own devices. If a university board of regents, whether at Stanford or UCLA, or USC ever muttered such mindless generalization of the university athletes, I can assure you, they would be replaced or impeached or sued. You can spin it anyway you like...the entire UM community has been painted by one stroke of the brush whether you accept that or not.

Oh, I don't disagree with your point. Just don't paint UM's administration with the Williams' brush, because I'm certain they are as mortified by the comments as you and I.

 

[GrizFan2011]

The problem with the comment is that it focuses on just the football team. There have been very few instances with the team (I'm talking about the number of players charged with crimes versus the 100 or so football players). If the problem is out of the ordinary and just involved football players then so be it but it is NOT out of the ordinary and does NOT just involve FB. The alleged crimes and DUIs, etc. are all across the student population at UM and all Universities. There is no justice in Williams' comment because he puts the whole issue on the backs of the football team.

there is the flaw in your thinking, the problem isn't the number that have been charged, the problem is the number of crimes that were committed and swept under the rug so they were never charged, bobby must of had a cleanup team on speed-dial

Really? Can you give me a number on the crimes swept under the rug with football players versus the rest of the population? That is the comparison you should be making. And are we talking about just the University of Montana or should we also look at MSU and other Big Sky schools? Seems you're missing the point. The point is that the focus should not be so narrowly focused. Maybe we should be looking at the entire Montana college system and see where U of M fits into the picture.

 

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

The problem with the comment is that it focuses on just the football team. There have been very few instances with the team (I'm talking about the number of players charged with crimes versus the 100 or so football players). If the problem is out of the ordinary and just involved football players then so be it but it is NOT out of the ordinary and does NOT just involve FB. The alleged crimes and DUIs, etc. are all across the student population at UM and all Universities. There is no justice in Williams' comment because he puts the whole issue on the backs of the football team.

there is the flaw in your thinking, the problem isn't the number that have been charged, the problem is the number of crimes that were committed and swept under the rug so they were never charged, bobby must of had a cleanup team on speed-dial

Really? Can you give me a number on the crimes swept under the rug with football players versus the rest of the population? That is the comparison you should be making. And are we talking about just the University of Montana or should we also look at MSU and other Big Sky schools? Seems you're missing the point. The point is that the focus should not be so narrowly focused. Maybe we should be looking at the entire Montana college system and see where U of M fits into the picture.

17

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[Grisly Fan]

Right. So what I'm saying is, concentrate on the reasonable board members, not the loose cannon.

OK, fine, show me where the reasonable members are giving interviews to the press and or even attempting to publicly refute anything that PW has said? The reason we all should be concerned is that he has the power of the pulpit and no one seems to have the power, will, desire or whatever to stop him -- or to even offer abalancing different view. His is the only voice being heard.

Edit: How concerned would you be if his story was at the other end of the spectrum: "all is well, these are just young people sowing their wild oats, our policies are perfect, nothing needs to change..." and that was the only message being heard in the press. I'd be just as angry as I am now.