At 12:52am Michigan releases statement addressing Shane Morris incident

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Looks like the Vikings were trend setters!

At 12:52 a.m. Tuesday, Athletic Director Dave Brandon released a statement addressing the football program's "serious lack of communication" that resulted in Shane Morris staying in Saturday's game after suffering a helmet-to-helmet hit.

The release states that Morris was diagnosed with a "probable, mild concussion." Monday, coach Brady Hoke stated, "We would never, ever, if we thought a guy had a concussion, keep him in the game."

As of Monday afternoon's press conference, Hoke did not believe Morris had suffered a head injury. The fourth-year coach said Morris "would have practiced (Sunday) if not for a high ankle sprain."

Here's the entire statement:

https://www.michigandaily.com/sport...-regarding-student-athlete-health-and-welfare
 

GopherLady said:
Looks like the Vikings were trend setters!

At 12:52 a.m. Tuesday, Athletic Director Dave Brandon released a statement addressing the football program's "serious lack of communication" that resulted in Shane Morris staying in Saturday's game after suffering a helmet-to-helmet hit.

The release states that Morris was diagnosed with a "probable, mild concussion." Monday, coach Brady Hoke stated, "We would never, ever, if we thought a guy had a concussion, keep him in the game."

As of Monday afternoon's press conference, Hoke did not believe Morris had suffered a head injury. The fourth-year coach said Morris "would have practiced (Sunday) if not for a high ankle sprain."

Here's the entire statement:

https://www.michigandaily.com/sport...-regarding-student-athlete-health-and-welfare
Click to expand...

Wow, that's crazy. I wonder when he was diagnosed with the "probable, mild" concussion? It didn't seem like there was any communication between the medical staff and the football coaches on Morris' condition. Hoke's comments about Morris being available for practice if not for the high ankle sprain, show that the administration and himself were still not on the same page 48 hours after the game ended. The most important aspect of this is Morris' health, but I can't help but wonder if Michigan is looking for a way to fire Hoke without it appearing to be about W's and L's.
 

This infuriates me. As someone who is horrified by the concussions in football, and appalled by the fact that he wasn't taken care for right away I cannot believe this is in the statement:

From the field level and without the benefit of replays, medical and coaching staffs did not see the hit. Because they did not see the hit, the athletic training staff believed Shane stumbled because of his ankle injury. The team neurologist, watching from further down the field, also did not see the hit. However, the neurologist, with expertise in detecting signs of concussion, saw Shane stumble and determined he needed to head down the sideline to evaluate Shane.

Shane came off the field after the following play and was reassessed by the head athletic trainer for the ankle injury. Since the athletic trainer had not seen the hit to the chin and was not aware that a neurological evaluation was necessary, he cleared Shane for one additional play.
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So...you're saying there are no coordinators in the box that see a reply? No student manager? It also wasn't on the Jumbotron? And no one saw it live...as we all did, and cringed once he went down. I even had my intern watching it with me, who knows nothing about football - and she and her Dad instantly were like "that's a concussion!"

I stand by this...
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I'm sorry, I'm just very worked up, as the health of these young men should come 1st. And their coaches should be looking out for them. Especially when you're talking about the brain.
 

Total nonsense. The neurologist saw what happened after the hit even if he didn't see the hit himself. What was he looking at. Those weren't the TCU cheerleaders. How long does it take to walk down the sideline and flag one of the coaches? None of the coaches saw him stumble after getting drilled and linked it to getting his bell rung? Really?

This has gone from bad to worse for the Hoke staff and the AD. They look not only like irresponsible coaches but liars. Its a circus.

Hoke is an old school coach that has a strong belief in playing through injury, but times have changed.
 

In case you didn't get to see it, it's a shakey video, but has it all. I just cannot believe this. It's even worse re-watching it. The announcers are appalled, you hear the fan "booo's" - which sounds like they saw the reply when we did...yet Hoke did nothing. He put him back in the game!
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Incompetent in Sooo many ways

GopherLady said:
This infuriates me. As someone who is horrified by the concussions in football, and appalled by the fact that he wasn't taken care for right away I cannot believe this is in the statement:



So...you're saying there are no coordinators in the box that see a reply? No student manager? It also wasn't on the Jumbotron? And no one saw it live...as we all did, and cringed once he went down. I even had my intern watching it with me, who knows nothing about football - and she and her Dad instantly were like "that's a concussion!"

I stand by this...
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'm sorry, I'm just very worked up, as the health of these young men should come 1st. And their coaches should be looking out for them. Especially when you're talking about the brain.
Click to expand...

The press release is poorly written and too long. How typical is it to release one after midnight versus 6AM-8AM? Hoke saying he didn't realize Morris was injured postgame. The tv sideline reporter said nobody looked at Morris' ankle. Each tv shot seemed to confirm that. Now an orthopedic surgeon looked at it?...when? postgame? after the hit to the head? Just stupid
in all phases. Then Hoke becoming aware of the ankle injury (how could he possibly miss that?) but not the concussion on Monday. He should not have been in the game to get a concussion!!! High school teams are far more on top of all the issues Michigan created with their incompetence.

The handling of this can't help the AD's job security.

Thank you for the post, Nadine.
 

Yes, a full 3:20 elapses between the hit and Morris being sent back into the game. Apparently the team neurologist had to walk a long, long way according to AD Brandon.

There is no rational excuse for why he wasn't eavaluated for TBI and held out by the medical staff. There is no rational excuse for why the coaching staff saw the hit and the subsequent apparent difficulty with balance and failed to step in.

There are no good excuses. It's like watching a six year old fumble with excuses after being caught in the act.

Why bother having a training staff if they're totally incompetent? Why bother having team physicians if they're not even watching the game?

Somebody send this to Hoke's staff: http://www.massmed.org/patient-care...coaches--guide-for-sideline-evaluation-(pdf)/
 

GopherLady said:
In case you didn't get to see it, it's a shakey video, but has it all. I just cannot believe this. It's even worse re-watching it. The announcers are appalled, you hear the fan "booo's" - which sounds like they saw the reply when we did...yet Hoke did nothing. He put him back in the game!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/N1mIcYz-DM8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Click to expand...

2:38 is telling. He almost falls over.
 

GopherLady said:
This infuriates me. As someone who is horrified by the concussions in football, and appalled by the fact that he wasn't taken care for right away I cannot believe this is in the statement:



So...you're saying there are no coordinators in the box that see a reply? No student manager? It also wasn't on the Jumbotron? And no one saw it live...as we all did, and cringed once he went down. I even had my intern watching it with me, who knows nothing about football - and she and her Dad instantly were like "that's a concussion!"

I stand by this...
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'm sorry, I'm just very worked up, as the health of these young men should come 1st. And their coaches should be looking out for them. Especially when you're talking about the brain.
Click to expand...

Sorry, Nadine, but I think you're overreacting. Calling for Hoke to be fired seems to be the way to solve everything in today's social climate. The medical/training staff is responsible for this, unless Hoke, as HC, should have total control at all times of all things related to the program. By calling for his head, you must be assuming he intentionally put Morris at risk, knowing he had a concussion. That isn't just reckless, it's shameful because so many respect your opinion.

I'm not sure how the replay situation works in the press box, but it wasn't shown on the Jumbotron. I was as close to the play as any fan, with two friends, and saw it. They didn't. After seeing the replay on TV several times, I'm still amazed at the reaction to it. I do not believe he "lowered his head." Looked to me like he drove his shoulder into Morris's numbers and am still not sure his helmet hit Morris in the chin. I challenge anyone to try at full speed to launch perfectly at a stationary dummy and hit the exact spot every time.

While the TV announcers were mostly fair in their observations, I think Cunningham overstepped in his calling for ejection. It's a good, clean hit in a physical game. I'm more upset about two late hits on Leidner that weren't called, the same way two personal fouls were called on Morris.
 



AD throwing Hoke under the bus. Plain and simple.

If Hoke gets fired, it should be for what he hasn't done (win) at Michigan. I'll take Hoke's integrity over Brandon or that know-it-all twit Cunningham any day of the week. If Hoke goes, Brandon should be right there with him.
 

EG#9 said:
The most important aspect of this is Morris' health, but I can't help but wonder if Michigan is looking for a way to fire Hoke without it appearing to be about W's and L's.
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We have a winner.
 


Is there any question that Michigan is dysfunctional? In the end communications on the sideline is the responsibility of the HC, I suspect that, what we see from the outside is only the tip of the iceberg.
 



Second impact syndrome is nothing to sneeze at. By putting Morris back in the game, they not only risked his health but also his life. Someone involved screwed up. Big time.
 

Anyone who saw #78 holding Morris up should have known he needed to come out. If he's not there, he doesn't make a 10 count. Even us Gopher fans that were there were FURIOUS.

Hoke isn't going to make it to the end of the season, but Brandon needs to be sacked now and a new AD hired before Hoke goes.
 

CBS Morning Show reported that Doctors confirmed on Sunday that Morris suffered a concussion. Hoke should have mentioned that in Monday's Press conference.

As for nobody on Hoke's staff or Hoke himself seeing the hit? Nobody was curious to see what was going to happen when a Gopher player was coming in clean and hard? A few yards past the line of scrimmage? Saying they couldn't tell "who" was about to hit Morris makes sense, but not even seeing it at all? Okay, guess it's possible, but doesn't say much about their concern for their players.
 

I'm not sure how accurate the tests for concussion are, but I still think Morris was shaken by the intensity of the blow to his upper body, moreso than trauma from a blow to the head. I think the jarring of the blow may have shaken some screws loose.
 

mplarson7 said:
Second impact syndrome is nothing to sneeze at. By putting Morris back in the game, they not only risked his health but also his life. Someone involved screwed up. Big time.
Click to expand...

I have no proof of this but I honestly believe that Gardner was "suspended" without being officially suspended and the coaches were determined to try not to play him unless they absolutely had to. It is the only thing that makes sense to me when you have an ineffective clearly injured QB on the field and you refuse to go to your senior backup who has torched the team you are playing in the past.

I am really amazed that Hoke is going with the he didn't know thing that Morris was hurt excuse. Even on the off chance that no one on the sideline saw that Morris could barely stand (which I find really hard to believe) someone up in the coaches booth had to have realized their QB was being held up by others.

The thing I don't buy is that Michigan is looking for a reason to fire Hoke that isn't on the field related. Their real issue as someone else mentioned is that they also probably need to fire the AD so it comes down to what order you make the moves in. That program is in a major mess right now, looked on paper like drawing Michigan was a bad deal in crossover games but having them on the schedule this year and next year will probably turn out to be a great thing because next year they will be working under a new coach and that always creates some level of turmoil.
 

What is even more infuriating is that they did a press release at nearly 1:00 in the morning. Did they hope no one would notice? Is this common practice?
 

The fact that 100,000 in the Big House, Most everybody in the press box and coaches boxes saw it, and what a million or five watched live on TV. And Coach Hoke uses the Sargent Schultz defense. And having stepped in it on Monday at his press conference, Brandon to the rescue at 1:00 A.M. This is right from the Vikings play book. There will be a press conference with possibly the President or Chancellor of Michigan. To get it right.
 

highwayman said:
What is even more infuriating is that they did a press release at nearly 1:00 in the morning. Did they hope no one would notice? Is this common practice?
Click to expand...

It's a very common practice in business, sports and public relations. The Vikings just did it a few weeks ago with AP and a few weeks before that with the release of information regarding Kluwe. Even more common is to wait until Friday afternoon/evening hits.
 

Pretty much what I have said in several posts...

MNVCGUY said:
I have no proof of this but I honestly believe that Gardner was "suspended" without being officially suspended and the coaches were determined to try not to play him unless they absolutely had to. It is the only thing that makes sense to me when you have an ineffective clearly injured QB on the field and you refuse to go to your senior backup who has torched the team you are playing in the past.

I am really amazed that Hoke is going with the he didn't know thing that Morris was hurt excuse. Even on the off chance that no one on the sideline saw that Morris could barely stand (which I find really hard to believe) someone up in the coaches booth had to have realized their QB was being held up by others.

The thing I don't buy is that Michigan is looking for a reason to fire Hoke that isn't on the field related. Their real issue as someone else mentioned is that they also probably need to fire the AD so it comes down to what order you make the moves in. That program is in a major mess right now, looked on paper like drawing Michigan was a bad deal in crossover games but having them on the schedule this year and next year will probably turn out to be a great thing because next year they will be working under a new coach and that always creates some level of turmoil.
Click to expand...

So, I agree completely with your conclusion on Gardner/Hoke.
Hoke said postgame he didn't know Morris had a bad ankle. There seems no other explanation to playing a limping, ineffective rookie quarterback other than lying about something or hiding something. He should not have been playing on the ankle and nobody looked at it. All that can't be business as normal. Hoke wanted Morris staying in the game badly enough to ignore the ankle injury and then lie about it. I agree.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
Yes, a full 3:20 elapses between the hit and Morris being sent back into the game. Apparently the team neurologist had to walk a long, long way according to AD Brandon.

There is no rational excuse for why he wasn't eavaluated for TBI and held out by the medical staff. There is no rational excuse for why the coaching staff saw the hit and the subsequent apparent difficulty with balance and failed to step in.

There are no good excuses. It's like watching a six year old fumble with excuses after being caught in the act.

Why bother having a training staff if they're totally incompetent? Why bother having team physicians if they're not even watching the game?

Somebody send this to Hoke's staff: http://www.massmed.org/patient-care...coaches--guide-for-sideline-evaluation-(pdf)/
Click to expand...

This is why I love GH!!! Thanks Pompous!
 

Not sure if this was mentioned, but don't recall seeing it here. Hoke was evidently disciplined for a player practice injury while at Ball St. Google "Hoke at Ball State" for some interesting articles.
 

GopherLady said:
This infuriates me. As someone who is horrified by the concussions in football, and appalled by the fact that he wasn't taken care for right away I cannot believe this is in the statement:



So...you're saying there are no coordinators in the box that see a reply? No student manager? It also wasn't on the Jumbotron? And no one saw it live...as we all did, and cringed once he went down. I even had my intern watching it with me, who knows nothing about football - and she and her Dad instantly were like "that's a concussion!"

I stand by this...
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'm sorry, I'm just very worked up, as the health of these young men should come 1st. And their coaches should be looking out for them. Especially when you're talking about the brain.
Click to expand...

Completely agree Nadine. What the hell were they looking at? No one saw the play or the replay? My god, what the heck was everybody looking at during that time frame? Between the timing of the statement (almost 1 a.m.) and the information contained therein, Michigan looks completely incompetent. Michigan fans, more than 100,000 of them, saw the play and were clearly booing when Morris was first left in and then had to come back in because Gardner lost his helmet and Bellomy couldn't find his. So much cluster*** here it's pathetic. Some heads need to roll on this one.
 

killme said:
I'm not sure how accurate the tests for concussion are, but I still think Morris was shaken by the intensity of the blow to his upper body, moreso than trauma from a blow to the head. I think the jarring of the blow may have shaken some screws loose.
Click to expand...

Screws being shaken loose would be a cause of the brain, hence a concussion. Unsure what you are getting at? But the pointed neuro exam you do rapid fire on the field might not tell you definitively that he has a concussion every single time, but it will rule him out from going back into the game as there are some symptoms you just can't hide.
 

The thing that's so bizarre is that on thier 80 man roster they must have ad at least 1 or 2 other QB's who could have gone in for one snap. There was no reason to send an injured player back out there, even if it was only an ankle. In the NFL I could understand the dilemma (can't use 3rd QB before the 4th quarter) but this was senseless.
 

But, but, but... Michigan has the best "brand" in college football.

They win.
 

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

MNVCGUY said:
I have no proof of this but I honestly believe that Gardner was "suspended" without being officially suspended and the coaches were determined to try not to play him unless they absolutely had to. It is the only thing that makes sense to me when you have an ineffective clearly injured QB on the field and you refuse to go to your senior backup who has torched the team you are playing in the past.

I am really amazed that Hoke is going with the he didn't know thing that Morris was hurt excuse. Even on the off chance that no one on the sideline saw that Morris could barely stand (which I find really hard to believe) someone up in the coaches booth had to have realized their QB was being held up by others.

The thing I don't buy is that Michigan is looking for a reason to fire Hoke that isn't on the field related. Their real issue as someone else mentioned is that they also probably need to fire the AD so it comes down to what order you make the moves in. That program is in a major mess right now, looked on paper like drawing Michigan was a bad deal in crossover games but having them on the schedule this year and next year will probably turn out to be a great thing because next year they will be working under a new coach and that always creates some level of turmoil.
Click to expand...

Hoke probably has a clause in his contract that eliminates or reduces his buyout for being fired if he is fired for non-performance reasons (call it the "incompetence clause"). If they're looking to fire Hoke, then throwing him under the bus and building a public case to let him go under an incompetence clause is smart. It would be even smarter to wait a few weeks to let the incompetence case build. No doubt, Michigan would be anticipating litigation from Hoke if Michigan fires Hoke under the incompetence clause rather than for performance. Starting the incompetence defense in public and letting grow for a period of time is smart.

Michigan could save millions.
 

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