Your statement is as responsible as your sensationalist approach to an IOWA FAN SITE. This isnt the New York Times or Esquire. Back to your question. White, Black, Yellow, Green, Blue...asking for 1) Hair style/length, 2) Dress Code, 3) Uniform, 4) covering Tattoos, 5) several other items are not illegal or racially biased is acceptable for an educational institution or business.. Not getting to wear a wife-beater or hoodie is not a violation of civil rights or a right guaranteed by the constitution. Most people's work places, as Iowa is an AT WILL employer state, can demand any of these or fire non-compliant employees. None of these things are racially biased items.
I'm not sure what being a fan site has to do with reporting on this story. When I started in newspapers some 30 years ago, there were no fan sites. Should only newspapers and TV stations report on this story? Again, I'm not following that logic.
Trying to compare working in a law firm or ad agency to college football is disingenuous. These guys are not employees. And the fact that they said in the report that they were more comfortable being Black on campus and outside the football building is telling. Football is part of their educational experience in college. Their professors aren't telling them to cover up their tats, not wear hoodies or earrings in their lectures or classes.
Using racial slurs, allowing variations to the codes for different races.....both are items where a program can/should be held accountable. Not getting to "be you" is a decision each individual must make as it pertains to being a member of a football program or place of busoness. Its America. Any athlete could choose a program that fits their motivation better. To your point, IF any athlete feels that the program is forcing them to adapt to a uniform code that they don't appreciate, if they MUST wear something outside of the expected uniform, find a new place to play/work. The very same is true for anyone here. Go into your bank job tomorrow wearing shorts...see what happens. D
Again, this is not a law firm or bank. Flawed analogy. And, during recruiting, the report says the players did not get a full picture of the culture at Iowa. They would not have come to Iowa had that been the case. So, are the coaches being transparent in recruiting?
DO NOT blur the lines. I feel Doyle crossed the line and got what he deserved. KF has and is facing criticism for not knowing exactly how YOU would create culture as is most of American business and industry. Its easy to sit back in the recliner and say i would do this, this and that better.. YOU struggle with it in this limited environment. Do you not at times? It's hypocritical to demand that some can wave a magic wand and solve or have answers for every thing that comes up when you know having all people agree with policy is impossible. They addressed the issues. Doing nothing would have been a problem. Doing what you think they should do is a difference in opinion.
I have not once said that KF should be fired. I believe that should be up to his current and former players.
I have reported the story. And that means passing along information like I did on Monday with a report the UI didn't release publicly. It paints the picture and gives a timeline of what led to the current changes and the external investigation.
Ivory Kelly-Martin said on June 12 that he still felt like he was walking on egg shells and looking over his shoulder in the football building right up until he returned to campus this summer. That was after the DTR, Daniels meeting with Barta and KF not meeting with the team about these topics after August of last year. IKM isn't talking about a wardrobe. He's talking about how he felt and he said he was "speaking for a lot of guys."
The University of Iowa is unique. WE ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE. Come on, our population/talent pool is the size of one city in a blue blood school's state. We arent a southern (warm) school or a coastal school. There are no culturally exciting metropolitan areas here. So the Iowa way is to get kids who are willing to be trained hard for bigger things in life. The staff is known for developing kids so we get kids that want to get to the next level knowing the staff is very good at making pros. Will we be as effective with less discipline? Again, don't mistake discipline to mean racism. Making kids follow tough rules and act in a certain way is an Iowa advantage. Look at any coach talk about Iowa. "You are in for a war." "Their kids are extremely well-coached and disciplined." "You always know when you played Iowa because the next week in practice you hurt."
Demanding not demeaning. There are a lot of positives in the Iowa program. James Daniels said he wouldn't be in the NFL without Doyle and BF. But the Black players are saying the means to the discipline do not justify the ends. Take what's good about Iowa football and make it an inclusive environment is what they are asking for.
No, I don't expect a black student athlete to "lower" himself or to conform to white culture. A dress code is not white culture. Hair length is not white culture. Wearing a required uniform (tshirt/shorts) is not white culture. It is called being disciplined. Write a letter to the military asking them to abandon all disciplinary "rule adherance" techniques and let me know what they tell you. You have an agenda. You want to be a hero. You will reply and hide behind doing the right thing. Not up in here. Not at fanning flames to a fire on a very decent gentleman. Let the process work itself out. He who has no sin, cast the first stone.
Again, this is not the military or a law firm or a bank. You're not expecting a Black student-athlete to "lower" himself. What does that even mean? Whether you realize it or not, many of your comments in here are saying you want them to conform to white culture and others are liking your posts. If Iowa Football agrees with you, just put that all out there in recruiting.
This isn't just about wardrobe changes.
And if you need a reminder of the wide array of comments and stories, here it is LINK
