Aldine, I understand your POV. If one actually reads the lawsuits and the complaints, it’s harrowing. And even if only 10% of what is alleged is true, it’s very troubling. Very.
I understand people’s rationale for being OK with the hire. But I would hope people would also understand that the situation in Waco was very very serious, and systemic. And Coach Briles was right in the middle of it.
It would also be cool if some (not you) who keep saying don’t judge, would quit judging so harshly the folks who are rightfully concerned about this hire.
The other thing too, is like it or not, we will be judged more harshly for this hire than otherwise were it not for the scandal. What happens next year if he is suddenly fired for new information that comes out? Could hurt UH even more. That’s the risk he is talking about.
No matter where one stands on this issue, this hire is controversial and has had a major impact on the UH community.
What has literally made me ill to my stomach are the vicious and callous attacks on fellow Coogs by Coogs on this hire. Being concerned about this hire does not make one a bad Cougar or disloyal.
And if something “blows over” it doesn’t make things “right”. College football is all about history, and people have long memories with college football.
The out contract was brilliant by UH to include. It was barely a blip on the national or even local scene, now hiring Art would be a different animal. Before the attacks, read the out clause. If evidence comes out of wrong doings involving KB, he’s gone, instantly, period end of story.
This reminds of a story attributed to Churchill…
“Churchill: “Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?” Socialite: "My goodness, Mr. Churchill… Well, I suppose… we would have to discuss terms, of course… "
Churchill: "Would you sleep with me for five pounds?"
Socialite: “Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!” Churchill: "Madam, we’ve already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.”
I can safely say that my alma mater has whored itself out…ala the whorns we used to make fun of, now we just walk another street, in a cheaper neighborhood.
Exactly. Until the allegations are vetted in court (is there a court date?) we don’t know if they are true or false.
But for me, the risk to the integrity of the university, not to mention football, is too high, contract clause or no contract clause. That’s why I would have passed on hiring him until the court has worked out the “he said/she” said accusations. If the allegations turn out to be fabricated, then fine. If the allegations turn out to be true, then who knows how bad that will be for the university.
We know for a fact that he was there during the entire time this event occurred. During that time they both held different positions of responsibility/coaching. And afterwards they all defended AB on social media as if he was being wronged.
As for other recent former Baylor coaching staff members, (1) Tulsa has hired Montgomery as their head coach, (2) UT-austin has hired another ex-Baylor guy (don’t remember the name) and (3) FAU had hired Kendall Briles last year - all without any apparent adverse consequences.
So that’s 3 other programs that preceded UH in hiring ex Baylor/Art Briles coaches. So why is it that some folks seem to think that only UH has a dilemma? Has there been (or is there) a similar fuss going on in Austin or Tulsa or Boca Raton?
This is what every fan needs to determine this offseason - do you support the program or do you support the staff and team (administrators, coaches, players)?
If you support the Houston Cougars program, you support the ideals, values, and the university’s athletic department with the perspective that there might be bad hires, good hires, controversial hires, bad years, good years, etc. Despite changes in administration and staff and player turnover, you support the Coogs, because they are your Coogs. THE MAIN POINT… Even if you support the program, hires or players that can hurt the program long-term could cause issue. I think there are people in this camp that could be rightly concerned.
If you support certain players, staff, and administrators, you are probably more up and down in your support for Houston Cougars athletics. People who hate the Applewhite hire will always hate the Applewhite hire. People who hate the KB and Randy Clements hire (people should really stop focusing on Briles alone) will always hate the hires no matter how well we do. If we do more poorly than expected, a la Applewhite this year, then confirmation bias will set in and they will say, “See, not only did we compromise our ethics, but these guys didn’t even win,” even thought there may be absolutely no evidence that we compromised our ethics. At the same time, these coaches, KB and RC, will only be here temporarily; same with CMA, so if you hate the hires, don’t worry. They will be gone soon as well one way or another.
The question in my mind is why did he agree to come to Houston in the first place. If there is something that can implicate him deeper in the BU situation why did he agree to the out clause? He just finished up the most successful season in FAU history and no one Boca seemed to be bothered by his past situation. Another few years of success in CUSA and he would probably be on a lot of lists at P5 schools. If he is clean then the out clause is not a problem for him and if he accepted UH’s offer because he has a strong connection, as he has said, then I welcome him home.
Why does someone commit a crime if he knows its against the law? Because he knows there’s a chance he can get away with it. Whether it means someone else takes the blame, too much time passes on, or it gets covered up as we’ve seen happen in Waco before. Just look at the Dave Bliss situation.
I, like a whole lot of people, don’t really know how to feel about this hire. From a football standpoint, I think it’s a tremendous hire. If KB is not constantly distracted by lawsuits and allegations, I believe he will instantly improve our offense. However, for every other reason, I am highly skeptical and nervous. I honestly don’t know what evidence there is against KB, so I refuse to judge based on that. But he was there when all this was going on and, whether he was complicit in creating the culture or not, I find it incredibly difficult to believe that he didn’t know about it. But I’ve also been in situations where I witnessed something that I knew was wrong and failed to say anything for a variety of reasons. Not rape or sex assault for sure, but I do understand the pressures to keep quiet and how easy it is to fall into that trap. I’m not proud of it, but I’m willing to bet most, if not all of us have been there before.
I think the one thing that the vast majority of us can agree upon is that this hire was really risky and the chances of our reputation being tarnished for the long term are greater than this blowing over without a second thought. That’s the risk of giving second chances. I truly hope KB is remorseful for his involvement (whether active or passive) and that he gets back on track with this second chance (actually third chance since FAU hired him). The one thing that gives me the most peace about this situation is Dr. Khator. So far the second chances she has handed out have worked out well (Sampson, Dotson, and the other basketball player whose name is escaping me right now). She seems to know what she’s looking for in these situations and has a very high success rate. I hope this one works out just as well.
95% here are happy with the hire or just ready to move on to the next phase and worry about the next thing
its the same 5 or 6 people (mostlly 2) who keep being divisive…
to those 5 or 6 people, we get it. you are morally superior to the rest of us. you are saints and we Heathens. the ncaa, fau, houston (and lsu and sc who he was a finalist for their OC job) have put no sanction or put guilt on him for anything, you a fan who knows nothing but media speculation and dramatically less information than the decision makers who vetted them should be the one who decides these things. we get it
but it is too late now…he is hired. stop supporting the program till he is gone or move to the next thing like the rest of us…everyone has already decided how they are going to feel about this, debating constantly doesnt change anything…being toxic to the board environment doesnt help your cause
This is whats pissing me off the most about this community. And society in general.
We aren’t allowed to disagree anymore otherwise were being divisive. I can’t hold a conversation about a serious topic on here or else I get ostracized and receive comments about I should just not support the program and not buy tickets. Or I get biblical verses thrown at my face. I have said before, I’m here and will remain here to support the program regardless of the hire. Even if its just to be a voice for those that are against the hire. A few people that I really respected in this community are no longer members and felt the same way I do about the hires. We shouldn’t be pushed aside just because we disagree with the majority.
I am not choosing to be the opposite voice just to be a pain in the ass to the majority. I’m not going to ask for KB to get fired the moment we lose a game or the offense struggles. Or this: [quote=“H-Town, post:33, topic:10562”]
“See, not only did we compromise our ethics, but these guys didn’t even win,”
[/quote]
That is being divisive and not supporting the program. Which let me remind you that many of the majority were ready to stop supporting the program every time we lost a game this season or ran on 3rd and 8.
This is not what I’m trying to project onto the community, this is how you choose to interpret my argument because you refuse to understand my viewpoint. As a member of this community I have always pushed for greater conversation with meaningful responses regardless of the topic and the side I choose to be on. The smart ass remarks people spend 5 seconds to think about and then only 2 seconds to type are the posts that aren’t helpful and divisive. But when its in support of your side you refuse to say anything about it divisiveness.
My concern is the Pepper Hamilton Release lawsuit is seeing court in Oct 2018. My understanding (not a lawyer) is that the plaintiffs are requesting a full, unredacted release of the report to support lawsuits and allegations against Baylor. Baylor heretofore has only released portions and heavily redacted segments of the report.
It is also important to note that the Pepper Hamilton Report is only an external investigation that allowed the lawyers and investigators involved to submit opinions and suggestions openly. It is not a criminal investigative report and should not be seen as such, i.e. not the end all and be all of objective truth on the rape scandal.