Did the Chig and the coaching staff fail DJK?

[hawkeyebob62]

Again I want to stress I didn't raise this subject to try and divert blame AWAY from DJK. Regardless of who he was living with ultimately it was his decision to get involved with the things he was invovled with. Had he not had pot, coke and pills in his bedroom, had he not tested positive for them, it's unlikely he would not have been charged, despite what his roomate was doing.

Further it's very possible that he would have been involved in these things REGARDLESS of who he was living with.

My point is an extremly narrow one. Simply stated it is...

The coaching staff failed by allowing him to live with the person he was living with.

<<The coaching staff failed by allowing him to live with the person he was living with>>

Good God, you're right! DJK is, after all, "only" 23 years old! How dare anyone insinuate he should be able to make his own choices--intelligent choices, no less--at that age?!

 

[Iowafarmgirl]

From reading a lot of your posts I think you really underestimate how casually most college kids view cocaine use. I have no doubt that other Hawks use it too, it's that way at probably every D-1 school. I can't see any player standing up to DJK and calling for an intervention because of his drug use, it obviously wasn't affecting his performance on the field. There's a lot of guys on that football team that like to party, there's coke at a lot of after parties and even bars in IC, I would highly doubt anyone on the team would be shocked or highly upset to find out that a teammate was using.

I last left college 3 1/2 years ago, and in my six years as a full time student, I can't recall a single instance where people were doing cocaine casually at parties. I can't remember a single friend or classmate mentioning saying "Oh we had fun on Friday. Hit a few bars, met some guys, snorted an ounce, and then hit Taco Bell at 3:00am".

 

[IOWuh]

I alluded to this in a previous post, but it is worth repeating. The coaches of the football team shouldn't be worried about a senior, a guy who's a leader and who's got a future in professional football not being able to have a decent grasp on his own life.

Is there anything in the past that would seriously allow you to beleive Coach Ferentz would know that one of his senior starters is doing hard drugs and simply ignore it? I am willing to bet that DJK kept this from his closest friends, because I have trouble believing other players would allow him to live like that.

I'm trying really really hard to believe this. I'm also trying to block out the whole rape incident from a few years ago and the fact that players moved back into that room. I'm trying to understand why Clayborn was allowed to play despite an assault charge. Don't know.


As for the teammate situation, I also played a sport here. As with any team, there are cliques. I would have chosen to hang out with a different group of fellow athletes if someone else on my team was getting into drugs etc. Not sure if, at 20, I'd have had the cajones to walk into the coach's office and narc on someone.

 

[HawkeyeMike23]

I last left college 3 1/2 years ago, and in my six years as a full time student, I can't recall a single instance where people were doing cocaine casually at parties. I can't remember a single friend or classmate mentioning saying "Oh we had fun on Friday. Hit a few bars, met some guys, snorted an ounce, and then hit Taco Bell at 3:00am".

I went to two different BCS level colleges and having at least one person doing coke was common at pretty much every after party I went to. Lived next to the starting RB's gf at one school, and saw plenty of football players doing it first hand.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Fail.

Read what I wrote, and try and look at it objectively this time.

I DID read what you wrote. There is no "Fail" about it, you threw the life coach, head coach and staff under the bus. You later posted that they should screen who players live with. You said they "failed" by "allowing" it.

Look at EVERYthing we know about DJK. Can you honestly see him let staff/coaches tell him who he can/can't live with? Further, would you WANT 23-year old players to let someone else do all their thinking for them?

All we heard for four seasons is that KF and staff have been the force holding DJK back from greatness. Now, they're the "force" that "allowed" him to make some incredibly unfortunate decisions? That makes no sense. Or, to use your terminology, which my daughter STOPPED using about five years ago: "Fail"

 

[IOWuh]

I last left college 3 1/2 years ago, and in my six years as a full time student, I can't recall a single instance where people were doing cocaine casually at parties. I can't remember a single friend or classmate mentioning saying "Oh we had fun on Friday. Hit a few bars, met some guys, snorted an ounce, and then hit Taco Bell at 3:00am".

I'm a bit farther removed from my college days than you but I'd agree. I never saw any of it first hand. Alcohol was a different story though.

 

[BLKNGOLD48]

Good lord I wish people would just let this thing go. The kid made poor decisions and likes drugs. Get over it.

Yeah, I tend to agree with you here.

 

[BLKNGOLD48]

I DID read what you wrote. There is no "Fail" about it, you threw the life coach, head coach and staff under the bus. You later posted that they should screen who players live with. You said they "failed" by "allowing" it.

Look at EVERYthing we know about DJK. Can you honestly see him let staff/coaches tell him who he can/can't live with? Further, would you WANT 23-year old players to let someone else do all their thinking for them?

All we heard for four seasons is that KF and staff have been the force holding DJK back from greatness. Now, they're the "force" that "allowed" him to make some incredibly unfortunate decisions? That makes no sense. Or, to use your terminology, which my daughter STOPPED using about five years ago: "Fail"

THIS.

 

[Warhawks77]

It isn't the responsibility of the coaching staff to make sure all of their senior leaders aren't making it snow in their bedrooms.

If anyone failed him, it is any teammate who knew he was stashing coke and pills and didn't beat the **** out of him when they found out. Like I have said before, as a college athlete, if I found out anyone on my team were doing hard drugs, I absolutely would have done whatever to get them help, as their friend and for the sake of every last person on the team who count on them. And in my situation, my teammate getting arrested wouldn't have been in every paper in the state.

Easily said from our position. DJK was a leader on the hawkeyes, plus I think they said he benches and squats a rediculous amount of weight, add in the coke and I'm probably not bringing this conversation up. Perhaps some of this happened. Perhaps the team mate felt that a 23 year old shouldn't have to be told what to do and up to that point it wasn't really hurting him in his performance. I mean as far as we know it wasn't. In the end, I agree with all those that say DJK is responsible for DJK.

 

[Igothawked]

I went to two different BCS level colleges and having at least one person doing coke was common at pretty much every after party I went to. Lived next to the starting RB's gf at one school, and saw plenty of football players doing it first hand.

Mike is right, especially in Iowa City. Its not the casual use of cocaine, its the casual nature in which it is viewed there. That doesn't mean there are a ton of people just randomly doing coke all over the city. I would guess most of it is done in bathrooms or bedrooms behind closed doors, but to think it's not every where in that city is an illusion. I finished school down there 6 years ago, and it was big at that time. Nearly every after hours party I attended had coke at it, doesn't mean everyone was doing it or anyting, but it was there. If you walked into nearly any bar in Iowa City, someone there would be able to get or has coke. Airliner, Sports Column, Brothers, Atlas, Joe's any of them. It almost seemed as though each bar had its own drug dealer.
I think a lot of people who do not currently or have not lived in Iowa City are a little naive as to what goes on there with this stuff.

 

[DuffMan]

I DID read what you wrote. There is no "Fail" about it, you threw the life coach, head coach and staff under the bus. You later posted that they should screen who players live with. You said they "failed" by "allowing" it.

Look at EVERYthing we know about DJK. Can you honestly see him let staff/coaches tell him who he can/can't live with? Further, would you WANT 23-year old players to let someone else do all their thinking for them?

All we heard for four seasons is that KF and staff have been the force holding DJK back from greatness. Now, they're the "force" that "allowed" him to make some incredibly unfortunate decisions? That makes no sense. Or, to use your terminology, which my daughter STOPPED using about five years ago: "Fail"

I didn't throw anyone under anyting. Absolutely they schould be aware of the living situation of EVERY SINGLE PLAYER. To my knowledge his ONLY job is to help kids adjust to college life and to do everything possible to make sure they make good decisions. Is he to blame if a kid gets a DUI? No. Is he to blame because DJK decided using drugs was more important that playing football, again hell no. Is he to blame that our starting WR was living with a man who had drug convictions? I don't see how it could be any other way.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

I didn't throw anyone under anyting. Absolutely they schould be aware of the living situation of EVERY SINGLE PLAYER. To my knowledge his ONLY job is to help kids adjust to college life and to do everything possible to make sure they make good decisions. Is he to blame if a kid gets a DUI? No. Is he to blame because DJK decided using drugs was more important that playing football, again hell no. Is he to blame that our starting WR was living with a man who had drug convictions? I don't see how it could be any other way.

<<I don't see how it could be another way>>

I stand corrected, you did NOT throw Chig under the bus...because you're DRIVING the damn bus...

 

[SwirlinLingerie]

I don't think we can say. It's possible Chig heard something from other players and talked to Ferentz about it. Perhaps they even confronted DJK with what they were hearing. But you can't do much more than that based on hearsay and rumors.

It also makes a huge difference if DJK was snorting in front of other players or in public on a consistent basis, or if he had isolated himself to the extent he snorted alone or with one non-teammate roommate.

Pretty unfair to judge Chig's performance without more facts and details.

 

[DuffMan]

<<I don't see how it could be another way>>

I stand corrected, you did NOT throw Chig under the bus...because you're DRIVING the damn bus...

It's not throwing someone under the bus when you ask why they aren't doing thier jobs.

 

[IOWuh]

I don't think we can say. It's possible Chig heard something from other players and talked to Ferentz about it. Perhaps they even confronted DJK with what they were hearing. But you can't do much more than that based on hearsay and rumors.

It also makes a huge difference if DJK was snorting in front of other players or in public on a consistent basis, or if he had isolated himself to the extent he snorted alone or with one non-teammate roommate.

Pretty unfair to judge Chig's performance without more facts and details.

And yet people are doing that to DJK and Ferentz.

 

[Thawki]

Maybe they prevent one out of every two of these. Maybe there would be two of these that had happened if we didn't have someone in that role, whatever it is called, that Chig is in. You simply see the ones that happened and not the ones that were prevented, whatever the actual numbers are.

I'm sure you are aware that sometimes no amount of help will do the trick until someone wants to admit they need help. Maybe that is the case here.

 

[IAHawkFan]

Mike is right, especially in Iowa City. Its not the casual use of cocaine, its the casual nature in which it is viewed there. That doesn't mean there are a ton of people just randomly doing coke all over the city. I would guess most of it is done in bathrooms or bedrooms behind closed doors, but to think it's not every where in that city is an illusion. I finished school down there 6 years ago, and it was big at that time. Nearly every after hours party I attended had coke at it, doesn't mean everyone was doing it or anyting, but it was there. If you walked into nearly any bar in Iowa City, someone there would be able to get or has coke. Airliner, Sports Column, Brothers, Atlas, Joe's any of them. It almost seemed as though each bar had its own drug dealer.
I think a lot of people who do not currently or have not lived in Iowa City are a little naive as to what goes on there with this stuff.

Coke (and pot) were both big back in the mid-90's when I was there. Even then, you could walk into most bars and score some from the bouncers and/or bartenders. I'm sure that it is much, much worse now.

My oldest son is in high school now. The use of pot/coke/speed is so casual that many his age talk about it like chewing gum or smoking. If they are that casual about it, how casual are the college-aged kids?

I don't know the extent of DJK's use, but I can definitely see teammates or other students not running into KF's office to tell him that DJK used a "little pot", etc. Not unless they saw a real problem, and from his performance on the field, they probably didn't see any "real problem".

DJK made his own mess and he will have to get through it. And perhaps what the OP is really asking is: could we have done anything to prevent it? I don't believe that this is the fault of the coaches, or anyone other than DJK, but I do wonder if somebody could have/should have recognized it and stepped in.

 

[doclee]

DJK failed DJK

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him think. (Anyone that gets that reference gets 2 bonus cool points from me.)

Actually, the quote is..."You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."

 

[Imlivingthedream]

I last left college 3 1/2 years ago, and in my six years as a full time student, I can't recall a single instance where people were doing cocaine casually at parties. I can't remember a single friend or classmate mentioning saying "Oh we had fun on Friday. Hit a few bars, met some guys, snorted an ounce, and then hit Taco Bell at 3:00am".

you didnt go to Iowa, did you?

If you think this was well hid from other people on the team or even more if you think he's the only one doing these kind of things you are kidding yourself.

 

[nilkin]

Again I want to stress I didn't raise this subject to try and divert blame AWAY from DJK. Regardless of who he was living with ultimately it was his decision to get involved with the things he was invovled with. Had he not had pot, coke and pills in his bedroom, had he not tested positive for them, it's unlikely he would not have been charged, despite what his roomate was doing.

Further it's very possible that he would have been involved in these things REGARDLESS of who he was living with.

My point is an extremly narrow one. Simply stated it is...

The coaching staff failed by allowing him to live with the person he was living with.

I didn't take it that way initially, however, I'm having second thoughts because of what appears the repeated need to say it not a diversion when someone doesn't fall in line with what you believe to be your answer.

Having said that, the answer to your question is, DJK did it to DJK, regarless if you are trying to divert blame away from DJK or not.

Sincerely, I remain.