Band Member's Social Media Post

Whom do the police arrest? That's the problem.

Police - "Can you give us a description of the person who pushed you and broke your ribs?"

Victim - "Yes. He was a toothless man, wearing an Iowa State shirt, jean shorts and an Iowa State hat. He reeked of Busch Light and looked like he was just leaving a Klan rally."

That description basically fits like 30,000 people around the stadium that day.
They could do like they did in Cleveland, when a fan threw beer at a Titans player and go after someone that fit the description. The only problem was that he was out of state at the time. Oops!
 
We see this all the time when controversy gets in the way of a university's interests. Specifically their sports programs. Coaches, AD's, Presidents, Administrator's, Regents on and on. Mich St, Penn St, Baylor, UNC... And yes Iowa. They really don't want to investigate improprieties. They just want it to go away.

I am as big a Hawkeye fan as anyone but I refuse to be a stupid homer at all costs.

Pierre Pierce investigation? Everson and Satterfield? (Where records are still sealed at the Johnson County Courthouse and trust me it is not to protect the victim). Sexual favors for tickets? Rhabdo?

UI administrators telling affected kids to watch their social media posts? Is this hard to believe?

I remind you what a family member of an afflicted rhabdo player related to me. The first contact from KF was to tell this player to stay off social media. Not "How are You?" " What can we do for You?" They lost all respect for KF after that. And no HawkeyeBob I am not going to reveal their names. Why? Because they don't want it revealed. Why? Probably because the relationship between athlete and coach is not much different than that in the military. Who has all the power? Who feels powerless?

I don't care if you believe me. KF actions and Barry's speak volumes. Their cowardly asses should have been in those chairs at the press conference. Instead we get a player's father, a doctor who was treating zero of the afflicted players, and the director of football operations. Remember his name? Of course not. Read the sanitized report. Even that goes on about how enraged some of the parents were. They learned of their hospitalized sons via the media.

Sure. Trash this kid all you want. I have no reason NOT to believe him, but I have a lot of good reasons not to trust any university coach or administrator. Their track records are littered everywhere. Even here.
 
I...

Wow.

Okay.

I'm an Iowa student. Between my major and where I work, I know more than my fair share of band members. I've been hearing stories all week of all the things that went down, but was asked not to share by bandmembers since they technically weren't supposed to tell me.

I saw the posts and followed the thread from this earlier this week really wanting to tell everyone about the presser that went out early in the week and to fill in details about what went down. I wanted to tell everyone that this was going to be a whole thing. I wanted to say that Pollard's comments were going to look bad really, really fast.

Can confirm there is a band member with a broken rib. There was sexual harassment. Beer was spilled/sprayed at them. Bottles/cans got thrown. People were shoved. This wasn't just having obscenities thrown at the band by students. This was grown-ass men harassing our band in Ames and the fact that some of us aren't pissed about this is absolutely nuts.

Look, Rob/John/any beat-writer who reads this, I'm more than happy to put you in touch with people I know in the band. You'll probably get such spicy quotes as "I'm actually scared that we'll have to go to Iowa State again next time" (direct quote from a friend). You can write a piece that confirms what they've been saying. Been told they don't care about the gag order they had anymore, they want to bring attention to this.

I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up with the band missing a home game this season. It's not something I have heard thrown around, but I know plenty of people who are livid this morning.

Whether Barta was hedging or not, his response to this was miserable. I've almost always sided with administration and contract extensions and the whole nine yards, but I'm very upset by how this was handled.
 
I don't like fake outrage. Come with proof and then get outraged.

Eye witness testimony is a form of evidence. I understand that you find the probative value of this one statement low, so you want more evidence to "prove" this matter. That is absolutely fair and I commend you for not jumping to conclusions on the basis of what appears to be at this point only one statement. Your ability to question the veracity of a single claim makes you more analytical than the entire news desks at the New York Times and CNN.

However, this person also adds that they were told "Be careful what you post on social media." This seems like a veiled threat issued by the school. It absolutely seems like something some Provost of Compliance Level 9 government functionary would come up with under the advice of counsel. Why? Because at the end of the day, Iowa and Iowa State are both effectively funded out of the same pot of money, namely the State of Iowa.

I don't know what happened, neither do you, but it seems to me more likely than not that someone fucked up the security detail for those kids en route to the bus and now they're trying to bury it because no one wants to get sued and bince Iowa and ISU are for all intents and purposes under the same "ownership" umbrella, no one is going to watch out for the kids. It's probably full on "cover your ass" mode. Had this happened in Ann Arbor or Madison, I guarantee you we would have seen a different response out of Gutless Gary.
 
We see this all the time when controversy gets in the way of a university's interests. Specifically their sports programs. Coaches, AD's, Presidents, Administrator's, Regents on and on. Mich St, Penn St, Baylor, UNC... And yes Iowa. They really don't want to investigate improprieties. They just want it to go away.

I am as big a Hawkeye fan as anyone but I refuse to be a stupid homer at all costs.

Pierre Pierce investigation? Everson and Satterfield? (Where records are still sealed at the Johnson County Courthouse and trust me it is not to protect the victim). Sexual favors for tickets? Rhabdo?

UI administrators telling affected kids to watch their social media posts? Is this hard to believe?

I remind you what a family member of an afflicted rhabdo player related to me. The first contact from KF was to tell this player to stay off social media. Not "How are You?" " What can we do for You?" They lost all respect for KF after that. And no HawkeyeBob I am not going to reveal their names. Why? Because they don't want it revealed. Why? Probably because the relationship between athlete and coach is not much different than that in the military. Who has all the power? Who feels powerless?

I don't care if you believe me. KF actions and Barry's speak volumes. Their cowardly asses should have been in those chairs at the press conference. Instead we get a player's father, a doctor who was treating zero of the afflicted players, and the director of football operations. Remember his name? Of course not. Read the sanitized report. Even that goes on about how enraged some of the parents were. They learned of their hospitalized sons via the media.

Sure. Trash this kid all you want. I have no reason NOT to believe him, but I have a lot of good reasons not to trust any university coach or administrator. Their track records are littered everywhere. Even here.
Don't publicly blast people (no matter who it is, whether you like them or not) unless you're ready to come with some proof that they did something wrong.

This kid sure seems to like starting a fire about how this person and that organization isn't supporting him and his buds, but wants to be vague and secretive about it. You can't have your cake and eat it to.
 
Eye witness testimony is a form of evidence. I understand that you find the probative value of this one statement low, so you want more evidence to "prove" this matter. That is absolutely fair and I commend you for not jumping to conclusions on the basis of what appears to be at this point only one statement. Your ability to question the veracity of a single claim makes you more analytical than the entire news desks at the New York Times and CNN.

However, this person also adds that they were told "Be careful what you post on social media." This seems like a veiled threat issued by the school. It absolutely seems like something some Provost of Compliance Level 9 government functionary would come up with under the advice of counsel. Why? Because at the end of the day, Iowa and Iowa State are both effectively funded out of the same pot of money, namely the State of Iowa.

I don't know what happened, neither do you, but it seems to me more likely than not that someone fucked up the security detail for those kids en route to the bus and now they're trying to bury it because no one wants to get sued and bince Iowa and ISU are for all intents and purposes under the same "ownership" umbrella, no one is going to watch out for the kids. It's probably full on "cover your ass" mode. Had this happened in Ann Arbor or Madison, I guarantee you we would have seen a different response out of Gutless Gary.
All of us here know that like everything else in life there are no absolutes.

Was it a riotous assault like this kid is claiming? I think we all know that the answer is somewhere in between. It's not up for debate that when you put a bunch of hormonal, outraged (justified or not) teenagers in a group, especially with the flamethrower that is social media, molehills get made into Mount Everests.

I think we also would all agree that the answer is between a molehill and a mountain. Whether I believe this kid is a whiner or not is irrelevant. My opinion has no effect on any of you here or what happens with his outrage in the end. But getting angsty and blasting people and colleges without giving any proof is a really, really bad thing to do publicly. It's a huge judgment mistake.

I've said myself that I think GB is a gigantic douche rocket, but fair is fair, and if you're going to punch someone in the mouth like Corey here did, you better have a reason for it. Corey also has the huge advantage that he can spew whatever vitriol he wants and make any accusations he wants with no recourse (other than his public idiocy), and the U or GB won't comment back to him because they can't. He's kicking someone in the balls who can't kick back. That's weak. Go tell the cops who got their ribs broken and follow through. At the very least tell us what you wan't GB to do with all your rage.
 
Don't publicly blast people (no matter who it is, whether you like them or not) unless you're ready to come with some proof that they did something wrong.

This kid sure seems to like starting a fire about how this person and that organization isn't supporting him and his buds, but wants to be vague and secretive about it. You can't have your cake and eat it to.
Are you saying you want the kid to name the band member with the broken rib(s)?
 
I've been hearing stories all week of all the things that went down, but was asked not to share by bandmembers since they technically weren't supposed to tell me.
So, 2 simple questions:
1) Is there video evidence somewhere?
2) If not, do you know how hard it is to believe that in the age we live in, NOBODY started a recording?
 
Are you saying you want the kid to name the band member with the broken rib(s)?
I'm saying a statement saying "this bad thing happened to someone but I won't be specific enough to provide proof of my allegations to get the problem addressed" is bullshit.

Tell the police what happened and who it happened to, if there was proof and some prosecution possible then I promise you the UoI would support the band kids.

Even so, what does this kid want the athletic department to do? Is Barta supposed to go to Pollard's house and leg sweep his wife? Are the police not supposed to do their deal and come to a conclusion?
 
Go tell the cops who got their ribs broken and follow through.

Look, these kids were probably hauling ass to get back to the bus to get out of the bad situation. Anyway, you have to understand some of the conditioning these college kids are getting. The schools prefer many matters are "handled internally." They don't want cops involved, or if they are, they want university police, not the actual cops. The schools are hellbent on suppressing crime statistics. I wouldn't read too much into these kids hustling back to the bus. The adult (actual adult, not college know it all sophomore) in the situation probably said "let's get the F outta here and we'll report this tomorrow" which based on the timing of the first presser, it seems like it moved through university channels relatively quickly.

Look at the definition of assault in Iowa. I linked it below. You have a massive group of pissed off clown fans outside the stadium. I think it's reasonable to assume that some of these kids were assaulted. I'd like to see more evidence, but I certainly don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that this happened.

https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/708.pdf
 
I'm saying a statement saying "this bad thing happened to someone but I won't be specific enough to provide proof of my allegations to get the problem addressed" is bullshit.

Tell the police what happened and who it happened to, if there was proof and some prosecution possible then I promise you the UoI would support the band kids.

Even so, what does this kid want the athletic department to do? Is Barta supposed to go to Pollard's house and leg sweep his wife? Are the police not supposed to do their deal and come to a conclusion?
So you do want him to name names.

Personally, I would agree with you about 95% of the time that be more specific or don't say anything. But there are times when being vague is ok. I honestly think that if what this cat said happened actually happened, there could be some serious harassment on the way towards the kid with the banged up ribs or his/her family.

I also really don't believe the AD abandoned this by choice. It came from higher up.
 
Just a couple things...

1. While trying to piece this together, how does this matter tie directly to Barta and the athletic department? I'm not commenting on whether or not Barta handled this well, but in terms of his duties as AD, is he ultimately responsible for the handling of this matter or is this something that falls outside of the athletic department and more so on the university as a whole?

2. In my opinion, as I expressed in a different thread, this is a student safety issue. The difference between being able to keep the athletes safe as opposed to fans/other participants is the fact that we are able to keep the athletes (for the most part) separate from the fans. Athletes don't go into the stands or outside the confines of the field/court and for the most part fans/spectators are kept off the field/court and prevented from direct interaction with the players during the course of the game as well as before and after, within reason.

Obviously alcohol and the "asshole" fans are a part of gameday, so how do you really protect a group such as the band, who is dressed in school uniforms and representing, in this case, the visiting team when there is very little that can be done to keep the band and the fans from interacting. I said it before, but does the visiting team really need to bring a band on the road with them? I'm not a fan of marching bands in general, and not taking a side in the debate, but is it rally a good idea to provide "targets" for the idiot fans and drunks to take their frustrations out on without being reasonably able to protect those that are being put in that situation?

I guess I just don't understand the benefits of taking a band on road trips.

Edit: I guess I just don't see how this is an athletic department issue and not a university issue as a matter of public safety.
 
You have a massive group of pissed off clown fans outside the stadium.
Which brings it back to the video question.

You're saying nobody in this massive group recorded anything, or everybody who did was smart / loyal enough (to the perps) to not post it?

"massive group of clown fans" and "smart enough" are oxymoron's, aren't they?
 
I...

Wow.

Okay.

I'm an Iowa student. Between my major and where I work, I know more than my fair share of band members. I've been hearing stories all week of all the things that went down, but was asked not to share by bandmembers since they technically weren't supposed to tell me.

I saw the posts and followed the thread from this earlier this week really wanting to tell everyone about the presser that went out early in the week and to fill in details about what went down. I wanted to tell everyone that this was going to be a whole thing. I wanted to say that Pollard's comments were going to look bad really, really fast.

Can confirm there is a band member with a broken rib. There was sexual harassment. Beer was spilled/sprayed at them. Bottles/cans got thrown. People were shoved. This wasn't just having obscenities thrown at the band by students. This was grown-ass men harassing our band in Ames and the fact that some of us aren't pissed about this is absolutely nuts.

Look, Rob/John/any beat-writer who reads this, I'm more than happy to put you in touch with people I know in the band. You'll probably get such spicy quotes as "I'm actually scared that we'll have to go to Iowa State again next time" (direct quote from a friend). You can write a piece that confirms what they've been saying. Been told they don't care about the gag order they had anymore, they want to bring attention to this.

I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up with the band missing a home game this season. It's not something I have heard thrown around, but I know plenty of people who are livid this morning.

Whether Barta was hedging or not, his response to this was miserable. I've almost always sided with administration and contract extensions and the whole nine yards, but I'm very upset by how this was handled.
Can you specify for everyone exactly what you are not getting from the athletic department, and exactly what you want that response to be? Honest question.

I assume since there were bodily injuries and sexual assaults that police were contacted, and there is a response form the U that you are looking for to happen. I want to understand what that is so I can also understand what the U is doing wrong here.
 
Which brings it back to the video question.

You're saying nobody in this massive group recorded anything, or everybody who did was smart / loyal enough (to the perps) to not post it?

"massive group of clown fans" and "smart enough" are oxymoron's, aren't they?
Only monumentally stupid mobs video their bad behavior and then share it willingly.
 
So you do want him to name names.

Personally, I would agree with you about 95% of the time that be more specific or don't say anything. But there are times when being vague is ok. I honestly think that if what this cat said happened actually happened, there could be some serious harassment on the way towards the kid with the banged up ribs or his/her family.

I also really don't believe the AD abandoned this by choice. It came from higher up.
If you don't want to name names or be specific I get it. I really do.

But that same person can't expect something specific to happen in response, especially since as serious a situation as this is, it's absurd to not assume it got reported to police who would be investigating.

This kid seems to want some sort of sweeping changes and heads to roll overnight, all based on super vague info.

How would we feel if this accusation was made against Iowa fans with this kind of evidence?
 
The irony here is Barta might have attempted to do the right thing initially but he got over his skis and forgot who he answers to and lines his pockets.

If the band was assaulted by Wisky or Michigan fans there would be a full on investigation. But no, he is just a fundraising hack/whore and administrative/HR buffoon. And he was most likely slapped down/ reminded of that by a big donor(s).

Now let me ask you this. There are most likely just a handful of big donors in the state who throw money at both schools. Name one? You guessed it. Uncle Bruce. Even though he mislead or even lied to the public for years about how much he actually donated to the UI, I can guarantee you he is still one of the powerbrokers in this state. He is a UI graduate but heavily involved with ISU. Why he once tried using his ISU relationship to pad his personal wealth inappropriately. You know government/corporate welfare just like his mentors the Koch brothers feast on.

Poor Gary. He can't win.
 
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