Minnesota suspends Lizak, Thorn, Early III and Krone

[MSU158]

Mitch,

I agree. The only way he should be blaming the AD is if he had a clear response from him or his department supporting his decisions. If they were vague or completely left it up to him, he is still responsible for his actions. I would say it sure looks like he has every reason to be upset with the whole Department, but the fault is inevitably his.

 

[championhawk]

Now wouldn't it have been a lot easier for JROB to just do this from the start and keep his job and not create a culture of entitlement.

People like to say what JROB did was noble I look at it the exact opposite. It was the worst thing he could have done for young men he was trying to shape. Old School would have been kicking them off the team and showing the guys on the team that are doing the right things that they are on the right path.

I agree. If Iowa were to ever have drug dealers on their team I would want them kicked off. Especially during the season. Out of season at least 1 season suspension.

 

[SPOONER]

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't he only get the incriminating evidence and testimony AFTER he offered them immunity to come forward? Was he supposed to renege? What would that say about him as a Head Coach? Maybe he honestly didn't believe(as a sort of father you often don't believe the worst is possible) it would be that bad until it was all put right in front of him.

That's the whole point. He doesn't have the authority to offer to offer immunity or amnesty in the first place.

 

[MSU158]

That's the whole point. He doesn't have the authority to offer to offer immunity or amnesty in the first place.

As far as losing his job goes, I agree with that. However, I stand by him as an honorable man for sticking to his word. To me that shows class and integrity. If he doesn't offer immunity, who is to say anything comes of this whatsoever? Without cooperation from J. Rob, the University nor the Police were able to expel or charge the wrestlers. So, was it then J. Rob's responsibility to become the equivalent of a narc and go undercover?

My argument isn't with his protecting the kids and their actions. If he did so knowingly before the immunity offer, my opinion of him would be considerably different. However, if he knew nothing concrete until after the offer, how do you not stand by him?

 

[KujawaFan]

The kids should be gone for at least the year. I also heard Early has other issues at Minny.

 

[Sandor45]

As far as losing his job goes, I agree with that. However, I stand by him as an honorable man for sticking to his word. To me that shows class and integrity. If he doesn't offer immunity, who is to say anything comes of this whatsoever? Without cooperation from J. Rob, the University nor the Police were able to expel or charge the wrestlers. So, was it then J. Rob's responsibility to become the equivalent of a narc and go undercover?

My argument isn't with his protecting the kids and their actions. If he did so knowingly before the immunity offer, my opinion of him would be considerably different. However, if he knew nothing concrete until after the offer, how do you not stand by him?

I don't quite understand why the students are not charged with a crime?
Distribution of mass amounts of prescription drugs to who knows how many students?
These were not just a bottle of pills. From my understanding, we are talking zip lock baggies of them.

 

[wasdt21]

if he was offering immunity he there was a problem

 

[whejoe]

That's the thing, Jrod really didn't protect the kids, because now everyone knows who was involved and they were still punished. If he had gone to the administration first with the info, they could have suspended the kids for violation of team rules, and no one would have known drugs were involved.

 

[MSU158]

I don't quite understand why the students are not charged with a crime?
Distribution of mass amounts of prescription drugs to who knows how many students?
These were not just a bottle of pills. From my understanding, we are talking zip lock baggies of them.

Without J. Rob's compliance they had no evidence other than heresy.

if he was offering immunity he there was a problem

It is my understanding that there was a whistleblower. Was he supposed to base everything off of the "rat"? The immunity offer undoubtedly provided him with a majority of the concrete info that I doubt would have ever come to light. If it was the University or the Police coming after them the pills get flushed down the toilet.

That's the thing, Jrod really didn't protect the kids, because now everyone knows who was involved and they were still punished. If he had gone to the administration first with the info, they could have suspended the kids for violation of team rules, and no one would have known drugs were involved.

I firmly disagree. The University would have been compelled by law to check the allegations and involve the police. In this case J. Rob had eliminated any evidence that would have been incriminating. Without J. Rob's involvement, it is very possible some, if not all, of these student athletes would be expelled and possibly convicted.

 

[SPOONER]

As far as losing his job goes, I agree with that. However, I stand by him as an honorable man for sticking to his word. To me that shows class and integrity. If he doesn't offer immunity, who is to say anything comes of this whatsoever? Without cooperation from J. Rob, the University nor the Police were able to expel or charge the wrestlers. So, was it then J. Rob's responsibility to become the equivalent of a narc and go undercover?

My argument isn't with his protecting the kids and their actions. If he did so knowingly before the immunity offer, my opinion of him would be considerably different. However, if he knew nothing concrete until after the offer, how do you not stand by him?

I don't find anything honorable or classy about a college coach playing judge and jury, protecting his athletes from greater punishment, or rounding up illegal drugs and disposing of them. But hey, that's just me.

 

[whejoe]

Without J. Rob's compliance they had no evidence other than heresy.



It is my understanding that there was a whistleblower. Was he supposed to base everything off of the "rat"? The immunity offer undoubtedly provided him with a majority of the concrete info that I doubt would have ever come to light. If it was the University or the Police coming after them the pills get flushed down the toilet.



I firmly disagree. The University would have been compelled by law to check the allegations and involve the police. In this case J. Rob had eliminated any evidence that would have been incriminating. Without J. Rob's involvement, it is very possible some, if not all, of these student athletes would be expelled and possibly convicted.

Without J. Rob's compliance they had no evidence other than heresy.



It is my understanding that there was a whistleblower. Was he supposed to base everything off of the "rat"? The immunity offer undoubtedly provided him with a majority of the concrete info that I doubt would have ever come to light. If it was the University or the Police coming after them the pills get flushed down the toilet.



I firmly disagree. The University would have been compelled by law to check the allegations and involve the police. In this case J. Rob had eliminated any evidence that would have been incriminating. Without J. Rob's involvement, it is very possible some, if not all, of these student athletes would be expelled and possibly convicted.

If they were just using the Xanax there is absolutely no way the kids would be expelled or even have the police involved. The u would have been under no obligation to contact the police. If the wrestlers were selling, and we don't know which wrestlers were or how many were, jrob broke the law himself by destroying evidence. So, how is breaking the law honorable? Go to the administration and get the kids help from there, which should have been done.

 

[KujawaFan]

Those kids should be suspended for a year period. And Early should be gone. But that won't happen for a reason.

 

[MitchL]

The kids should be gone for at least the year. I also heard Early has other issues at Minny.

Oh, my. This could get interesting.

Since we love to speculate on this forum, please tell me what you are referring to regarding the "other issues" with lil Early. I promise I won't tell anyone.

 

[Azchief32]

Those kids should be suspended for a year period. And Early should be gone. But that won't happen for a reason.

Yea...why just Early? One thing to come on here and have a pro/con on the whole ordeal but it's a whole different thing to specifically go after 1 in 4? And what is that reason? Just curious.

 

[pinters]

The kids should be gone for at least the year. I also heard Early has other issues at Minny.

Those kids should be suspended for a year period. And Early should be gone. But that won't happen for a reason.

Elaborate...

 

[el dub]

LOL Where did you get your information? We want sources!

 

[purescurve]

I don't find anything honorable or classy about a college coach playing judge and jury, protecting his athletes from greater punishment, or rounding up illegal drugs and disposing of them. But hey, that's just me.

So if it were your son you would of kept the drugs, called the cops and let the chips fall where they may?

He probably felt like a father to them and didn't want to leave their futures in others hands. Some people that are incarcerated for minor offenses never get out due to doing what they have to do to survive while inside. Either way they have a felony on their lifetime record. Using drugs is a health problem and should be kept out of the courts.

With that said, whomever procured the drugs and sold them should be judged by the courts. The users should have been dealt with according to the university rules.

Either way it's a bad deal for everyone involved and he acted like I probably would have to protect my son after I took him behind the woodpile and made sure momma wasn't within earshot.

 

[championhawk]

I don't understand why JRob keeps getting the honorable pat on the back. He didn't do anything until the season was over. That was some serious stuff those young men were doing. He should have addressed it immediately. Waiting until the season was over takes away a lot of the integrity claims.

 

[IrishinGA]

Those kids should be suspended for a year period. And Early should be gone. But that won't happen for a reason.

This was posted on BWI. I think he is closer to the situation. Not sure what ax you have to grind but seems you have one.

I hadn't posted on this subject before; people are going to believe what they choose to believe and any post I made would have only been troll food. I waited until there was resolution before I made this my one and only statement about the subject.

Everything that was attributed to a single anonymous source and/or reported or regurgitated by some media was assumed to be fact by many. I won't go into specifics but a lot that has been assumed on these forums is not fact.

If you believe there were 4 wrestlers suspended for dealing drugs you are wrong.
If you think there was an OD you are wrong.
If you think 2 months and humiliation was the only price paid you are wrong.

There was wrong doing. Young men were accountable for their individual actions. They will take their medicine, hopefully learn from it and be better men for it.

There were offers made by some very good programs to at least 1 wrestler if he was interested in a fresh start. I can't/won't speak for others but I would assume others were also courted. The easier road would have been to bail and I'm sure that would have also satisfied the wishes of some. To allow another program to reap the benefits of the resources, sacrifices, commitment and efforts of J, the staff, the fans and the program as a whole after dropping a grenade and bailing to leave the Gophers to pick up the pieces would not have been fair many. A lot is owed to many and the only way to pay it back is to excel in the community, in the classroom, in life and on the mat representing those that committed to and believed in you.

The process dragged out so long because of the summer break (parties in different
states) and several layers of investigation (police, university, athletic department) that, for lack of a better term, each had to wait their turn in line.
I know the published sanctions are not satisfactory for some wanting a pound of flesh, depending on your perspective, out of a sense of being wronged or out of spite. The wrestler closest to me was accountable for his actions and resolved to accept whatever punishment the UofM deemed appropriate.

I won't be answering any questions about any of this.
Good health to all going forward and like all of you I am anxious for the season to start.

 

[butchinmi]

There are many crazy parents around here, but PapaBear sure seems to have his head on straight and I find his comments rather refreshing. Kuddos to you PapaBear. I've made mistakes and learned more from them than most other things I've done. I wish the same for your son!

 

[whejoe]

This was posted on BWI. I think he is closer to the situation. Not sure what ax you have to grind but seems you have one.

MitchL is going to be crushed!

 

[NYWRESTLER94]

Those kids should be suspended for a year period. And Early should be gone. But that won't happen for a reason.

Why single out early? I got a pretty good idea why but maybe you should elaborate

 

[2plus2]

"There were offers made by some very good programs to at least 1 wrestler if he was interested in a fresh start"

Well those other schools need permission by the MN AD to talk to any scholarship athlete about transferring so it looks like the Earlys were shopping around and it wasn't all about staying put "and making things right" from the start.

 

[SPOONER]

So if it were your son you would of kept the drugs, called the cops and let the chips fall where they may?

He probably felt like a father to them and didn't want to leave their futures in others hands. Some people that are incarcerated for minor offenses never get out due to doing what they have to do to survive while inside. Either way they have a felony on their lifetime record. Using drugs is a health problem and should be kept out of the courts.

With that said, whomever procured the drugs and sold them should be judged by the courts. The users should have been dealt with according to the university rules.

Either way it's a bad deal for everyone involved and he acted like I probably would have to protect my son after I took him behind the woodpile and made sure momma wasn't within earshot.

He may have "felt" like a father but he's not, making this entire argument moot.

 

[NYWRESTLER94]

"There were offers made by some very good programs to at least 1 wrestler if he was interested in a fresh start"

Well those other schools need permission by the MN AD to talk to any scholarship athlete about transferring so it looks like the Earlys were shopping around and it wasn't all about staying put "and making things right" from the start.

You do realize you can be made offers without engaging right? You obviously have an issue with PBS and are looking for any way to drag him out

 

[Pennstate1985]

So if it were your son you would of kept the drugs, called the cops and let the chips fall where they may?

He probably felt like a father to them and didn't want to leave their futures in others hands. Some people that are incarcerated for minor offenses never get out due to doing what they have to do to survive while inside. Either way they have a felony on their lifetime record. Using drugs is a health problem and should be kept out of the courts.

With that said, whomever procured the drugs and sold them should be judged by the courts. The users should have been dealt with according to the university rules.

Either way it's a bad deal for everyone involved and he acted like I probably would have to protect my son after I took him behind the woodpile and made sure momma wasn't within earshot.

JROB was a coach and not a father here. We can try to deflect this as a father/son situation, but it wasn't. JRob has a higher responsibility to the U by contract, and neglected to do right by them. That's why he got fired.

 

[purescurve]

JROB was a coach and not a father here. We can try to deflect this as a father/son situation, but it wasn't. JRob has a higher responsibility to the U by contract, and neglected to do right by them. That's why he got fired.

I have no problem with him getting fired. I'm sure he expected it. How many kids today would say their father had a greater (good) influence on their lives than past coaches? Higher responsibly to the U? nah

 

[Pennstate1985]

I have no problem with him getting fired. I'm sure he expected it.

As many suspect, I think the whole thing got out of hand for JRob. He thought he had a use problem that he could squash after the season. Problem was that he had a dealing issue as well. He handled it incorrectly from a timing standpoint. He handled it incorrectly from a university standpoint. From a 1,000 miles away, it appears JRob's biggest sin here was pride. He couldn't hit the stop button on his actions and seek the proper guidance it would seem. Once he got caught in the coverup so to speak, his pride wouldn't let him change course.

Nothing honorable or classy about what he did. He chose a course that suited him best (as most of us would do in his shoes), and stuck to it until the very bitter end. Happens every day in all walks of life.

 

[purescurve]

As many suspect, I think the whole thing got out of hand for JRob. He thought he had a use problem that he could squash after the season. Problem was that he had a dealing issue as well. He handled it incorrectly from a timing standpoint. He handled it incorrectly from a university standpoint. From a 1,000 miles away, it appears JRob's biggest sin here was pride. He couldn't hit the stop button on his actions and seek the proper guidance it would seem. Once he got caught in the coverup so to speak, his pride wouldn't let him change course.

Nothing honorable or classy about what he did. He chose a course that suited him best (as most of us would do in his shoes), and stuck to it until the very bitter end. Happens every day in all walks of life.

I doubt pride had anything to do with his decision to do his best for his guys and let the chips fall where they may.

I thought the punishments were a little too lenient but I think we should re-visit these boys a few years from now and consider What If they would of been thrown to the wolves so to speak.

 

[Flying_Tiger]

Pride had a lot to do with this. Despite building that program and having a lot of success, there were rumblings that he should step down as head coach. The last thing he could afford was losing his guys to suspension or the negative publicity of a scandal. I find it very hard to believe that JRob threw away everything just to protect a handful of guys that were engaged in some serious drug activity.

 

[MitchL]

MitchL is going to be crushed!

I don't have access to the PSU site, imagine that, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be crushed.

Could someone post that response from PBS here and I can give a view to it? TIA!

 

[dicemen99]

I don't have access to the PSU site, imagine that, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be crushed.

Could someone post that response from PBS here and I can give a view to it? TIA!

Everyone has access to the PSU site. It's a free board just like here. It's called "The Wrestling Room."

https://bwi.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-wrestling-room.16/

 

[Chickenman Testa]

Everyone has access to the PSU site. It's a free board just like here. It's called "The Wrestling Room."

https://bwi.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-wrestling-room.16/

He might be in the "Penalty Box"

Mitch - IrishinGa embedded PBS' post in his own post on this page

 

[2plus2]

You do realize you can be made offers without engaging right? You obviously have an issue with PBS and are looking for any way to drag him out

So how would he receive an offer from another school without engaging? That school needs the MN AD permission to talk to any scholarship athlete. This would have to come at the request of the athlete first. So they basically shopped around and then decided it was best to stay "and make things right". It wasn't about staying and making things right from the start. They explored other options. Which is perfectly fine but contrasts to what PBS was implying.

 

[grappler6]

Breaking News: Not all coaches follow NCAA rules.

 

[MitchL]

He might be in the "Penalty Box"

Mitch - IrishinGa embedded PBS' post in his own post on this page

This! Surprising, I know.

I did finally read the response. Sounds like an attorney wrote it. Time will tell who learned what. But I am certainly willing to drop the criticism for now and let the season begin. I realize my disdain for the Gopher fan base has likely clouded my view. Then again... no one should really give a shit what I think. It's only MY opinion.

 

[MitchL]

Breaking News: Not all coaches follow NCAA rules.

Yep, Robinson proved that.

 

[whejoe]

This! Surprising, I know.

I did finally read the response. Sounds like an attorney wrote it. Time will tell who learned what. But I am certainly willing to drop the criticism for now and let the season begin. I realize my disdain for the Gopher fan base has likely clouded my view. Then again... no one should really give a shit what I think. It's only MY opinion.

You need to create a new account, MitchLL, so you can post again on the PSU board.

 

[MitchL]

You need to create a new account, MitchLL, so you can post again on the PSU board.

It would take me about three posts to get canned. The "skin" is a bit thin over there. I really don't mind tho. I went thru a phase where I visited other sites pretty frequently. Got banned on a few and simply quit posting on a few others. As far as pure wrestling knowledge and objectivity... after Iowa, the board I liked the most was Togs homeland.

 

[grappler6]

Yep, Robinson proved that.

NCAA wasn't a part of this