So Rob Howe wrote an article....



That's an interesting read that most of us knew all happened. I've heard a few stories about Kirk that would tarnish his image as being a great guy. I appreciate Rob not backing down from the power and influence that Kirk has with bringing it up. Not sure what the end game is though. This should be fun...
 




Kirk sure has a LOT of black athletes who sing his praises. I would venture to say the vast majority statistically. Maybe he is a part-time 'racist'. Or maybe managing conflicts in a complex endeavor as large as the FB program will result in a few black players being involved and using racist as the catch all gotcha. Of course eagerly lapped up by uber vindictive Howe.
 


It's a story of unchecked power. Most employees in an ultimate leadership position would not have been given a second chance after he blew his first chance in the years after the internal report was released. Actions like Doyle getting a special award after a major f*ck up - even if an accident - needed to be checked. Maybe things would never have progressed to the point of needing Husch Blackwell to investigate had Kirk been checked earlier.

This isn't the main story of Kirk's career in my opinion. But they aren't chapters to completely forget about either. Not exactly news here - and in my view, lots and lots of good from the man over all those years.
 






I also don't get why some fans are so sensitive about this. For years, fans have complained about Iowa media "not asking the tough questions" because they tried to stay on Kirk's good side. Well, this is the tough stuff here. It took courage for Howe to pursue these stories and ask the tough questions, even to the detriment of his career. He sacked up. How many of us would do the same?

He followed the story based on two official reports - one by an independent law firm - that even involved assistant coaches.
 


Let's see...anybody after 27 years (9,855 days) at the helm of a major corporation who dealt with hundreds and hundreds of players, countless media types, assistants, university types, boosters (you get the picture) who didn't have a f*ck up or two, or three, well c'mon, it just doesn't happen.

Goodness gracious, nobody's perfect. Would you rather endure what KF has messed up, or say, a Scott Frost, JoePa, Harbaugh, Tucker, Urban, Tressell, etc.

Here's more.....

www.cbssports.com

Eight years of Big Ten scandals paint unflattering picture, but connecting dots may be unfair

Eleven of the Big Ten's 14 programs have been involved in a serious incident over the last eight years
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

And this is just the B1G. It exponentially expandes outside of the B1G boundaries.

As others have said...what's the end game to the article? What axe is there to grind?

Seems like a lame poop-throwing exercise to me.
 


There is so much more to this story of racial bias, but Rob has decided that he will come down on one side. As I am sure you were, I was appalled by some of our coaches’ behavior toward black athletes. No excuses. Evidence was clear. See reports.

I would not, however, place the weight room fiasco next to the racial bias issues. Talk about cognitive dissonance. Unrelated.

However, the end result is the most significant part of this story. A settlement was reached, like it or not. Doyle was fired. Given the information we have seen about his behavior, I am ok with that. The death of the program was predicted.

Then, in my view, Kirk reacted with the appropriate corrections. Enough? Too much? But the program did not perish and most of the black athletes who were part of the program at that time remained on board. Recruiting of minorities seemed to continue successfully.
Examples of players affection for Kirk are well documented. The treatment of cultural differences has apparently been addressed in a satisfactory manner.

I am very proud of the end result.

I may get targeted, to use a football term, for one additional position that I want to suggest. Hayden Fry famously said he was in fact “color blind” in his treatment of players. You know his history. That may have been KF’s view of the world.The error on his part likely shared by many, might have been that sensitivity to cultural differences and the need to respond appropriately, was not within his view. We must admit that we older guys may have missed reality. No more excuses.
 


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