VT made a lier out of Tom brands

[255]

After the Edinburg match Tom was asked about wrestling VT and why. All he would say is "VT made a lier out of Tom Brands". He went on to praise Dresser and said he would of course wrestle Iowa State with Dresser at the helm.

Like the situation or not. Like Brands or not. The man is no orange. He has a clear reason and despite criticism and pressure, he is sticking to his principle on this. That is called integrity and character. Poetically, Moral Courage is define as "doing what is right and/or what you believe in even if it hurts you or brings out the critics". That is the Tom we have seen for so many years. I am proud to be a Hawk fan with Brands at the helm.

 

[LaxHawk174]

After the Edinburg match Tom was asked about wrestling VT and why. All he would say is "VT made a lier out of Tom Brands". He went on to praise Dresser and said he would of course wrestle Iowa State with Dresser at the helm.

Like the situation or not. Like Brands or not. The man is no orange. He has a clear reason and despite criticism and pressure, he is sticking to his principle on this. That is called integrity and character. Poetically, Moral Courage is define as "doing what is right and/or what you believe in even if it hurts you or brings out the critics". That is the Tom we have seen for so many years. I am proud to be a Hawk fan with Brands at the helm.

Honestly, wouldn't want anybody else at the helm. Thanks for sharing. Agree 110% with you.

 

[grappler6]

I saw someone say that VT came to Carver a few years back. Is that true or someone just talking smart?

 

[Azchief32]

I saw someone say that VT came to Carver a few years back. Is that true or someone just talking smart?

No...Iowa beat them at national duals in Ames

 

[whejoe]

Just goes to show what a good guy Brands is. He has nothing but gracious things to say about Dresser, yet Dresser calls him a pussy. You can absolutely guarantee negative recruiting by Dresser once at ISU.

 

[4409]

VT came to Iowa, when Brands was at VT.
Zaleskie's (sp?) Iowa smoked em.

 

[pawrestlersintn]

After the Edinburg match Tom was asked about wrestling VT and why. All he would say is "VT made a lier out of Tom Brands". He went on to praise Dresser and said he would of course wrestle Iowa State with Dresser at the helm.

Like the situation or not. Like Brands or not. The man is no orange. He has a clear reason and despite criticism and pressure, he is sticking to his principle on this. That is called integrity and character. Poetically, Moral Courage is define as "doing what is right and/or what you believe in even if it hurts you or brings out the critics". That is the Tom we have seen for so many years. I am proud to be a Hawk fan with Brands at the helm.

My only problem is that he knew this was the case two years ago when all of these coaches were putting this idea together. If he had no intention of wrestling VT at that point, then that was the time to speak up and say, "I'll wrestle anybody except VT." That may have scuttled the whole thing then or, at least, everyone would have known that Iowa wouldn't wrestle VT. Instead, he waited until the end of the season, when things shook out the way they did, and refused, which created more controversy than the former.

 

[IrishinGA]

My only problem is that he knew this was the case two years ago when all of these coaches were putting this idea together. If he had no intention of wrestling VT at that point, then that was the time to speak up and say, "I'll wrestle anybody except VT." That may have scuttled the whole thing then or, at least, everyone would have known that Iowa wouldn't wrestle VT. Instead, he waited until the end of the season, when things shook out the way they did, and refused, which created more controversy than the former.[/QUOT

How do you know that? I will speculate that TB told the N that would only wrestle VT if they were #1 and #2. Seems plausible to me.

 

[Kwoodhawk]

My only problem is that he knew this was the case two years ago when all of these coaches were putting this idea together. If he had no intention of wrestling VT at that point, then that was the time to speak up and say, "I'll wrestle anybody except VT." That may have scuttled the whole thing then or, at least, everyone would have known that Iowa wouldn't wrestle VT. Instead, he waited until the end of the season, when things shook out the way they did, and refused, which created more controversy than the former.

pics........?

 

[pawrestlersintn]

Okay, that's fine. So, he could have said, "The only way I'm going to wrestle VT is if we are 1 and 2 in the polls." Same result. Everyone would have known on the front end that Iowa wasn't going to wrestle VT in any other circumstance, instead of all of this intrigue and mystery and disappointment.

If he had said this, don't you think it would have come out by now?

 

[gymdad]

Tom Brands is a great coach and ambassador for Iowa and collegiate wrestling. The NCAA wrestling community benefits from his contributions. This entire story of inadvertent consequences from his transition from VT to Iowa is a sad story especially for the impacted student athletes. Lessons learned ... for coaches when recruiting do not make commitments to your recruits on behalf of a university when you Are not empowered either legally or administratively. For recruits your legally binding letter of intent is with the institution who is awarding the scholarship financial support NOT a member of the coaching staff. Many athletes in the high coaching transitory sports of football and basketball also learned this the hard way. Hypothetical question.... if Tom Brands was named the USA Wrestling coach would you agree that Iowa should unconditionally release Spencer Lee to pursue his education/wrestling career elsewhere if he requested due to unpredicted coaching change?

 

[pawrestlersintn]

Tom Brands is a great coach and ambassador for Iowa and collegiate wrestling. The NCAA wrestling community benefits from his contributions. This entire story of inadvertent consequences from his transition from VT to Iowa is a sad story especially for the impacted student athletes. Lessons learned ... for coaches when recruiting do not make commitments to your recruits on behalf of a university when you Are not empowered either legally or administratively. For recruits your legally binding letter of intent is with the institution who is awarding the scholarship financial support NOT a member of the coaching staff. Many athletes in the high coaching transitory sports of football and basketball also learned this the hard way. Hypothetical question.... if Tom Brands was named the USA Wrestling coach would you agree that Iowa should unconditionally release Spencer Lee to pursue his education/wrestling career elsewhere if he requested due to unpredicted coaching change?

I'm not sure who you're asking the question of. If me, then yes, Spencer should be released. I'm NOT defending what VT did. Not knowing the full story, it seems like those guys should have been granted their releases. However, that is water under the bridge.

All I'm saying is if Brands knew two years ago when this dual series was being hatched, he should have made his intentions regarding VT known then, whatever they were.

 

[Clarion167]

I suppose I'll get beat up for this but what the heck. 1. Brands has grown on me over the years. I personally (yeah I know you don't care) could do without the theatrics. He is good for NCAA wrestling and Iowa. He is going nowhere soon. That being said. A personal vendetta (they made a liar out of me) is a questionable motive. Not very professional. VT hurt Iowa wrestling and or Wrestlers and I don't respect the program due may have been a better less personal way of saying it. Best wishes to Clark and Kemerer I hope they are both 100% in two weeks.

 

[Chuck C]

I don't know why this is a surprise to anyone. This is what makes the Brands brothers the Brands brothers. Their unwavering stubbornness and almost maniacal faithfulness to their wrestlers. Anybody that's seen the documentary "Terry" can get a peek inside to that mindset.

Go back and watch Tom's interview immediately after the Olympic Trials, when he was blindsided by questions after Ramos threw everybody under the bus. He will the bear the blame and not publicly attack another wrestler or institution. His statement of, "VT made a liar out of Tom Brands," is probably the closest thing you'll get out of him. I think it's pretty much safe to say that, as long as Tom is at the helm Iowa will NEVER schedule or travel to VT.

 

[CumberlandHawk]

if Tom Brands was named the USA Wrestling coach would you agree that Iowa should unconditionally release Spencer Lee to pursue his education/wrestling career elsewhere if he requested due to unpredicted coaching change?

When has Iowa not released someone who asked for it? I could be wrong but i dont ever remember Iowa not releasing someone.

 

[WidespreadGeo]

Both coaches are weak sauce about this situation. It could have happened easily, but THEY BOTH choose to act like drama queens.

 

[wasdt21]

i would bet everyone involved knew exactly where tom brands stood on this.the fact the rest of the wrestling world is up in arms over this makes it even better as far as i'm concerned.

 

[bbwretler]

My only problem is that he knew this was the case two years ago when all of these coaches were putting this idea together. If he had no intention of wrestling VT at that point, then that was the time to speak up and say, "I'll wrestle anybody except VT." That may have scuttled the whole thing then or, at least, everyone would have known that Iowa wouldn't wrestle VT. Instead, he waited until the end of the season, when things shook out the way they did, and refused, which created more controversy than the former.

Everyone who mattered DID KNOW!

 

[WWDMHawkeye]

Tom Brands is a great coach and ambassador for Iowa and collegiate wrestling. The NCAA wrestling community benefits from his contributions. This entire story of inadvertent consequences from his transition from VT to Iowa is a sad story especially for the impacted student athletes. Lessons learned ... for coaches when recruiting do not make commitments to your recruits on behalf of a university when you Are not empowered either legally or administratively. For recruits your legally binding letter of intent is with the institution who is awarding the scholarship financial support NOT a member of the coaching staff. Many athletes in the high coaching transitory sports of football and basketball also learned this the hard way. Hypothetical question.... if Tom Brands was named the USA Wrestling coach would you agree that Iowa should unconditionally release Spencer Lee to pursue his education/wrestling career elsewhere if he requested due to unpredicted coaching change?

You're leaving out an extremely important aspect of the VT-Iowa story. You make no mention of whether the AD of the school that was left by the coach in question promised the kids and their parents that they would be unconditionally released and later went back on his word. More than anything, IMO, the main lesson to be learned from this episode is that you must get everything in writing and can't trust anyone to do the right thing, no matter how certain you feel that they will.

As for the hypothetical situation regarding Spencer, of course, Iowa would grant a release. However, if Terry stayed and took over, I highly doubt Spencer would want to leave.

 

[pawrestlersintn]

Everyone who mattered DID KNOW!

Sorry, but I'll bet that's not Tom's attitude.

 

[MitchL]

Just goes to show what a good guy Brands is. He has nothing but gracious things to say about Dresser, yet Dresser calls him a pussy. You can absolutely guarantee negative recruiting by Dresser once at ISU.

Agree on all.
Regarding the recruiting, with the overall lack of D-1 talent in Iowa, the head to head stuff might be limited a bit. I think with the increase in Eastern guys, Iowa's in State needs won't be such a big concern. I think the Brands will get the guys they want, imo.

 

[24 so far]

Tom Brands is a great coach and ambassador for Iowa and collegiate wrestling. The NCAA wrestling community benefits from his contributions. This entire story of inadvertent consequences from his transition from VT to Iowa is a sad story especially for the impacted student athletes. Lessons learned ... for coaches when recruiting do not make commitments to your recruits on behalf of a university when you Are not empowered either legally or administratively. For recruits your legally binding letter of intent is with the institution who is awarding the scholarship financial support NOT a member of the coaching staff. Many athletes in the high coaching transitory sports of football and basketball also learned this the hard way. Hypothetical question.... if Tom Brands was named the USA Wrestling coach would you agree that Iowa should unconditionally release Spencer Lee to pursue his education/wrestling career elsewhere if he requested due to unpredicted coaching change?

Iowa released 2x NCAA Finalist and 1x Champ (as a sophomore ) Steve Mocco without restrictions, so he could ultimately end up at Oklahoma State. Any more questions?

 

[BeefHerky]

Just goes to show what a good guy Brands is. He has nothing but gracious things to say about Dresser, yet Dresser calls him a pussy. You can absolutely guarantee negative recruiting by Dresser once at ISU.

You don't think Tom has ever called anyone a pussy?! Tom is tough enough to handle a little ribbing from a competitor. I know Kevin personally, and guarantee he won't be anymore negative then Tom when they are going after the same athlete.

 

[24 so far]

You don't think Tom has ever called anyone a pussy?! Tom is tough enough to handle a little ribbing from a competitor. I know Kevin personally, and guarantee he won't be anymore negative then Tom when they are going after the same athlete.

It doesn't matter either way. Brands has every advantage on the planet with head to head recruiting against Kevin Dresser and that ain't changing anytime soon.

 

[255]

My only problem is that he knew this was the case two years ago when all of these coaches were putting this idea together. If he had no intention of wrestling VT at that point, then that was the time to speak up and say, "I'll wrestle anybody except VT." That may have scuttled the whole thing then or, at least, everyone would have known that Iowa wouldn't wrestle VT. Instead, he waited until the end of the season, when things shook out the way they did, and refused, which created more controversy than the former.

Who says he did not make this clear? How do we know that he was not clear up front? Maybe he did. We don't know that he did not.

 

[Azchief32]

You don't think Tom has ever called anyone a pussy?! Tom is tough enough to handle a little ribbing from a competitor. I know Kevin personally, and guarantee he won't be anymore negative then Tom when they are going after the same athlete.

Sure...but there is a time and place for that

 

[MVPFAN]

To heck with dresser and his crying. He is a clown now! It was said on here that he convinced the VT AD to back out on his promise. Not cool.

 

[Azchief32]

Iowa released 2x NCAA Finalist and 1x Champ (as a sophomore ) Steve Mocco without restrictions, so he could ultimately end up at Oklahoma State. Any more questions?

It's different. We went through the trouble to get Lee's Dad a job at Coe (conspiracy theory being floated) so the least he can do is stick at Iowa

 

[Cal98]

Seems apparent Brands has only refused to go TO Blacksburg to wrestle them or schedule them. He can control this and that's where he's taken his stand. He won't put one dime in their pocket. I would also assume he'll wrestle them in any location other than Blacksburg and even went up against them in the duals a few years ago. Some people incorrectly refer to last year, but VA Tech was NOT the rightful opponent. NC State was.

I don't know. Seems pretty black and white to me.

 

[BruceK-PSU83]

After the Edinburg match Tom was asked about wrestling VT and why. All he would say is "VT made a lier out of Tom Brands". He went on to praise Dresser and said he would of course wrestle Iowa State with Dresser at the helm.

Like the situation or not. Like Brands or not. The man is no orange. He has a clear reason and despite criticism and pressure, he is sticking to his principle on this. That is called integrity and character. Poetically, Moral Courage is define as "doing what is right and/or what you believe in even if it hurts you or brings out the critics". That is the Tom we have seen for so many years. I am proud to be a Hawk fan with Brands at the helm.

I want a Toms Brands poster and bobblehead after that post.

 

[GOLDBANGER]

Who says he did not make this clear? How do we know that he was not clear up front? Maybe he did. We don't know that he did not.

Don't want to get into a fight here, as most know I only post here with confirmable info. Cael Sanderson certainly believes that all the coaches were in agreement as to who was wrestling whom. The agreement was the highest ranked B1G team against the highest ranked non-B1G team and so on down the line. His tweet says it all. Now, someone is obviously fibbing in this situation, that is evidently up for debate.

 

[1stplacehawk]

It's different. We went through the trouble to get Lee's Dad a job at Coe (conspiracy theory being floated) so the least he can do is stick at Iowa

I love how people think someone as experienced as Larry Lee wouldn't be able to land a college administrative job in Iowa. They've clearly never been highly qualified in a particular field

 

[Flying_Tiger]

Iowa released 2x NCAA Finalist and 1x Champ (as a sophomore ) Steve Mocco without restrictions, so he could ultimately end up at Oklahoma State. Any more questions?

Mocco had a redshirt to burn (ended up using an Olympic) so the realty is he could of transferred to OSU without losing a year no matter what Iowa did.

 

[1stplacehawk]

Mocco had a redshirt to burn (ended up using an Olympic) so the realty is he could of transferred to OSU without losing a year no matter what Iowa did.

The reality is that Iowa released him

 

[255]

Don't want to get into a fight here, as most know I only post here with confirmable info. Cael Sanderson certainly believes that all the coaches were in agreement as to who was wrestling whom. The agreement was the highest ranked B1G team against the highest ranked non-B1G team and so on down the line. His tweet says it all. Now, someone is obviously fibbing in this situation, that is evidently up for debate.

Cael is not perfect. He has his petty side too. Maybe not fibbing. EVERYONE knows tom won't wrestle VT. Maybe all agreed on format but not every match up. Does not have to have total blame. No one has to be the villain here but without true confirmation, why even try? Tom has good reason. Cael has good reason to protect the format but was petty in making things public. Dresser is dresser.

 

[el dub]

I'm not sure who you're asking the question of. If me, then yes, Spencer should be released. I'm NOT defending what VT did. Not knowing the full story, it seems like those guys should have been granted their releases. However, that is water under the bridge.

All I'm saying is if Brands knew two years ago when this dual series was being hatched, he should have made his intentions regarding VT known then, whatever they were.

That there is goofy logic, imo. Why would Tommy stand up and declare that he wouldn't wrestle VT in the duals two years back? The match up was purely hypothetical at that point.

This would be more of a, "Cross that bridge when we come to it," situation, imo.

 

[bbwretler]

Sorry, but I'll bet that's not Tom's attitude.

And you know what Tom's attitude would be...WHY? Since I most likely know him far better than you I can say that it would VERY likley be just what his attitude would be.

 

[Kwoodhawk]

I want a Toms Brands poster and bobblehead after that post.

The line forms behind me big guy.............

 

[manmythlegend1]

I come in peace, but I have a question that may ruffle some feathers over here

If Dresser leaves for Iowa State, We all know VT Athletic director who was there at the time of the incident is dead...What sense does it make to continue the ban on VT wrestling with a New Coach and Athletic Director?

Is it safe to assume that Dresser leaving means Brands will no longer have any bans on who he will wrestle?

 

[LaxHawk174]