There is a new sheriff in town and he is not whining about EOAA investigations and due process for his football players. He is just trying to lead his players to be the best they can be and to educate them about how to conduct themselves as Gopher athletes both on and off the field. I could be wrong, but it looks like there is culture change happening at the U.
Gophers move on from sexual misconduct saga in proactive ways
When the Gophers football team begins training camp Tuesday, the sexual misconduct scandal that embroiled the program last season will be one more day into the past.
While they’ve turned the page from a saga that included suspensions, restraining orders, no criminal charges, a boycott, a coaching change, expulsions for four players and eventual reinstatements for five others, the program has been attacking the societal factors that overarch and contributed to the ordeal.
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said he has welcomed the University of Minnesota’s Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education, which assists people affected by sexual assault and domestic violence, to meet with football players.
Senior linebacker Jon Celestin said the occasion reinforced the message that “you never know what somebody is thinking or what somebody is going through,” he said. “Just always treat everybody with the utmost respect.”
Fleck said Monday that he’s “not here to talk about last year,” and he has brought his pre-existing program from his former coaching job at Western Michigan to Dinkytown and renamed it the Gopher for Life program. He wants to educate on social issues, so the players know “how to respond to those things, how to say no to those things, how to be educated so it never gets to that point.”
Senior defensive tackle Steven Richardson said he hasn’t seen or heard the sexual misconduct case referenced by teammates. The case alleged multiple sexual acts with many players and a female student at an off-campus apartment in September.
“(With) Coach Fleck coming in, we’ve learned how to deal with it and push that into a last year thing,” Richardson said. “We are learning how to avoid situations like that as well.”
Read more at: http://www.twincities.com/2017/07/31/gophers-move-on-from-sexual-misconduct-saga-in-proactive-ways/
Gophers move on from sexual misconduct saga in proactive ways
When the Gophers football team begins training camp Tuesday, the sexual misconduct scandal that embroiled the program last season will be one more day into the past.
While they’ve turned the page from a saga that included suspensions, restraining orders, no criminal charges, a boycott, a coaching change, expulsions for four players and eventual reinstatements for five others, the program has been attacking the societal factors that overarch and contributed to the ordeal.
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said he has welcomed the University of Minnesota’s Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education, which assists people affected by sexual assault and domestic violence, to meet with football players.
Senior linebacker Jon Celestin said the occasion reinforced the message that “you never know what somebody is thinking or what somebody is going through,” he said. “Just always treat everybody with the utmost respect.”
Fleck said Monday that he’s “not here to talk about last year,” and he has brought his pre-existing program from his former coaching job at Western Michigan to Dinkytown and renamed it the Gopher for Life program. He wants to educate on social issues, so the players know “how to respond to those things, how to say no to those things, how to be educated so it never gets to that point.”
Senior defensive tackle Steven Richardson said he hasn’t seen or heard the sexual misconduct case referenced by teammates. The case alleged multiple sexual acts with many players and a female student at an off-campus apartment in September.
“(With) Coach Fleck coming in, we’ve learned how to deal with it and push that into a last year thing,” Richardson said. “We are learning how to avoid situations like that as well.”
Read more at: http://www.twincities.com/2017/07/31/gophers-move-on-from-sexual-misconduct-saga-in-proactive-ways/
