ESPN: Iowa band alleges 'inappropriate actions' at ISU

BleedGopher

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per ESPN:

Iowa says it is investigating allegations of "inappropriate actions" made toward student members and staff of the Hawkeye Marching Band during Saturday's game at rival Iowa State, according to a statement released by the school on Monday.

"We have contacted Iowa State Athletics administration and are working to gather additional information," athletic director Gary Barta said in the statement. "Our main priority is the safety of all Iowa students, staff, and coaches when attending events away from Iowa City."

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard addressed the topic at a news conference Tuesday, saying it pained him that "a pretty vague release [from Iowa] is going to damage" the national exposure that the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry received from Saturday's game.

"I couldn't tell you what happened, when it happened or where it happened," he said. "No one's been able to ascertain that information or provide it to us. We do know that their band traveled here with four police officers: One from the University of Iowa and three deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's office. Our police chief ... has spoken with the police chief at the University of Iowa and not one of those four officers saw anything, reported anything or most importantly had anybody in the band or band directors share anything with them about anything that happened during the day they were here. And those four officers were with them the entire day.

"I'm not here to say something didn't happen because I don't know, but all we know is a press release was issued that alleges something happened ... We're waiting to hear what, where, when and we'll gladly jump in and try to help, but until then it's pretty hard because we don't know what we're looking for."

Eric Bush, director of the Hawkeye Marching Band, said the athletic department is taking the lead on the investigation, but declined to say what happened.

"The Hawkeye Marching Band is a family," he said. "We take care of one another. While we might be saddened and shook up by the stuff that happened, we're going to continue to be a great band and provide excellent entertainment to everyone who watches.

"I don't want to give the details yet because we're still trying to figure out what happened. That's the bottom line. We're collecting information from the students and trying to figure out what events took place."

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...8/iowa-band-alleges-inappropriate-actions-isu

Go Gophers!!
 

Based on the ISU AD's statement, I'm imagining this is a whole bunch of nothing. Based on that, I have a few theories:

"Someone in the ISU crowd called us a bunch of pig-f'ers. Not EVERYONE in the band has f'ed a pig!!!!!"

"Multiple fans extended their middle finger in our general direction and said we sucked. Several of our members cried."

"The fans surrounding us CHEERED when something bad happened to Iowa!!!!!"
 

From what I heard elsewhere on the internet, a black trumpet player was called the N word by ISU fans, and also beer cans were thrown (and a possible broken bus window) at the band. Obviously all that are rumors so far, so we'll see where the investigation goes.

IMO the Iowa AD wouldn't be investigating if there wasn't something substantial that allegedly happened. Also the ISU SD did not claim the officers were with the band at all times, so the fact that they did not report anything just means nothing happened while there was a police presence.
 

College people had a rough time on a road rivalry game, breaking news
 

Remember when members of our band got in a fight with Herky at Kinnick and broke his head? Maybe our band could teach the Iowa band some street fighting skills.
 


I am sensing a series with Iowa State in 2028/2029.
 

per ESPN:

Iowa says it is investigating allegations of "inappropriate actions" made toward student members and staff of the Hawkeye Marching Band during Saturday's game at rival Iowa State, according to a statement released by the school on Monday.

"We have contacted Iowa State Athletics administration and are working to gather additional information," athletic director Gary Barta said in the statement. "Our main priority is the safety of all Iowa students, staff, and coaches when attending events away from Iowa City."

Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard addressed the topic at a news conference Tuesday, saying it pained him that "a pretty vague release [from Iowa] is going to damage" the national exposure that the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry received from Saturday's game.

"I couldn't tell you what happened, when it happened or where it happened," he said. "No one's been able to ascertain that information or provide it to us. We do know that their band traveled here with four police officers: One from the University of Iowa and three deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's office. Our police chief ... has spoken with the police chief at the University of Iowa and not one of those four officers saw anything, reported anything or most importantly had anybody in the band or band directors share anything with them about anything that happened during the day they were here. And those four officers were with them the entire day.

"I'm not here to say something didn't happen because I don't know, but all we know is a press release was issued that alleges something happened ... We're waiting to hear what, where, when and we'll gladly jump in and try to help, but until then it's pretty hard because we don't know what we're looking for."

Eric Bush, director of the Hawkeye Marching Band, said the athletic department is taking the lead on the investigation, but declined to say what happened.

"The Hawkeye Marching Band is a family," he said. "We take care of one another. While we might be saddened and shook up by the stuff that happened, we're going to continue to be a great band and provide excellent entertainment to everyone who watches.

"I don't want to give the details yet because we're still trying to figure out what happened. That's the bottom line. We're collecting information from the students and trying to figure out what events took place."

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...8/iowa-band-alleges-inappropriate-actions-isu

Go Gophers!!

Is this a joke?

If nobody ended up in an ambulance or med tent, emergency room, or in handcuffs nothing “significant” happened.

If they aren’t getting corroborating witnesses (immediately after the fact) about any alleged incidents that’s pretty strong evidence...it probably never happened. My BS meter is pinging.
 

Not sure what the purpose of the statement is if they can't really tell us anything.
 

I heard elsewhere that a band member was assaulted and injured badly enough that they needed medical attention. If what I heard is true it's far from the worst incident with a visiting band but still serious and should end with criminal charges if they can find who it was.
 



From what I heard elsewhere on the internet, a black trumpet player was called the N word by ISU fans, and also beer cans were thrown (and a possible broken bus window) at the band. Obviously all that are rumors so far, so we'll see where the investigation goes.

IMO the Iowa AD wouldn't be investigating if there wasn't something substantial that allegedly happened. Also the ISU SD did not claim the officers were with the band at all times, so the fact that they did not report anything just means nothing happened while there was a police presence.

Actually that’s not true. The IState AD stated that the officers were with the band the entire day. Sad that anything happened.
 

I was assaulted-punched in the chest-by a student while leaning against a corridor wall at Kinnick in 2003. Knocked the wind out of me and I dropped my stadium blanket. A Hawk fan stopped to assist, got security, and explained what she saw.

I basically got the “don’t wear Minnesota gear here” speech.

I guess I carry a grudge, and say “p!ss on ‘em”. We’re even.
 


Shades of the Damien Wilson parking lot fiasco where IIRC he ended up being exonerated after surveillance footage showed a belligerent fan getting in front of his truck. The wacky theories about gunslinging, throwing objects etc were flying at the time. Several already had him convicted and in prison...
 



Update on ESPN:

“Athletic directors from Iowa and Iowa State issued a joint statement Wednesday, saying their marching bands "have been the target of unacceptable behavior" during games at both schools in recent years.

The collaboration came in response to a news release issued on Monday by Iowa athletic director Gary Barta, which alleged that "inappropriate actions" were made toward staff members and students of the Hawkeye marching band at last Saturday's rivalry game in Ames.

"Both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University are committed to providing a safe environment for everyone attending events on their respective campuses," Barta and Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said in the news release. "This includes members of the school's marching bands. Unfortunately, both the Hawkeye and Cyclone marching bands have been the target of unacceptable behavior at football games in Iowa City and Ames in recent years. Some of the conduct directed at the students in our respective marching bands recently has been rude, vulgar, and in some cases, violent.”

"We should all feel embarrassed when students in the bands don't feel safe when performing at an away game," the statement said. "Each of our athletics departments is committed to doing whatever is necessary to improve the environment for visiting school marching bands in the future. A significant part of the solution is insisting our fans help address this issue by showing more respect to our visitors. We owe it to these hardworking performers to have a safe stage on which they can showcase their spirit and talent."

Eric Bush, director of the Hawkeye Marching Band, said earlier this week that the Hawkeye Marching Band is a family. "We take care of one another," he said. "While we might be saddened and shook up by the stuff that happened, we're going to continue to be a great band and provide excellent entertainment to everyone who watches."

Looks like the ADs decided it was time to take the high road and try to reduce tensions. Good for them.

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...8/iowa-band-alleges-inappropriate-actions-isu
 
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so I'll just say this...f' them...I'm sure their ****ty little squawkeye band members are no angels. Take it and STFU. That's all.
 

There was similar whining after the Stanford band acted inappropriately during their Rose Bowl liquidation. Something about playing the Farmers Only theme song at the half.

If you can’t articulate what happened 4 days later why is this even in the public sphere? What a dumb fiasco. Grow some skin.
 

This really reads like Iowa's administration heard a rumor and was stupid enough to comment publicly without knowing jack ****, and upon finding out they behaved stupidly by commenting on a rumor .... just now try to explain it away by not saying anything concrete.


On the internet there was a rumor of a buss window broken but on a buss full of students not a single photo showed up online ... that probabbly indicates that wasn't the least bit true either.
 

Someone at Iowa made a mistake and jumped the gun with the initial release. That seems to be about the long and short of it.

The joint release is the "whoops ... ok we're going to back away now, have a good day", which is the end of that.
 


According to this article, one band member did in fact require medical attention after the incident, however they declined to comment on whether the incident was violent.

They could not comment further on why the band member required medical attention due to health privacy laws.
 

According to this article, one band member did in fact require medical attention after the incident, however they declined to comment on whether the incident was violent.

They could not comment further on why the band member required medical attention due to health privacy laws.

Band aid, or something physically serious? Perhaps anxiety-related? That would explain a lot of this.

The band director, the police escort, the athletic directors all know nothing about “something”, but nobody is willing to go on the record or apparently corroborate. Somehow an incident, details of which are unknown to everyone close to the matter, prompted multiple official statements and national news stories.

I’m sure bands are subject to rude behavior, as are fans, players, coaches. Is this something more serious like assault? I’m skeptical, sorry. This is bizarre.
 

According to this article, one band member did in fact require medical attention after the incident, however they declined to comment on whether the incident was violent.

They could not comment further on why the band member required medical attention due to health privacy laws.

it is isn't feasible to determine what actually occurred


Is everyone involved/ who saw it not cooperating maybe?
 

I've now seen multiple members of the Iowa band say that a member ended up with broken ribs after being pushed by a fan. Other members were assaulted but didn't have any major injuries. The Iowa band director is fighting for something to be done but Iowa's athletic department is no longer investigating.

Those same members also said that they were told to not share anything other than official statements about it because they were still investigating. Again yesterday they were reminded to be careful about what they posted on social media but now people are starting to share their stories because it seems that Iowa is no longer interested in doing anything about it and they are taking things into their own hands.

I wasn't there so I can't say for sure what happened but I've seen multiple Iowa band members mention being assaulted and specifically mention the member who broke their ribs after being assaulted.
 


I've now seen multiple members of the Iowa band say that a member ended up with broken ribs after being pushed by a fan. Other members were assaulted but didn't have any major injuries. The Iowa band director is fighting for something to be done but Iowa's athletic department is no longer investigating.

Those same members also said that they were told to not share anything other than official statements about it because they were still investigating. Again yesterday they were reminded to be careful about what they posted on social media but now people are starting to share their stories because it seems that Iowa is no longer interested in doing anything about it and they are taking things into their own hands.

I wasn't there so I can't say for sure what happened but I've seen multiple Iowa band members mention being assaulted and specifically mention the member who broke their ribs after being assaulted.

You’re 100% certain these aren’t random people on a message board stirring the pot? You’re alleging a cover up of a serious assault to protect the reputation of Iowans and the Cy Hawk? I’d like to know how ribs were broken and the police escort was never informed or aware ��
 

Band aid, or something physically serious? Perhaps anxiety-related? That would explain a lot of this.

The band director, the police escort, the athletic directors all know nothing about “something”, but nobody is willing to go on the record or apparently corroborate. Somehow an incident, details of which are unknown to everyone close to the matter, prompted multiple official statements and national news stories.

I’m sure bands are subject to rude behavior, as are fans, players, coaches. Is this something more serious like assault? I’m skeptical, sorry. This is bizarre.

It is bizarre. I am inclined to believe something happened, but the fact that nothing could be confirmed is really odd.

If nothing happened, you would think an investigation into such by both ADs would figure that out and they would have made some sort of "It was a great big misunderstanding" or something.

But if something happened, you would think someone would have seen something and they would have figured that out.

The whole "something happened, but we don't know what, but someone did need medical attention, but we're just gonna move on from the whole thing" is so wishy washy and so it is very wierd.
 

It is bizarre. I am inclined to believe something happened, but the fact that nothing could be confirmed is really odd.

If nothing happened, you would think an investigation into such by both ADs would figure that out and they would have made some sort of "It was a great big misunderstanding" or something.

But if something happened, you would think someone would have seen something and they would have figured that out.

The whole "something happened, but we don't know what, but someone did need medical attention, but we're just gonna move on from the whole thing" is so wishy washy and so it is very wierd.

It’s very odd the bad director stated he didn’t know what happened (in the original story), the police don’t know what happened, the ADs don’t know what happened, but now allegedly band members are coming out of the woodwork and the band director is getting upset about inaction. Yeah, bizarre is maybe not a strong enough word.
 

I've now seen multiple members of the Iowa band say that a member ended up with broken ribs after being pushed by a fan. Other members were assaulted but didn't have any major injuries. The Iowa band director is fighting for something to be done but Iowa's athletic department is no longer investigating.

Those same members also said that they were told to not share anything other than official statements about it because they were still investigating. Again yesterday they were reminded to be careful about what they posted on social media but now people are starting to share their stories because it seems that Iowa is no longer interested in doing anything about it and they are taking things into their own hands.

I wasn't there so I can't say for sure what happened but I've seen multiple Iowa band members mention being assaulted and specifically mention the member who broke their ribs after being assaulted.

I have trouble believing that an entire band of college students was somehow have been silenced by the administration... and nobody had their phone handy...
 

You’re 100% certain these aren’t random people on a message board stirring the pot? You’re alleging a cover up of a serious assault to protect the reputation of Iowans and the Cy Hawk? I’d like to know how ribs were broken and the police escort was never informed or aware ��

These are all people on Facebook. All have things identifying them as Iowa students/members of the Iowa marching band that were posted before Saturday. I have mutual friends with a couple of them who know them personally and know they are in the marching band.

I'm not sure of the details of the broken ribs. None of them mentioned who it was and a couple of them made a point of not naming who it was.
 

The second press release is maybe even more confusing than the first.

We still don’t know what happened. And it also doesn’t seem like either school does. But now they are alleging that whatever happened is pretty much standard stuff at an Iowa/Iowa State game, and they are just now beginning to think that they should say something about how sh¡tty it has been. I am I reading that right?
 




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