Ex-Gopher commit Kyrei Fisher talks abt sexual assault investigation impacted decisio

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per ArkansasOnline.com:

Fisher committed to Minnesota in the spring before his senior year at Union, but he was happy when Arkansas began recruiting him in the fall.

After taking an official visit to Arkansas on Nov. 12 -- when the Razorbacks beat Florida 31-10 -- and being offered a scholarship, Fisher committed to the Razorbacks on Dec. 19.

Fisher said a big reason he signed with Arkansas is because it's an SEC school less than a two-hour drive from Tulsa.

"My family means a lot to me, so being so close to home is important," he said. "And who doesn't want to go to the SEC? The best players are in the SEC, so coming here just made sense."

Going to Minnesota also became less attractive because the football program became engulfed in controversy resulting from a sexual assault investigation that led to the suspension of 10 players Dec. 10.

Minnesota's other players threatened to boycott the Holiday Bowl against Washington State, although they backed down and the Golden Gophers beat the Cougars 17-12.

Tracy Claeys was fired as Minnesota's coach on Jan. 3 and later replaced by P.J. Fleck.

"I didn't need all that drama," Fisher said of his decision to back off signing with Minnesota. "I was like, 'What am I walking into?' "

Former Razorbacks defensive coordinator Robb Smith recruited Fisher to Arkansas, but he resigned after the Belk Bowl and joined Fleck at Minnesota.

"It is kind of funny that coach Smith is at Minnesota and I'm not, but I'm glad the way it all worked out," Fisher said. "I'm really happy to be at Arkansas."

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/aug/13/mean-linebacker-refuses-to-be-nail-2017/

Go Gophers!!
 


I really can't blame him.
 

Sad that the selfish actions of a few players brought so much negative attention to the program that people avoided the school.
 

Ski U Master said:
Sad that the selfish actions of a few players brought so much negative attention to the program that people avoided the school.
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The good thing is though it allowed us the opportunity to hire Fleck, and create an atmosphere where those types of players will not be tolerated.
 



Reading what was posted (didn't read the article), the idea that part of the reason he didn't come here is because of the investigation, is BS. He wasn't coming here whether there was an issue or not.
 

Ski U Master said:
Sad that the selfish actions of a few players brought so much negative attention to the program that people avoided the school.
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It wasn't the incident that brought national attention, it was the programs response to the incident
 

Some guy said:
It wasn't the incident that brought national attention, it was the programs response to the incident
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You obviously weren't really paying attention. The large majority of the national media were very supportive of the U's response to the incident. And they still are. As far as I know, in the history of college sports there has only been one reported gang bang by multiple athletes on one team. And that is our own Minnesota Gophers football team. People around the country are going to remember that about the U in the same way as they remember the Ohio State basketball team mugging at Williams Arena.
 



Some guy said:
It wasn't the incident that brought national attention, it was the programs response to the incident
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You see things clearly. +1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Can't really blame him. That said if this was his first choice he would've waited to see what was going on with the new staff. On the other hand it was likely the previous staff that he wanted to play for and had the relationship with so makes sense to cross them off the list at that point
 

Cruze said:
You obviously weren't really paying attention. The large majority of the national media were very supportive of the U's response to the incident. And they still are. As far as I know, in the history of college sports there has only been one reported gang bang by multiple athletes on one team. And that is our own Minnesota Gophers football team. People around the country are going to remember that about the U in the same way as they remember the Ohio State basketball team mugging at Williams arena.
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Seriously?
 




I'm happy about the way the U admin handled this. Duke lacrosse is really my measuring stick for incidents like this. I think we came out way ahead of them. Firing coaches, dismissing players, and finding a good character guy to bring in next.
It was very bumpy, but this could have lasted into this season had they gone about it another way.
Honestly, I prefer Claeys to Fleck, but what I really prefer is not seeing the Gophers in USA Today for a rape investigation.
 

Cruze said:
You obviously weren't really paying attention. The large majority of the national media were very supportive of the U's response to the incident. And they still are. As far as I know, in the history of college sports there has only been one reported gang bang by multiple athletes on one team. And that is our own Minnesota Gophers football team. People around the country are going to remember that about the U in the same way as they remember the Ohio State basketball team mugging at Williams Arena.
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Not saying that's not true. Saying that until the strike most people in the twin cities didn't even know there was an incident and nationally it was even higher than that.


It wasn't a sex scandal that made it a national story. Everyone has sex scandals. It is what followed.
 

Spoofin said:
You see things clearly. +1


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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You are saying the scandal was a national news story before the strike? It wasn't. It was after. That's all I'm saying.
 


Cruze said:
You obviously weren't really paying attention. The large majority of the national media were very supportive of the U's response to the incident. And they still are. As far as I know, in the history of college sports there has only been one reported gang bang by multiple athletes on one team. And that is our own Minnesota Gophers football team. People around the country are going to remember that about the U in the same way as they remember the Ohio State basketball team mugging at Williams Arena.
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Well that is a relief as I have zero idea what you are talking about.
 

The following article from Forbes Magazine is fair representation of what the national media response was to the Gopher Gang Bang Scandal. If you don't believe me then just google it sometime.

I Support Minnesota Football Player's Right To Boycott, But This Protest Is For The Wrong Reasons

B. David Ridpath, Ed.D. is the Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Business at Ohio University

The situation still brewing today at the University of Minnesota concerning its football team and the potential boycott of the upcoming Holiday Bowl against Washington State shows no signs of slowing down, although as of this writing team members are meeting with university officials to discuss options. No doubt you have heard that the Golden Gopher football team has decided to cease all football activity, including participation in the bowl game, until specific demands are met. Specifically the striking players are asking for the reinstatement of 10 suspended players who stand in violation of the student code of conduct and Title IX regarding alleged inappropriate sexual activity with a female university student.

This is where it gets extremely complicated and frankly sickening. If you can stomach it, read the report by the university's EOAA office. Any parent, brother, cousin, friend-heck anyone who knows any female will feel the need to take a shower after reading this graphic and detailed report. While it is true that we may never know what exactly happened in that off-campus apartment, something bad happened. It does not matter if a person agreed to have sex with one or even multiple people. One single no, any type of coercion, threat etc. is sexual assault regardless of other circumstances leading up to any attempted denial. It certainly is by university standards where the burden of proof is not beyond a reasonable doubt-it is more likely than not.

At this point all of the players have been cleared of criminal liability in this case. The authorities in Minneapolis determined that no charges would be filed because the evidence of inappropriate sexual activity was either non-existent nor definitive enough to bring charges. Existing video evidence appears to show consentual sexual activity with at least two of the players. I am not a police officer or investigator, but that does seem to be a bit of a flimsy conclusion after reading the EOAA report and considering there were an estimated dozen or so football players either watching and/or participating in this. Hardly a fair scenario and very easy to conclude how intimidated and fearful the one woman in the apartment would feel. However that is where we are today and different standards bring different conclusions-the players are being punished under a completely different system where standard jurisprudence does not apply. They have had their day in court and by university standards-at least a good deal of due process was followed.

The Right To Protest

With the team only a few days away from a trip to San Diego and Holiday Bowl, it was announced that the team would boycott all football activities until the 10 players are reinstated-all who have been named and now will have this issue as part of their lives forever. One player even went as far to demand the resignations of Athletic Director Mark Coyle and President Eric Kaler. The team appears in total solidarity on this and in my view unless something changes this weekend, the Holiday Bowl will be lost for the Gophers. Of course something so trivial as this should not even be considered important when the safety of a female student was allegedly threatened in the repulsive ways described in the report.

However, the team feels they are wronged and they are taking action that will lead to some sort of resolution or confirmation of this situation. Normally I would be cheering loudly supporting any civil disobedience by college athletes such as this. I always say that college athletes have a tremendous amount of power, they just have to use it. One way to use it is to simply refuse to play as happened with Grambling University in 2012 when its football team was enduring 20 plus hour bus trips to play road games and famously at Missouri last year as the team went on strike demanding the resignation of the president amidst heightened racial strife on the Columbia campus. In both of these cases the pressure of the players striking caused swift and I feel, correct changes. At Grambling, provisions were made to better support the football team and at Missouri, the president and chancellor both resigned in quick fashion. Neither school missed any games and the power of the college athlete was used in a positive way.

In this case, even though the players might firmly believe they are doing the right thing and I support their right to do it, I believe this protest is for the wrong reasons. There is no argument that there is a systemic problem on college campuses, athletics included, with campus sexual assault issues. It can no longer be tolerated or swept under the rug. The players must understand that there are university processes and criminal processes and many times they are mutually exclusive. One does not have to be like the other. This is one of those situations. While, it is a fair question to ask as to why 10 teammates are suspended after being cleared of any criminal charges, it is important to show the players that after the completion of the university report it was determined that action needed to be taken based upon the more likely than not standard at the school. Also this is something that colleges and universities nationwide need to do a better job of concerning the safety of all students and exactly detailing over and over the difference and what qualifies as affirmative consent and what is criminal versus student code violations. While it is possible a woman wanted to have consensual sex with 10 football players, one has to wonder if it is plausible given the power and threatening dynamic-and after reading the EOAA report, I am convinced it is not plausible in this context.

The accused athletes are adamant that any sexual contact with the alleged victim was consensual and while even the EOAA report says that in some cases that is likely the case, it is not the case in others. The credibility of the players is also questionable considering the statements they have provided, filming the alleged victim without consent and distributing the video(s) just to name a few things. Considering the level of detail and balance in the report and that I feel gives at least some due process to everyone, the suspensions are warranted (remember as a non-criminal proceeding even the standard of due process is different in campus code violations).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bdavid...rotest-is-for-the-wrong-reasons/#175f49c27175
 

Cruze said:
The following article from Forbes Magazine is fair representation of what the national media response was to the Gopher Gang Bang Scandal. If you don't believe me then just google it sometime.

]
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The national response was based in large part on the EOAA report. If you believe that every word in the EOAA report is gospel, that is a valid response. If, on the other hand, you believe that the EOAA report was biased or slanted in favor of the accuser, and against the players, then you can argue that the national response was based in part on incorrect or misleading information.

If the EOAA report was gospel, all of the involved players would have faced some type of penalty. the very fact that 5 of the 10 players were not disciplined, and another player had his punishment reduced, suggests that the EOAA report is not as reliable as some would like to believe.

But just keep saying gang bang, if it makes you feel better.
 

I wonder what B David Ridpath said or would say now since 5 were not disciplined at all?
 

GFBfan said:
I wonder what B David Ridpath said or would say now since 5 were not disciplined at all?
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He could say that the EOAA process worked and the appeals got to the heart of the matter, 5 were not disciplined but 5 others were and some very severely.
 

Ski U Master said:
He could say that the EOAA process worked and the appeals got to the heart of the matter, 5 were not disciplined but 5 others were and some very severely.
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Thats about the most optimistic take one could garner. Technically the EOAA was heavily chastened by the Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee (SSMS) appeals board, part of the Campus Committee on Student Behavior (CCSB). The EOAA is a separate entity although there is no doubt some communication amongst the leadership.


They were able to put the skull back together, so no harm from the drunk driver.
 

Ski U Master said:
He could say that the EOAA process worked and the appeals got to the heart of the matter, 5 were not disciplined but 5 others were and some very severely.
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Please remind me which 5 were not disciplined????


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

The article Cruze posted is a good example of why the system sucks. Even that professor made assumptions that all 10 were there and had sex with her. Even after it was determined some of the 10 weren't even there, I still see comments about "the 10 rapists" all over social media.
 

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