Rob Howe explains his side of the DJK deal

iahawk20 said:
If you cannot figure out the difference of time management and game decisions compared to grilling a coach on a player that was KICKED OFF the team from a season ago you really have lost me. Rob can defned himself and has...you sticking up for him has gone far over board and is making you look silly.
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This.
 
Tabloids sell, thus this became a story. That is the quality of this story. It is amazing with the credibility that DJK has shown that some of you schmucks still believe him over KF. Comical.
 
BLKNGOLD48 said:
Agreed, both Jon and Spank have looked silly in defending Rob on this one.
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I am not concerned with what people think of my opinions.

I know Rob better than most anyone on this board. He is a friend and former employee. I am not saying I agree with his decision to write this, other than he felt it was a story worth pursuing and tried to do it for several weeks. People are free to question it, as you noticed no one is stopping you from doing it.

But some people are making Rob out to be some villain and I can assure you that is not accurate...he's not a Hawk hater...Rob is a journalist. you don't have to like all of his work, but people are starting to make this personal, and that's disappointing.

It could simply be that the NFL folks didn't think DJK was a good enough college player to take a risk on his red flags that were public record...especially in a year where UFA's were going to have a hard enough time making a team with a squeaky clean record. Rob felt like he had to ask the questions he asked. You don't have to like it or agree with it, and are free to express your opinions.

But many are making this way too personal, as if they have somehow been wronged here.

Kirk's a big boy. He handled it how he wanted to. Rob never wanted to be a part of the story, I can guarantee that and he has said as much.

This too shall pass
 
The NFL barely tolerates the antics of its very talented, e.g., Ochocinco, they're not going to waste a nano second on a guy that's already demonstrated behavior issues who has marginal NFL talent. They invest too much money and time in players - why take a shot on a guy that will cause your company aggravation when he's no guarantee that he'll be able to help you out. It's not personal, it's just business.
 
This was very poor judgement by Rob. The story isn't even relevant any more and Rob was definitely trying to get attention, etc. I'll have to give him a break this time. I don't remember him ever stooping to something like this.
 
imported_UHawk said:
Don't you guys dare question Coach....anyone who does so, we will drag your name through the mud. Most of you blind followers are a joke on here. Grow a set. None of the IA media will put his feet to the fire. $3M of your money and no accountability. Enjoy the 7-5/8-4 seasons suckers. Cause that's what you get with Coach "well I was just too scared to take a chance cause gosh what if things go bad".
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Then question him about relevant history, not old stuff that has been beaten to death. Who cares about DJK any more? If you do, you are living in the past. Rob is a good guy that made a bad decision here.
 
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If a I (or most any of us) had posted this rumor as a topic on HN it would have been taken down.
 
Lets be honest, the only reason DJK is the all time leading receiver is because we never really had much at the position. He plays anywhere else in the country and he is at best the #2 receiver maybe #3. And now with all the off the field problems he has had, we question if Kirk badmouthed him to keep him out of the league? Really? The guy was always a long shot to make any team.

I still dont understand how Kirk himself was able to keep DJK out of the league even if he did bad mouth him. And this is why its a non-story and why a hack job like Howe should have never brought it up.
 
JonDMiller said:
I am not concerned with what people think of my opinions.

I know Rob better than most anyone on this board. He is a friend and former employee. I am not saying I agree with his decision to write this, other than he felt it was a story worth pursuing and tried to do it for several weeks. People are free to question it, as you noticed no one is stopping you from doing it.

But some people are making Rob out to be some villain and I can assure you that is not accurate...he's not a Hawk hater...Rob is a journalist. you don't have to like all of his work, but people are starting to make this personal, and that's disappointing.

It could simply be that the NFL folks didn't think DJK was a good enough college player to take a risk on his red flags that were public record...especially in a year where UFA's were going to have a hard enough time making a team with a squeaky clean record. Rob felt like he had to ask the questions he asked. You don't have to like it or agree with it, and are free to express your opinions.

But many are making this way too personal, as if they have somehow been wronged here.

Kirk's a big boy. He handled it how he wanted to. Rob never wanted to be a part of the story, I can guarantee that and he has said as much.

This too shall pass
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i'm not arguing with your opinion that rob is indeed a good guy. i don't know the man to argue that point.

however, if rob didnt' want to be part of the story, he wouldn't have made himself part of the story. how exactly did he try pursuing this story more? all we know for facts(coming from him) is that DJK contacted him, rob tried calling his agent with no response, and he asked kirk. if his point was really to "pursue" this story over the weeks he said he did, then any GOOD reporter would have checked with other sources to back up the claims. meaning call a couple NFL reps and see if DJK's claims hold any water.

again, i'm not saying rob is a bad guy or meant for all of this to happen. i'm just saying that his actions were poorly timed his questions should have been backed by some sort of research
 
Rob has written and said he regrets that he is part of the story. Knowing him for more than a decade, I take him at his word. I take Kirk at his word that he has not been asked questions on DJK since December.

I dont begrudge anyone an opinion either way on this.
 
JonDMiller said:
I am not concerned with what people think of my opinions.

I know Rob better than most anyone on this board. He is a friend and former employee. I am not saying I agree with his decision to write this, other than he felt it was a story worth pursuing and tried to do it for several weeks. People are free to question it, as you noticed no one is stopping you from doing it.

But some people are making Rob out to be some villain and I can assure you that is not accurate...he's not a Hawk hater...Rob is a journalist. you don't have to like all of his work, but people are starting to make this personal, and that's disappointing.

It could simply be that the NFL folks didn't think DJK was a good enough college player to take a risk on his red flags that were public record...especially in a year where UFA's were going to have a hard enough time making a team with a squeaky clean record. Rob felt like he had to ask the questions he asked. You don't have to like it or agree with it, and are free to express your opinions.

But many are making this way too personal, as if they have somehow been wronged here.

Kirk's a big boy. He handled it how he wanted to. Rob never wanted to be a part of the story, I can guarantee that and he has said as much.

This too shall pass
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Rob should have known that he wouldn't get anywhere with this line of questioning. He was just not willing to let this story go. At some point, you have to know when to move on. If Rob had asked you about this when he worked for you, I'm sure you would have encouraged him to find something current to write about. There are plenty of issues with the current team. The fact that Rob chose to pursue this story raises a red flag about his judgment. It doesn't make him a bad guy. It just shows he's stuck on a story that's not going to go anywhere.
 
Jon would you feel the same if this question were asked at the Big Ten Media Day in Chicago by a reported you didn't know?

Would it still be the reporter is just doing his job?
 
whammer33024 said:
if his point was really to "pursue" this story over the weeks he said he did, then any GOOD reporter would have checked with other sources to back up the claims. meaning call a couple NFL reps and see if DJK's claims hold any water.

again, i'm not saying rob is a bad guy or meant for all of this to happen. i'm just saying that his actions were poorly timed his questions should have been backed by some sort of research
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What better source is there on what KF may have or may have not said than KF himself? How many "NFL reps" are there for the 32 teams that Howe was supposed to have called? When writing an investigative piece, how much credibility do you have if you don't ask the 'accused' for his side of the story?

People are getting their panties way too twisted about this.
 
It is absolutely incredible to me that DJK is still being discussed on this message board, or that Rob Howe would bring him up in a press conference. Are you kidding me? I honestly believe that Kirk Ferentz bent over backwards to help this kid throughout his career. If anything, Ferentz probably failed to discipline DJK at times when he deserved it. DJK caught every break imaginable.

And yet, he turned out to be one of the most divisive players ever to wear the Black and Gold. He was a horrible role model and his actions his senior year showed complete immaturity, recklessness, arrogance and irresponsibility. I would like to believe that Ferentz DID actually talk to NFL scouts, and told them not to touch this kid with a ten foot pole. Why would a team invest millions of dollars in a personality like this? DJK's actions had to have a ripple effect on the team throughout the fall of 2010. The team had to have known where he was living and what he was doing. I think it decimated team morale, alienated players, and generally disrupted the team the entire season. DJK was expected to be a leader his senior year. Instead, he lived a rogue lifestyle and left the program in a drug-induced haze. UNBELIEVABLE
 
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