http://www.fox9.com/news/investigators/144566379-story (http://www.fox9.com/news/investigators/144566379-story)
Oh boy...this is going to get interesting. I have a lot of respect for Coach J Robinson. He appears to be attempting to self-police the team. Which is great but hopefully not in a dismissive way to investigators. While not an illegal drug the prescription drug is being used haphazardly.
The selling of prescription drugs is a serious and dangerous crime, most likely a felony w/ prison time. I'm hoping the allegations are false.
Oh wooow. I hope it is false as well. I feel bad for that program.
I can hear the drums and trumpets... The BD supporters are rising up.... The new battle cry... At least we have good kids who aren't druggies... Barry has too much character to cover up something like this...
On a related note, I believe this will lead to the exit of JRob as he has finally given the U a firm enough reason to get rid of him.
I don't have feelings one way or the other regarding JRob, but doesn't that look like obstruction of justice from the article? It doesn't look good, no matter who the coach is.
Failing to aid in an investigation has got to be grounds for a dismissal. I get being true to your guys, but that's too big of a deal to fall on the sword for them.
It doesn't look like he knew anything about selling the drugs, only that he found out that some were using xanax. For that matter, it doesn't say that he knew for sure whether or not they were the wrestlers' prescriptions, only that they were prescription drugs. You can certainly do a lot of speculation but I'd hate to see a guy with that legacy go down for trying to make men and solid citizens out these kids.
Taking the drug isn't the issue. Dealing it is. Even taking 1 penny for it makes it a sale, and for the program that's an issue.
The article is well written speculation. It refers to closed door meetings and telling guys to lawyer up, which pushes the assumption that JRob knew, but doesn't come out and say it.
Let's hope nothing big comes of it. Wrestling doesn't need any issues like that.
Sadly, its the beginning of the end (IMO) for J Rob.
While different, and there were additional issues unrelated to the wrestling program, see the Tim Fader firing. This is 10 x more serious than Fader's failure to follow proper protocol in the reporting hierarchy. State Statute violations, NCAA violations, and potential additional consequences. Throw in the fact that Media is on this early...
IMO
Quote from: thedecider on May 25, 2016, 10:35:09 PM
Hammen, those who live in a glass house shouldn't throw stones.
Lol. Ok? Those who sell prescription drugs illegally shouldn't.
Quote from: Kodonnelllaw on May 26, 2016, 08:06:27 AM
Sadly, its the beginning of the end (IMO) for J Rob.
While different, and there were additional issues unrelated to the wrestling program, see the Tim Fader firing. This is 10 x more serious than Fader's failure to follow proper protocol in the reporting hierarchy. State Statute violations, NCAA violations, and potential additional consequences. Throw in the fact that Media is on this early...
IMO
Agreed - the way the media work the article it looks really bad for JRob. For something as serious as this, and with a new AD, I can't see this ending well.
Huge Jrob fan, but it gets worse if these numbers prove to be close. I can't see how he survives. I see his documentary is down now, heard it first came down maybe due to it created a recruiting violation (not sure how), but probably is going to stay down for a while now.
http://m.startribune.com/source-gophers-wrestling-coach-sought-to-handle-xanax-abuse-internally/380899191/ (http://m.startribune.com/source-gophers-wrestling-coach-sought-to-handle-xanax-abuse-internally/380899191/)
This doesn't look good for J Rob. That language in his contract might very well be the writing on the wall.
What is with Minnesota's athletic teams? The basketball team has had a ton of issues as well.
It's all that frustration with the Vikings maybe. ;)
Ghetto,
You are right this school has had some issues recently. I hope they get it together and it doesn't spread into other sports. My daughter plays soccer for the Gophers!
Every sport has their dirty laundry. Accusations of a group selling/distributing Xanax is very serious and has no place at a university, regardless of who the student is.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/05/26/minnesota-wrestlers-caught-selling-xanax-coach-has-them-write-essay/
Whoa! This piece really sets it where it should. The wrestlers put J in a position to end his career, I think by his response to the situation, he did.
Not good. :(
Ouch - washingtonpost now. This is escalating quickly. The Baylor football coach just got dismissed for matters much more serious, but it just goes to show that the exit of a coach is the easiest/most convenient way for the department to handle it.
http://deadspin.com/report-minnesota-wrestling-coach-found-students-dealin-1778828581 (http://deadspin.com/report-minnesota-wrestling-coach-found-students-dealin-1778828581)
2500 pills is a lot of Xanax.
After seeing Baylor stand up and fire the coach I have a lot of respect from them rather than try and dismiss/hide/ignore this like so many other big time football programs. They actually honored their mission statement. With this being announced the pressure is on Minnesota. J Rob is done!
I think you are correct.
Will be interesting if they hire within or go external from the current staff. Obviously depends on any involvement of others in the allegations.
Not condoning what he did, I feel he should probably be fired, but there is some irony in Minnesota. A month ago, Prince dies, all signs pointing to "drug related complications" and the state goes into mourning. The twin cities were lit up in purple. Governor Walker and the POTUS had press releases on his death.
Now, J, who tried to stop abuse and dealing, albeit through the wrong channels/choices, will be vilified, criminalized, and destroyed. He will not be honored for all the good he did, all the wrestlers he affected, and lives he changed.
Kind of a double standard.
You are correct, Stripes. They also have re-upped Pitino's BB contract, rewarding him for abject failure over time. To top it off, he has a bunch of criminals as well.
How hard is it to go to school and wrestle, or play BB or whatever? All I ever wanted was to do my classwork, wrestle (I felt honored just to get to do so), and hunt and fish some.
Quote from: thedecider on May 26, 2016, 03:23:49 PM
Quote from: hammen on May 26, 2016, 10:37:00 AM
Every sport has their dirty laundry. Accusations of a group selling/distributing Xanax is very serious and has no place at a university, regardless of who the student is.
What about an athlete using a prescription drug like adderall?
Pennies compared to selling thousands of prescription drugs for a profit. You know, drug dealing?
Speeding is bad too. Miles from drug dealing. This is pretty unprecedented across all college sports. I can't remember a story like this.
The amount of pills is going to be the nail that closes things. 2800 pills? 1400 were dumped by JRob? It's something he should have gone to the police about. Again, I get that those are his guys (Were. Dude will be fired no question) but you don't want those guys in your program anyway. That slippery slope is more than a gradual incline.
Interesting to see how long this takes, which kids get shown the road, etc.
I wonder if Minnesota will sanction itself, and I wonder what that means to potential recruits. I wonder if that changes Marko's mind at all as well.
Quote from: hammen on May 26, 2016, 12:25:54 PM
Will be interesting if they hire within or go external from the current staff. Obviously depends on any involvement of others in the allegations.
I heard BD is on the short list ;-)
Looks like it is time for St. Donny to jump ship once again.
Quote from: Ghetto on May 26, 2016, 08:40:18 PM
Looks like it is time for St. Donny to jump ship once again.
That's good lol.
My guess is that they are going to clean house and get a whole new staff, so it's definitely possible. But I would think a program like Minnesota is going to go after a very big name if they go with a current assistant coach. However I have no idea how the new AD thinks about wrestling at the university. Probably not very high at this point, but you would have to think he is aware of their tradition.
Quote from: Ghetto on May 25, 2016, 02:01:57 PM
Taking the drug isn't the issue. Dealing it is. Even taking 1 penny for it makes it a sale, and for the program that's an issue.
The article is well written speculation. It refers to closed door meetings and telling guys to lawyer up, which pushes the assumption that JRob knew, but doesn't come out and say it.
Let's hope nothing big comes of it. Wrestling doesn't need any issues like that.
Respectfully, while I sincerely hope this is much to do about nothing, and agree that wrestling; any program or young people don't need issues like this, I disagree that taking Xanax isn't the issue.
Can any of us say that we knew a group of 20-30 guys in college "back in the day" with 4 members that were on a Xanax-like pharmaceutical? Doctors prescribe the stuff way longer than the manufacturer-recommended and FDA-tested 6 months, which can lead to dangerous addictions. Benzoids are becoming one of the leading causes of death in this country...
The drug would have to be prescribed to pass an NCAA drug test, so likely prescribed. Then selling it, or even giving it away, becomes a very serious problem from almost any vantage point.
I over-generalize.
Taking prescription drugs for recreational use is a bad problem.
For JRob and the program, drug use isn't going to get him fired. College kids, unless they've changed in the past few years, make really poor decisions being on their own for the first time ever. No one is getting fired for kids taking small amounts. JRob dumping over 1000 pills to protect guys is the issue they'll fire him for.
I'm really surprised they haven't fired him already. Makes a real statement and allows for a search to start immediately. I'd say the assistants have to go as well, because you don't want to be the AD that allowed possible problems to linger. The assistants, you'd assume, would have some kind of knowledge of the situation.