J Robinson.......GONE!!

[Gutwrench]

Seems like bad timing by the UofM administration as well.  Firing the head coach right as school is starting?  Although maybe it just took this long to make sure their legal stance was appropriate.  Don't know if they will be able to pull in a new head coach before the season starts.  Who are the assistants that could step up?

[aarons23]

Seems like bad timing by the UofM administration as well.  Firing the head coach right as school is starting?  Although maybe it just took this long to make sure their legal stance was appropriate.  Don't know if they will be able to pull in a new head coach before the season starts.  Who are the assistants that could step up?

They already said Eggum will be the interim head coach this year.

[Barou]

J Rob's loyalty to his athletes was strong to a fault.  He tried to handle a team issue in house and protected his athletes to the end. 

He's not the type of guy that hears his assistant coach interviews somewhere and runs to report it to his AD only to watch his best wrestlers leave the program.

I'd have no problem if my son chose to wrestle for J Robinson.  Wisconsin could have only been so lucky to have had a HC like J Rob for 30 years.

[bman]

The guy gets paid $146,000 from the UM for coaching wrestling and you find this shocking That is about 4 X more then an High School teacher and the list goes on and on and on, 146,000K for coaching wrestling WOW!!

It is shocking, compared to the salaries of other D1 coaches that have won NCAA titles. You obviously missed my point, or think I'm an idiot that doesn't understand the importance of teachers and what they earn. Like I said, Iowa pays their assistant more than that.  Other D1 schools pay their head coaches a lot more.  It's D1/Big Ten athletics.  NCAA D1 coaches are paid a lot more than the rest of us, and we all know that.  If the Badgers slide to the bottom of the conference in wrestling and fire Barry, what is the going market value for a top tier Big Ten coach, or even a middle tier coach? That is all. 

[stp]

I'd love to have JRob as the Badger HC.

Why would you want a HC with a history of not disclosing information to the proper authorities, disobeying directives from his superiors, along with refusing to accept responsibility  for his actions? 

[crossface21]

The guy gets paid $146,000 from the UM for coaching wrestling and you find this shocking That is about 4 X more then an High School teacher and the list goes on and on and on, 146,000K for coaching wrestling WOW!!

I'm just wondering is the $146,000 that JRob got paid by the university just what the university pays him in base salary, but he has all sorts of other income from boosters, apparel, etc., that supplements his pay that would bump it up way higher? Much in the same way that basketball and football coaches pay is supplemented by boosters, apparel, tv/radio shows, etc. Paul Chryst is only paid $400,000 per year from the University but gets paid $1.9 million from the University of Wisconsin Foundation for the rest of his salary. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Just spitballing ideas here because $146,000 seems pretty Dang low. inappropriate term3, as of last December Barry Davis made $108,000.

[bigG]

I'd love to have JRob as the Badger HC.

Why would you want a HC with a history of not disclosing information to the proper authorities, disobeying directives from his superiors, along with refusing to accept responsibility  for his actions? 

He's been a respectable coach, and then some, over the years. Guilty of trying to keep a kid out of trouble, also. Maybe wasn't aware of the gravity at the time. I'm (surprisingly) not dumb enough to think he'd HC here, nor that the UW would seek him out. Just saying...he's proven on the great side more than the bad. A tactical coach. I never did one of his camps (cost$500 in '85); just impressed at how he notched out space between MN greatness and IA greatness. Nice to see a notch for WI some day; whoever the coach. Sorry for the yearn.

Either way; JRob won't be hurtin'.

[npope]

I think it's possible for an individual to be outstanding in some ways and a total dunce in others. Just because JRob could turn water into wine in the wrestling room doesn't mean that he always followed the rules as presented to him. Being great in some aspects doesn't (always) give you a pass on other fronts.

[bigG]

True that. In this case he erred in trying to handle something in-house that should have been dealt with "outhouse." I sure don't know of any priors, though. I'm sure not upset he got fired; just saying such a thing does not a bad coach make. I sure wouldn't hesitate to send a kid to his camps. On the other hand I'm already sending a number of kids to U of M. Great school. On to the next chapter.

[jw52]

What if your current High School head coach did the same thing? Would that be a situation you would want to put your son into? Let us not forget that success on the mat is the ultimate goal, but at its purest form and the base of wrestling is it core values. Hard work, honesty, integrity, persiverance. With the exception of hard work, those seemed to have been pushed aside by J. All history and his laundry list of accomplishments aside, the dude committed and aided/abedded multiple felonies. The biggest loser in this situation are the young men in the program who appear to have an addiction issue. From the article I read, not only were they distributing to the entire campus, they were using too. 

[Ivan Stankowski]

What if your current High School head coach did the same thing? Would that be a situation you would want to put your son into? Let us not forget that success on the mat is the ultimate goal, but at its purest form and the base of wrestling is it core values. Hard work, honesty, integrity, persiverance. With the exception of hard work, those seemed to have been pushed aside by J. All history and his laundry list of accomplishments aside, the dude committed and aided/abedded multiple felonies. The biggest loser in this situation are the young men in the program who appear to have an addiction issue. From the article I read, not only were they distributing to the entire campus, they were using too. 

What Felonies did he commit, and why has he not been charged?

[TLV]

Robinson was fired by UM for drug related/team issue on this Wednesday. The UM forum of course is defending him because: he is J.......and it is wrestling.......and the old and new AD don't respect wrestling as a college sport. The moral from my point of view? Character and following the law counts. "Success" is secondary.

[TLV]

I attended his camp between my junior and senior year, and due to that I have always admired him as a coach.  It is amazing what he has done for the sport. 

But I will probably be crucified for this.  What he did this time, covering or trying to cover for kids who were selling Xanax is completely unethical, and actually illegal.  Not that I am a lawyer or law expert, but isn't that aiding and abetting?  What these kids did by selling prescription drugs is a felony.  And to me it is no different than a person pushing marijuana, coke or crack on the street.  JRob knew this and tried to cover it up and make it go away.  Do these kids need help?  Absolutely!  Did these kids commit a felony?  Absolutely!  (I know, I know...  innocent until proven guilty).  But the evidence was discarded by JRob so therefore they couldn't get enough evidence for probable cause.  To me, this is just plain wrong.  And his firing is the best case scenario that could have come out of this for him.  Yes it put a black eye on U of M and their program.  But black eyes will heal.  But I will not put the "all wrestlers are good people" label on this.  I'm not doubting he's a great guy, from my experiences he is.  But this is just wrong in my opinion.  And with every action comes consequences.

I agree with you completely. And I am an expert in the law. You hit all the necessary points. This is one of the reasons that many people feel that college athletes are privileged and are allowed extra benefits that "mere" scholars don't get.

[MNbadger]

You are of course, entitled to your opinion but you don't really know that much of what happened. 
I respect J but have many differing opinions about mny things he says and does/has done but this was mostly a case of the administration not performing their due diligence and using the coach as a scape goat.  The "company" never takes the fall just like in business.  Did he commit infractions? Certainly but he did report and they did little to nothing.... what would you have done then?  All he got was a delayed form e-mail returned to him from Goetz.
I thought like you at the beginning, assuming the worst.  As time went on and I read what I could, I actually changed my opinion of the whole thing.
I am not saying two wrongs (or many wrongs) make a right but this PALES in comparison the the academic fraud perpetrated by many DI instututions like NC and others.  They were shown to be taking utterly bogus "classes", fabricating transcripts and they hardly even tried to deny it.  What did the public say?......."Keep playing football!".  Again, both cases are problematic but to be incensed about Xanax or any other drug compared to academic fraud is absurd, especially in a country that consumes drugs (both legal and illegal) like they are pez candies.

[npope]

I see no need to muddy the water with football analogies here. Whatever the MN admin did, or didn't do, JRob knew that his wrestlers were using and distributing drugs illegally - period. His solution? Turn in the drugs (to JRob) and write a one page paper expressing their remorse over the incident. Heck, I would fire him just for such a lame penalty. It doesn't matter whether the MN admin was slow in responding or not; JRob's response reflects a serious lack of appreciation for the gravity of the situation.

Sorry, but JRob made his own bed on this one.