Note from the Publisher

[RobHowe]

That's me.

I apologize for not being around here more the last week to answer your questions. I've spent a lot of time on the phone with former players and their parents, listening to their stories.

I haven't looked closely on here, but I'm guessing it's like Twitter where people are sideways with me for how I've reported on the Iowa football story. I wanted to explain my approach and how I covered it as a lot of false information is shared with news moving fast on all of these channels.

James Daniels first spoke up on inequalities last Wednesday, June 3.


The next day, Mike Daniels followed up.


And Rafeal Eubanks and Jaleel Johnson



Then James Daniels again on that Thursday.


Despite the continuing flow of former players that followed with concerns, I waited. I just Retweeted and shared on these boards. The players were getting hammered by fans for speaking out.

https://twitter.com/jamsdans/status/1268577746705354752?s=20

Then Friday, I wrote a column (you can read most of the player stories within it) suggesting Iowa address the situation. Still nothing from Iowa.

Then the floodgates opened Friday night. A flurry of former players came out with their stories. KF released a short statement. The accounts continued rolling in throughout the weekend.

Saturday, a joint statement from KF and Gary Barta, saying they were looking into the matter and Chris Doyle was put on leave. Still more stories.

Sunday afternoon, KF holds a press conference. We're publishing stories on all of this.

Monday, current players begin Tweeting in a show of unity. We published them.

Monday night at about 6, I receive a statement from Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. He asked me to share it like I had with all the other player statements. All of those accounts were from social media and caused Iowa to investigate and suspend Doyle. Media members did not speak to any of those players to vet their stories.

I posted Derrell Johnson-Koulianos' statement Monday night at around 9. I realized his credibility would be disregarded but I talked to some of his former teammates and they encouraged me to publish it. As I said, I hadn't vetted any of the other player stories before publishing.

I'm sure some of you think I know what happened here with DJK. I don't know what's true and not true. I've heard a bunch of stories, just like I have with other players. He was charged with some bad shit. He was convicted of weed possession. And yes, I know cases are pleaded down.

Bottom line, I thought his voice should be heard, too. I hoped all of these players were telling the truth but I didn't know. I was sharing all their stories and then letting readers decide. Again, that's what got the investigation rolling.

If there's one thing I wished I would have done, it's asked the UI last night for a comment on DJK's statement. I waited until the morning. They had no comment and I added that to my post.

The owners of HN decided this afternoon to take down the statement. They did not feel DJK was credible. I should have cleared it with them before publishing even though I still believe it should be posted. It's their site. We've talked it over.

When I set out to cover this story, I wanted to do it as impartially as possible. I Retweeted most of the stories. On a few, I added a reaction like "disgusting" and "powerful" because that was my reaction to reading them. I didn't publish those feelings. I shared human emotions about stories from players who I covered during my 23 years reporting on the team. Everyone was hurting.

I received nice notes from a number of the former players, on social media and personally, thanking me for sharing their stories. Some of the current players reached out to me and thanked me.

Everyone is free to believe who and what they want. They'll be an investigation/review and we'll see what comes of it.

I never called for any coaches' heads. I never badmouthed anyone. I shared stories from the players, the university's press releases and press conferences.

I don't want to be covering this story, but I don't regret doing so.

 

[thetrza]

non, je ne regrette rien

 

[uihawk82]

Rob, it seems you did what a reporter should do which is report the story. Right now the story is the recollections of players. As I have said I am not going to make any judgments until some corroboration one way or the other is stated in open forums. But to me the longer the UI says very little the more it seems they want this to cool off and that they are circling the wagons looking for the right spin.

This sucks period, shouldnt happen in the 21st century in a state and at a school that has a very good history of having african american/black players and students and being the first state to do some of these things.

If Doyle was insensitive or worse by saying some of these things then what was he thinking. He is at the Univ of IA who had Duke Slater playing there over 100 effing years ago. And I sure hope KF isnt like this.

 

[tweeterhawk]

Rob, having the “owners” pull the DJK column had to have put you in a difficult spot. Where does it leave you?

In New York City the editor of the Times’ Opinion page resigned for running Sen. Tom Cotton’s column supporting military action against rioters. The Times yanked the piece following outrage on the staff.

In Philadelphia, a top editor who doubled the Inquirer’s newsroom diversity and led his team to a Pulitzer resigned following publication of a headline “Buildings Matter, Too.” It was a step too far.

Crazy things are happening in this highly charged period whenever serious lines are crossed.

Hope you’re OK.

 

[proudhawkfan21]

I consider this to be a fan board, but I realize that I am simply a guest. I appreciate the forum to share and celebrate and sometimes debate with fellow Hawks. Although I feel that this site is NOT a place for strict journalism, I'm not offended that you posted interviews or acted as a journalist. But, as a fan site, I think (knowing how quick people are to call people 'Clones, etc), you are bound to get backlash for jumping on the propaganda train. Your opinion is more "welcomed" by most than your reporting. I feel that you were going more for a journalistic approach and less of leading Hawkeye Nation which, not just the name of a website, lives and dies by the Hawks. Again, just two cents worth on a good day, probably actually not worth a penny!

I like reporting to be fair and balanced (insert joke here). I was taught say two good things more or less before spooning up a big helping of "you suck."Granted, you didn't say "you suck," but you did ask a very decent man who has done the right thing for 30 yrs as a member and head of the Iowa Football Program a question about remembering the term "ghetto" and that I feel was to make him look bad. I'm not here to give lessons but when it comes to Kirk Ferentz, if you can't give at least two compliments to the man or a fair statement about how clean the program has been for 40 yrs before asking Watergate scandal-style questions, you haven't been paying attention.

One of my best friends has a son on the team right now and he is down the depth chart (yes, he is white), but he is not yet a Saturday contributor and Coach comes up to his dad and greets him, asks him about the family and they can't say enough good things about him. This is an awesome kid who may or may not contribute to bowl game victories exactly the way McNutt, Stanzi, Russell, Cook, Long, Early or many others have in our great history. But he is cared for by Kirk and his staff regardless of his depth position. Coach says that he is saddened by the former players and wants to make it right. If anyone in this world represents honesty, integrity, values driven leadership and caring more than Coach Ferentz I havent met him. He's the man to fix the concerns and deserves respect and the benefit of the doubt out of the chute. He won't let Hawkeye Nation down. I just wish your "journalism" would reflect that side of the story as you also consider the things that need to be improved (and heavens yes our nation's lack of empathy and concern for black americans has been shockingly absent).

 

[hawkeyebob62]

That's me.

I apologize for not being around here more the last week to answer your questions. I've spent a lot of time on the phone with former players and their parents, listening to their stories.

I haven't looked closely on here, but I'm guessing it's like Twitter where people are sideways with me for how I've reported on the Iowa football story. I wanted to explain my approach and how I covered it as a lot of false information is shared with news moving fast on all of these channels.

James Daniels first spoke up on inequalities last Wednesday, June 3.


The next day, Mike Daniels followed up.


And Rafeal Eubanks and Jaleel Johnson



Then James Daniels again on that Thursday.


Despite the continuing flow of former players that followed with concerns, I waited. I just Retweeted and shared on these boards. The players were getting hammered by fans for speaking out.

https://twitter.com/jamsdans/status/1268577746705354752?s=20

Then Friday, I wrote a column (you can read most of the player stories within it) suggesting Iowa address the situation. Still nothing from Iowa.

Then the floodgates opened Friday night. A flurry of former players came out with their stories. KF released a short statement. The accounts continued rolling in throughout the weekend.

Saturday, a joint statement from KF and Gary Barta, saying they were looking into the matter and Chris Doyle was put on leave. Still more stories.

Sunday afternoon, KF holds a press conference. We're publishing stories on all of this.

Monday, current players begin Tweeting in a show of unity. We published them.

Monday night at about 6, I receive a statement from Derrell Johnson-Koulianos. He asked me to share it like I had with all the other player statements. All of those accounts were from social media and caused Iowa to investigate and suspend Doyle. Media members did not speak to any of those players to vet their stories.

I posted Derrell Johnson-Koulianos' statement Monday night at around 9. I realized his credibility would be disregarded but I talked to some of his former teammates and they encouraged me to publish it. As I said, I hadn't vetted any of the other player stories before publishing.

I'm sure some of you think I know what happened here with DJK. I don't know what's true and not true. I've heard a bunch of stories, just like I have with other players. He was charged with some bad shit. He was convicted of weed possession. And yes, I know cases are pleaded down.

Bottom line, I thought his voice should be heard, too. I hoped all of these players were telling the truth but I didn't know. I was sharing all their stories and then letting readers decide. Again, that's what got the investigation rolling.

If there's one thing I wished I would have done, it's asked the UI last night for a comment on DJK's statement. I waited until the morning. They had no comment and I added that to my post.

The owners of HN decided this afternoon to take down the statement. They did not feel DJK was credible. I should have cleared it with them before publishing even though I still believe it should be posted. It's their site. We've talked it over.

When I set out to cover this story, I wanted to do it as impartially as possible. I Retweeted most of the stories. On a few, I added a reaction like "disgusting" and "powerful" because that was my reaction to reading them. I didn't publish those feelings. I shared human emotions about stories from players who I covered during my 23 years reporting on the team. Everyone was hurting.

I received nice notes from a number of the former players, on social media and personally, thanking me for sharing their stories. Some of the current players reached out to me and thanked me.

Everyone is free to believe who and what they want. They'll be an investigation/review and we'll see what comes of it.

I never called for any coaches' heads. I never badmouthed anyone. I shared stories from the players, the university's press releases and press conferences.

I don't want to be covering this story, but I don't regret doing so.

Someone reposted the announcement/release James Daniel's made when he announced his early entry in 2018. How do you reconcile the...disparity between those statements?

Do you give credence to one and not the other? Was he lying then, or is he lying now, or is it ALL just "public speak?

You may tell us we all need to be meek, or stand up for this, or condemn that. Fine.

When you have conflicting statements like we have seen, and the DJK stuff, it cheapens the whole discussion and the whole "process".

But hey, who cares about Dillon Doyle's "dream". It probably wasn't really his "dream", anyway.

 

[kicker22]

Someone reposted the announcement/release James Daniel's made when he announced his early entry in 2018. How do you reconcile the...disparity between those statements?

Do you give credence to one and not the other? Was he lying then, or is he lying now, or is it ALL just "public speak?

You may tell us we all need to be meek, or stand up for this, or condemn that. Fine.

When you have conflicting statements like we have seen, and the DJK stuff, it cheapens the whole discussion and the whole "process".

But hey, who cares about Dillon Doyle's "dream". It probably wasn't really his "dream", anyway.

You’re probably right it’s probably best to just look the other way and ignore the rumblings of former players. And your right. Dillon appears to be a victim, but so do countless others.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

You’re probably right it’s probably best to just look the other way and ignore the rumblings of former players. And your right. Dillon appears to be a victim, but so do countless others.

Uh, if you'll recall, per Rob, thisall STARTED with James Daniels's tweet. Rob, being the go-getter, hard-hitting journalist he is...completely ignored the discrepancy between the statements.

Once he did that, "journalistic integrity" flew the coop, quickly replaced by his ideological activism.

<<Dillon appears to. e a victim, but so do countless others>>

And yet, folks on Twitter call Dillon "quitter", and the other guys who transferred are "heroes".

 

[iloveyoularrystation]

Posting DJK's account without adding anything about his incredible lack of credibility isn't "covering it impartially."

 

[Fryowa]

And yet, folks on Twitter call Dillon "quitter", and the other guys who transferred are "heroes".

Can you post a link to tweets calling Dillon Doyle a quitter?

Honest question. There might be some but I’m not finding them.

His announcement tweet has over 100 replies right now and none of them are anything calling him a quitter or anything else negative.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Can you post a link to tweets calling Dillon Doyle a quitter?

Honest question. There might be some but I’m not finding them.

His announcement tweet has almost 150 replies right now and none of them are anything calling him a quitter or anything else negative.

They were replies to retweets, not the original. All those retweets were from news outlets, maybe one indcudal "journalist". Oh, and Jon D Miller is back on Twitter. All it takes is "unconscious bias" to bring him back. He must be bored!

 

[hoopnhawk]

Dillon Doyle handled this unjust situation with total class. If I were Dillon, I'm afraid I would have been tempted to stick around and look for an opportunity to give Rob Howe and any other worked over, Anti-American Leftists a piece of my mind and then some.

Rob started off his recent non-stop effort to destroy Iowa Football with his pathetic "Science Experiment" column; insinuating that our coaches and university officials were "experimenting" with the very lives of our student athletes by risking their possible exposure to the Corona Virus. In reality, these athletes are over a 100 times more likely to die in a car accident on their way to practice, but that doesn't matter to Rob Howe. Like every other good little Social Justice Warrior, Rob has an agenda to sell. The problem with Rob's agenda is that it is flat out EVIL. You see, that adjective in front of the word Justice is there for good reason. It alerts the reader to the fact that "Social Justice" is something different than "Justice". Justice is a virtue; it is a virtue of God himself. It is pure, holy and true. It cannot be improved upon. Any deviation from justice is a movement toward injustice.

The Social Justice Warrior is so impressed with himself that he actually believes that he knows better than God Almighty and he can improve upon God's Justice, by implementing his so-called "Social Justice". So, he seeks to address the injustices from the past by creating and implementing a completely new set of injustices, which he believes in his depraved mind will remedy those past wrongs. The Word of God tells us: "Vengeance is mine", but the the SJW has decided that's not good enough for him. The SJW says "No, I want my vengeance and I want it Right Now!"

Of course, true and pure Justice, as we all know, is "Blind"; therefore the color of ones skin is irrelevant, ...Right? Well, not in the case of the Social Justice Warrior; a True SJW is the biggest Racist you will ever find! They are so consumed with Race that they become completely void of Logic and Reason. For example, they are the type of people that can seriously say that Black Lives Matter is not Racist and then, at the same time, turn right around and tell you that All Lives Matter is Racist! If Black Lives Truly Matter, then why is all of their attention given to the few times when an unarmed black man dies at the hands of a white policeman (9 such times in 2019), rather than the THOUSANDS of times one black man murdered another black man. Why? Because Black Lives only really matter when BLM can use the death of a Black man for the political purpose of destroying America and for financial gain. They couldn't care less about David Dorn, or thousands of others like him . . . there's nothing in it for BLM.

In summary, Rob Howe's recent efforts to destroy Iowa Football are both EVIL and Pathetic and I thank God that I've never wasted even a dime in support of such a worked over fool.

Hey Rob, on top of it all, I know you're a global warming nut. You and I both know that long ago, Al Gore told us that the coasts were all going to flood. Remember that? Then what did Al do? He went out and bought ocean front property. Last I checked, the sea level rose 1.7 MILLIMETERS over the past year (of course that was probably greatly exaggerated given the many documented cases of Climate Change "Scientists" getting caught LYING).

When your fellow East and West Coast Leftists start selling their beach front properties for pennies on the dollar, then you'll know that at least a few of them actually believe their own bullshit. And when that happens, tell 'em to give 'ol HoopnHawk a call; I'll be more than happy to take their property off of their hands! Besides, according to AOC the world only has about 10 years left, so why not cash in Now?

 

[HawkGold]

Someone reposted the announcement/release James Daniel's made when he announced his early entry in 2018. How do you reconcile the...disparity between those statements?

Do you give credence to one and not the other? Was he lying then, or is he lying now, or is it ALL just "public speak?

You may tell us we all need to be meek, or stand up for this, or condemn that. Fine.

When you have conflicting statements like we have seen, and the DJK stuff, it cheapens the whole discussion and the whole "process".

But hey, who cares about Dillon Doyle's "dream". It probably wasn't really his "dream", anyway.

You have to weed out things. Not speaking about his credibility it is not uncommon for abuse victims to take blame and build up an abuser. Later when the abuse is in the rearview mirror by a long way it is properly processed.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Dillon Doyle handled this unjust situation with total class. If I were Dillon, I'm afraid I would have been tempted to stick around and look for an opportunity to give Rob Howe and any other worked over, Anti-American Leftists a piece of my mind and then some.

Rob started off his recent non-stop effort to destroy Iowa Football with his pathetic "Science Experiment" column; insinuating that our coaches and university officials were "experimenting" with the very lives of our student athletes by risking their possible exposure to the Corona Virus. In reality, these athletes are over a 100 times more likely to die in a car accident on their way to practice, but that doesn't matter to Rob Howe. Like every other good little Social Justice Warrior, Rob has an agenda to sell. The problem with Rob's agenda is that it is flat out EVIL. You see, that adjective in front of the word Justice is there for good reason. It alerts the reader to the fact that "Social Justice" is something different than "Justice". Justice is a virtue; it is a virtue of God himself. It is pure, holy and true. It cannot be improved upon. Any deviation from justice is a movement toward injustice.

The Social Justice Warrior is so impressed with himself that he actually believes that he knows better than God Almighty and he can improve upon God's Justice, by implementing his so-called "Social Justice". So, he seeks to address the injustices from the past by creating and implementing a completely new set of injustices, which he believes in his depraved mind will remedy those past wrongs. The Word of God tells us: "Vengeance is mine", but the the SJW has decided that's not good enough for him. The SJW says "No, I want my vengeance and I want it Right Now!"

Of course, true and pure Justice, as we all know, is "Blind"; therefore the color of ones skin is irrelevant, ...Right? Well, not in the case of the Social Justice Warrior; a True SJW is the biggest Racist you will ever find! They are so consumed with Race that they become completely void of Logic and Reason. For example, they are the type of people that can seriously say that Black Lives Matter is not Racist and then, at the same time, turn right around and tell you that All Lives Matter is Racist! If Black Lives Truly Matter, then why is all of their attention given to the few times when an unarmed black man dies at the hands of a white policeman (9 such times in 2019), rather than the THOUSANDS of times one black man murdered another black man. Why? Because Black Lives only really matter when BLM can use the death of a Black man for the political purpose of destroying America and for financial gain. They couldn't care less about David Dorn, or thousands of others like him . . . there's nothing in it for BLM.

In summary, Rob Howe's recent efforts to destroy Iowa Football are both EVIL and Pathetic and I thank God that I've never wasted even a dime in support of such a worked over fool.

Hey Rob, on top of it all, I know you're a global warming nut. You and I both know that long ago, Al Gore told us that the coasts were all going to flood. Remember that? Then what did Al do? He went out and bought ocean front property. Last I checked, the sea level rose 1.7 MILLIMETERS over the past year (of course that was probably greatly exaggerated given the many documented cases of Climate Change "Scientists" getting caught LYING).

When your fellow East and West Coast Leftists start selling their beach front properties for pennies on the dollar, then you'll know that at least a few of them actually believe their own bullshit. And when that happens, tell 'em to give 'ol HoopnHawk a call; I'll be more than happy to take their property off of their hands! Besides, according to AOC the world only has about 10 years left, so why not cash in Now?

No one knows Rob's true feelings or motivations. But we all know the consequences for a public figure failing to kneel before the altar of "social justice." Recognize that and lay the hell off of Rob.

 

[RobHowe]

I grew up in a home with an abusive father. For years, I supported him to relatives and friends out of fear and also denial. Once I got into therapy, I realized it was terribly damaging and I no longer have any relationship with him.

Dragging up old social media posts by James and others to try to prove they are lying does not do that. They are speaking out now. You don't have to believe them. Chris Doyle is saying he's innocent as it pertains to racism. He should have a chance to face his accusers.

I feel bad for Dillon Doyle. I sat down with him for about an hour long interview right before he enrolled and wrote a long feature. In every interview I ever conducted with him, he was polite and friendly.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Chris Doyle is saying he's innocent as it pertains to racism. He should have a chance to face his accusers.

Antiquated notions of things like "due process" and the "Confrontation Clause" that form part of the bedrock of our society no longer exist. They were canceled. His trial will be in the court of public opinion in which traditional concepts of constitutional protections and the rules of evidence simply do not apply. Sorry.

 

[RobHowe]

Colin Sandeman was one of the players who encouraged me to publish DJK's statement. There were others but I will not share their names because it's not out there publicly.




Here's the full text from Sandeman to DJK

 

[hawkijustin]

Im mostly shocked that you, Rob Howe, Listened to, wrote down and published DJK say that kirk had his drug trap house raided. At that point, knowing how many times and how big of a liar and thief his is, you still said "yep Ill publish this story".

Why didnt you talk to all the other players that hate his guts? Why didnt you take ONE SECOND like any actual reporter and dig up his old tweets praising Iowa and kirk and how he wishes he could be friends with him now. OH because that would completely crumble DJKs credibility and ruin your hit job story.

You wanted clicks and didnt care how you got them. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Ree4]

Dillon Doyle handled this unjust situation with total class. If I were Dillon, I'm afraid I would have been tempted to stick around and look for an opportunity to give Rob Howe and any other worked over, Anti-American Leftists a piece of my mind and then some.

Rob started off his recent non-stop effort to destroy Iowa Football with his pathetic "Science Experiment" column; insinuating that our coaches and university officials were "experimenting" with the very lives of our student athletes by risking their possible exposure to the Corona Virus. In reality, these athletes are over a 100 times more likely to die in a car accident on their way to practice, but that doesn't matter to Rob Howe. Like every other good little Social Justice Warrior, Rob has an agenda to sell. The problem with Rob's agenda is that it is flat out EVIL. You see, that adjective in front of the word Justice is there for good reason. It alerts the reader to the fact that "Social Justice" is something different than "Justice". Justice is a virtue; it is a virtue of God himself. It is pure, holy and true. It cannot be improved upon. Any deviation from justice is a movement toward injustice.

The Social Justice Warrior is so impressed with himself that he actually believes that he knows better than God Almighty and he can improve upon God's Justice, by implementing his so-called "Social Justice". So, he seeks to address the injustices from the past by creating and implementing a completely new set of injustices, which he believes in his depraved mind will remedy those past wrongs. The Word of God tells us: "Vengeance is mine", but the the SJW has decided that's not good enough for him. The SJW says "No, I want my vengeance and I want it Right Now!"

Of course, true and pure Justice, as we all know, is "Blind"; therefore the color of ones skin is irrelevant, ...Right? Well, not in the case of the Social Justice Warrior; a True SJW is the biggest Racist you will ever find! They are so consumed with Race that they become completely void of Logic and Reason. For example, they are the type of people that can seriously say that Black Lives Matter is not Racist and then, at the same time, turn right around and tell you that All Lives Matter is Racist! If Black Lives Truly Matter, then why is all of their attention given to the few times when an unarmed black man dies at the hands of a white policeman (9 such times in 2019), rather than the THOUSANDS of times one black man murdered another black man. Why? Because Black Lives only really matter when BLM can use the death of a Black man for the political purpose of destroying America and for financial gain. They couldn't care less about David Dorn, or thousands of others like him . . . there's nothing in it for BLM.

In summary, Rob Howe's recent efforts to destroy Iowa Football are both EVIL and Pathetic and I thank God that I've never wasted even a dime in support of such a worked over fool.

Hey Rob, on top of it all, I know you're a global warming nut. You and I both know that long ago, Al Gore told us that the coasts were all going to flood. Remember that? Then what did Al do? He went out and bought ocean front property. Last I checked, the sea level rose 1.7 MILLIMETERS over the past year (of course that was probably greatly exaggerated given the many documented cases of Climate Change "Scientists" getting caught LYING).

When your fellow East and West Coast Leftists start selling their beach front properties for pennies on the dollar, then you'll know that at least a few of them actually believe their own bullshit. And when that happens, tell 'em to give 'ol HoopnHawk a call; I'll be more than happy to take their property off of their hands! Besides, according to AOC the world only has about 10 years left, so why not cash in Now?

Hahahah who let the Russians in here?

 

[hoopnhawk]

Great analysis Ree4; is that really the best you can do?