KF Disbands Former-Player Advisory Committee

Fryowa said:
If any of you follow twitter, the 2 reporters from the Gazette who broke the story are getting absolutely torched for misconstruing the words in KF's email and cherry picking quotes from it.

In his email KF said he was dissolving the committee "as it stands" and would restructure it in the next sentence. But the reporters left that out.
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Of course because people have an agenda and a narrative they want to keep pushing.
 
Fryowa said:
The longer this thing develops, the more I think it was a (typical) PR disaster in wording, timing, and everything else by the U of I.

And I'm less inclined to agree with Porter after listening to his interview. He acknowledges that the changes requested were made, and his big sticking point is that he wants the football staff fired. How about asking current players and parents if they want the staff fired? Porter seems to be somewhat vindictive and I think he has an at least somewhat personal agenda. In his interview he gives zero credence to current players, quite the opposite actually.

He's basically saying, yes, the changes were made and the environment has gotten much better, but I want the staff fired. I think revenge or punishment is more important to him that results.

Maybe I'm wrong.
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You are 100% correct
 
Side note...

Sincere thanks to everyone for keeping this content here in the correct forum. This is what it was designed for, and as a bonus to keeping the ugly philosophical arguments off the main boards, this forum tends to self-limit itself to the segment of posters who actually care about a particular topic being discussed. If this stuff were on the main boards it'd undoubtedly trigger all the passerby trolls who just want to fight and rile folks up about sensitive topics. Thanks again.

Back to regularly scheduled programming.
 
Bottom line is KF set up this group to get input to help him deal with concerns very publicly expressed within the program. They met, apparently made recommendations, some of which were implanted, some not. KF thanked the volunteers for their time and efforts. He now sees ways that may provide better input and understanding of various issues.

it was his organization to live, let die or reorganize.

No big deal.

Move on.
 
tweeterhawk said:
Bottom line is KF set up this group to get input to help him deal with concerns very publicly expressed within the program. They met, apparently made recommendations, some of which were implanted, some not. KF thanked the volunteers for their time and efforts. He now sees ways that may provide better input and understanding of various issues.

it was his organization to live, let die or reorganize.

No big deal.

Move on.
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That's part of the story. But another part is what are the reasons David Porter ended up thinking it was in Iowa's best interest to move on from this football coach? What do other members of the committee think? Why did Porter call Brian out? Why did the touch base meeting with the staff go so completely off the rails? And I disagree that this story isn't a big deal. Maybe this chapter won't ultimately be a huge deal, but the story is.
 
It has been two years since this story began and Doyle was fired and I have yet to hear any concrete evidence that BF or anyone else engaged in any discriminatory acts. By most accounts, BF can be gruff, crude and not as savy as his dad with the media, but I don't believe BF treated black players worse or is racist. Given the demographics of football players, I doubt there are very many racist coaches out there anymore.

But, there is a difference between racism and DEI. A coach who demonstrates any sort of racism needs to be fired on the spot. But, a coach who does not embrace DEI within his program is not necessarily unqualified to coach, but he is plain stupid. The world has changed in the last two decades. In today's times, its not enough to just be race neutral. If you want to reach this generation you have to meet them where they are at and try to see the world from their perspective. Inclusion takes efforts, not just benign nuetrality.

I believe that the entire coaching staff is trying to foster a culture of DEI, but they remain behind the times still. I believe that Porter has a more advanced view of DEI and where the program can be, and I believe Porter is focuses too much of what Iowa has been and not what it is becoming.

I believe KF was correct to move away from Porter and similar views, and refocus this group on younger alums who have experienced Iowa football more recently, can see the changes that have been made, and can more intelligently discuss those additional changes that are needed in the future.

This is a complex issue. KF is not going to quit. He is not going to fire his son. As such, taking the position that Iowa should clean house was not helpful. At all.
 
NorthKCHawk said:
It has been two years since this story began and Doyle was fired and I have yet to hear any concrete evidence that BF or anyone else engaged in any discriminatory acts. By most accounts, BF can be gruff, crude and not as savy as his dad with the media, but I don't believe BF treated black players worse or is racist. Given the demographics of football players, I doubt there are very many racist coaches out there anymore.

But, there is a difference between racism and DEI. A coach who demonstrates any sort of racism needs to be fired on the spot. But, a coach who does not embrace DEI within his program is not necessarily unqualified to coach, but he is plain stupid. The world has changed in the last two decades. In today's times, its not enough to just be race neutral. If you want to reach this generation you have to meet them where they are at and try to see the world from their perspective. Inclusion takes efforts, not just benign nuetrality.

I believe that the entire coaching staff is trying to foster a culture of DEI, but they remain behind the times still. I believe that Porter has a more advanced view of DEI and where the program can be, and I believe Porter is focuses too much of what Iowa has been and not what it is becoming.

I believe KF was correct to move away from Porter and similar views, and refocus this group on younger alums who have experienced Iowa football more recently, can see the changes that have been made, and can more intelligently discuss those additional changes that are needed in the future.

This is a complex issue. KF is not going to quit. He is not going to fire his son. As such, taking the position that Iowa should clean house was not helpful. At all.
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Really good analysis.
 
This Jessie Wahington guy is a joke and an example of cancel culture at it's highest level. 9 out of 17 commitments for the 2022 class are BLACK. That's 53% of the class. These 9 iowa commits along w/ their parents according to him must be too naive and blind to not see all the racism so deeply imbedded in the iowa program. It seems to me this Jessie guy needs to do some responsible journalism and reach out to some recently graduated black hawkeye players and talk w/ him before writing a piece of crap article such as the one below. His opinion is what it is and he's entitle to it however he clearly didn't talk to anyone but porter to help form his opinion. For that his opinion is unwarranted, uneducated, and ignorant. He mentioned he reached out to J. lomax but that's it.

Kirk Ferentz’s dismissed diversity adviser is right: The Iowa coach should resign — The Undefeated
 
Well I read that espn article that's on the front page of ESPN. Why would kirk decline to comment? Just doesn't make sense.
 
I'm not commenting on the column itself, which is labeled as commentary/opinion, but will say that just because people don't see outward racism doesn't mean it's not there. It's more than saying the N word or wearing a white sheet. There's unconscious bias, for one.

If you look back at the original report from the internal investigation that found racial bias, student-athletes said once they got into the Iowa program it was different than what they saw in recruiting.

It's a complicated issue that's been affecting this country for hundreds of years. Yes, it's a good sign that attrition rates are down and recruiting is going well, but that's far from the only measurement. This went on at Iowa for years, including when there was on-field success.

Lastly, as a reporter/journalist/columnist, it's extremely frustrating that nobody else on the committee is speaking publicly or that Kirk Ferentz hasn't held a press conference to answer questions. The writer in this piece and other journalists have reached out to Ferentz and Jordan Lomax. Neither will talk. Where the hell is Barta?

If they can counter Porter's points , do it. UI Athletics is a PR nightmare.
 
Glass1/2fullguy said:
Why in the hell would kirk give this guy any of his time??! I wouldn't. This jessie guy clearly has and agenda.
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Well one of his well respected past players in Porter is saying unflattering things so if I was in Kirk's shoes I'd sure as hell wanna clear up the air if I could.
 
RobHowe said:
I'm not commenting on the column itself, which is labeled as commentary/opinion, but will say that just because people don't see outward racism doesn't mean it's not there. It's more than saying the N word or wearing a white sheet. There's unconscious bias, for one.

If you look back at the original report from the internal investigation that found racial bias, student-athletes said once they got into the Iowa program it was different than what they saw in recruiting.

It's a complicated issue that's been affecting this country for hundreds of years. Yes, it's a good sign that attrition rates are down and recruiting is going well, but that's far from the only measurement. This went on at Iowa for years, including when there was on-field success.

Lastly, as a reporter/journalist/columnist, it's extremely frustrating that nobody else on the committee is speaking publicly or that Kirk Ferentz hasn't held a press conference to answer questions. The writer in this piece and other journalists have reached out to Ferentz and Jordan Lomax. Neither will talk. Where the hell is Barta?

If they can counter Porter's points , do it. UI Athletics is a PR nightmare.
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#1 - I'm not in any way saying what was happening prior to 2020 was not and did not happen. I agree w/ the unconscious bias.

#2 - You don't think that current recruits aren't talking to the current black players about life in the iowa football program? Of course they are and they have all spoken about it in the recruiting visit interview articles i've read. Kirk and his recruiting staff are good salesmen. But as a salesmen you can't sell something that's not true. If there was racism still in the program then the current black players would be speaking out w/ all that's happened.

#3 - Again talk to and interview the recently graduated black iowa players.

I 100% agree UI Athletics has been a PR disaster over and over again.
 
Glass1/2fullguy said:
#1 - I'm not in any way saying what was happening prior to 2020 was not and did not happen. I agree w/ the unconscious bias.

#2 - You don't think that current recruits aren't talking to the current black players about life in the iowa football program? Of course they are and they have all spoken about it in the recruiting visit interview articles i've read. Kirk and his recruiting staff are good salesmen. But as a salesmen you can't sell something that's not true. If there was racism still in the program then the current black players would be speaking out w/ all that's happened.

#3 - Again talk to and interview the recently graduated black iowa players.

I 100% agree UI Athletics has been a PR disaster over and over again.
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On number 2 all I can say is have you seen Tommy Boy?
 
Casualfan said:
Well one of his well respected past players in Porter is saying unflattering things so if I was in Kirk's shoes I'd sure as hell wanna clear up the air if I could.
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Casualfan said:
On number 2 all I can say is have you seen Tommy Boy?
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Love tommy boy!!! One of my all time favs. I guess what i meant to say is due to racism being brought to light in 2020 they can't sell there's not racism in the iowa program if racism still exists. No way. If there was still racism in the iowa program it would be known and magnified times 1000%.
 
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RobHowe said:
I'm not commenting on the column itself, which is labeled as commentary/opinion, but will say that just because people don't see outward racism doesn't mean it's not there. It's more than saying the N word or wearing a white sheet. There's unconscious bias, for one.

If you look back at the original report from the internal investigation that found racial bias, student-athletes said once they got into the Iowa program it was different than what they saw in recruiting.

It's a complicated issue that's been affecting this country for hundreds of years. Yes, it's a good sign that attrition rates are down and recruiting is going well, but that's far from the only measurement. This went on at Iowa for years, including when there was on-field success.

Lastly, as a reporter/journalist/columnist, it's extremely frustrating that nobody else on the committee is speaking publicly or that Kirk Ferentz hasn't held a press conference to answer questions. The writer in this piece and other journalists have reached out to Ferentz and Jordan Lomax. Neither will talk. Where the hell is Barta?

If they can counter Porter's points , do it. UI Athletics is a PR nightmare.
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I get the media's frustration with everyone being tight-lipped, but let's be honest. In today's environment who the heck would want to go on record saying anything? With the social media mob that exists now, anyone (whether favoring Porter or Ferentz) giving their opinion/account is going to get just completely excoriated by twitter posters, bloggers, you name it. Things aren't the way they were 10-15 years ago when you could be interviewed and not get completely trashed and canceled by the other side. Literally every viewpoint on every topic in every discussion these days has a liberal/conservative undertone to it, and people are so polarized to one side or the other, that if a person gives an honest answer and even leans just a thousandth of an inch to one side or the other they get absolutely nuked into oblivion by the other side. Everyone on twitter, or anyone reading an article has already made up his or her mind and won't change it, why give people any ammunition to cancel you?

Don't agree with David Porter? You're instantly a card-carrying member of the KKK who's hell bent on eliminating minorities from the earth.

Don't agree with KF? You're instantly a liberal communist who hates Iowa football and wants to burn the program to the ground along with anyone associated with it.

There's no middle ground and no one's changing his or her mind, so why put your self out there to get lambasted?

There's not even an attempt by either side to be understanding or open to the "other" side because the mob mentality of social media (and unfortunately media in general a lot of times) isn't looking for discourse, they're looking for something they can use to nail the other side to the wall.
 
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