Illini Women's Basketball Allegations

#76      

illiniwil

I
illiniwil
Mike Thomas wont need to fire Bollant. He'll be sent away with Bollant either by the president or the board of trustees soon enough. To much hidden for to long to stay.
 
#78      

BoolahBoolah

BoolahBoolah
Scottsdale, AZ
BoolahBoolah
illiniwil said:
Mike Thomas wont need to fire Bollant. He'll be sent away with Bollant either by the president or the board of trustees soon enough. To much hidden for to long to stay.
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Where's the prayer hands emoji when you need it?

Fix this mess from the top down. Enough is enough.
 
#80      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
"When both situations came to the surface, I immediately reported them to the chancellor's office to remove them from the DIA," Thomas said. "We take any allegation seriously, regardless of what level. It's on us when we receive those allegations for us to do our due dilligence."
http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/illini-sports/football/2015-05-19/ad-allegations-its-us.html

Illini will ask law firm to externally review the claim of medical mistreatment by a woman's bball player. Rest of investigation is closed.
https://twitter.com/sryantribune
 
#82      

DrewD007

DrewD007
Woodridge, IL
DrewD007
Taking Mike Thomas' word for it (and there's no reason not to), it sounds like he handled the matters appropriately in that he made sure to report the allegations to the chancellor's office right away.

Should his job be on the line for hiring these guys? That's up for debate. Should his job be on the line for how the matters were/are being handled? To me, it's a resounding no.
 
#84      

OBxpress

O
Schaumburg
OBxpress
When is the great Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow Coalition going investigate these "Racism " accusations ?
 
#85      

illinicb

I
Northbrook
illinicb
DrewD007 said:
Should his job be on the line for hiring these guys? That's up for debate. Should his job be on the line for how the matters were/are being handled? To me, it's a resounding no.
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I would agree on the latter comment. Whether his job should be on the line for the hires is certainly debatable as you point out. At least at this point. With the two revenue sports not seeing a lot of success, he is already under some pressure, although it may be more perceived than actual. I think if the off the field/court issues become significant, it would potentially move the discussion from forums like this to the administration level. There is a new president and I think a relatively new composition of the BOT so it is hard to predict.
 
#87      

drwillini

D
drwillini
Agree as well. Thomas has handled the immediate allegations as well as they can be handled. However an AD has to get men's basketball and football right. I'm not sure women's basketball rises to that level at illinois, although we are somewhat comfortable with Groce, and somewhat uncomfortable with Becks. Next year, in those two sports, will tell a lot. We make the NCAA and Becks goes 6-6 with a tougher schedule, and Thomas is good for another year. If either of these does not happen, I think he should be gone. Unless he screws up the womens basketball situation worse than Bollant has already, I'm not sure it is an issue for Thomas. I can't see any scenario where Bollant stays.
 
#88      

thatguy92

T
thatguy92
If all the players were leaving were not good players and it appeared they were just disgruntled and throwing wild accusations around I would not be concerned about this situation (which is how I feel about football's current state). However, with the Departure of Jacqui Grant, while only to DePaul, makes me a little more concerned that there is merit to what is being said. I imagine that there are multiple sides to this story as well, but many of the claims seem to me like they could hold truth to them.

What puzzles me is how all of these claims have somehow been investigated and not one is true. How can ALL these terrible accusations have been made by multiple people and yet not a SINGLE ONE was true? Just seems fishy to me. I've never lacked faith in MT until now despite some of the shortcomings some have brought up, but suddenly I find myself thinking too much damage has been done even if things aren't true and he no longer holds the respect needed to hold that position. Same goes for Bollant.
 
#90      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
thatguy92 said:
What puzzles me is how all of these claims have somehow been investigated and not one is true. How can ALL these terrible accusations have been made by multiple people and yet not a SINGLE ONE was true? Just seems fishy to me.
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They didn't say none of the allegations are true, they said the situation does not merit discipline. Big difference.

The vast, vast majority of what is in those letters from the parents is the everyday stock-in-trade of coaching young people in a competitive environment. The medical mistreatment is a different matter, and it is being treated as such.
 
#91      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
RT @670TheScore

University of Illinois AD Mike Thomas will be joining the @mullyhanley Show tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.
 
#92      

Mike

Mike
C-U Townie
Mike
I've been around Bollant a handful of times and thought he seemed like a good guy that wouldn't do the brand of garbage that is being stated. Having said that, it seems clear to me that an impartial investigation is in order. If he is clean then he and MT have little to worry about. This may very well just be a very bad case of miscommunication, but we really don't know yet do we? An internal investication doesn't cut it IMO.
 
#93      

Mike

Mike
C-U Townie
Mike
Second and Chalmers said:
They didn't say none of the allegations are true, they said the situation does not merit discipline. Big difference.

The vast, vast majority of what is in those letters from the parents is the everyday stock-in-trade of coaching young people in a competitive environment. The medical mistreatment is a different matter, and it is being treated as such.
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Don't know if I agree or not. When there is money involved the kid gloves come off, but this is supposed to be amateur ball as well. Where is the line between being as competitive a coach as possible and being a scumbag?

I agree that that taking advantage of hurt amateur athletes would be a scumbag move.
 
#94      

classof2016

C
Guest
classof2016
Mike said:
I've been around Bollant a handful of times and thought he seemed like a good guy that wouldn't do the brand of garbage that is being stated. Having said that, it seems clear to me that an impartial investigation is in order. If he is clean then he and MT have little to worry about. This may very well just be a very bad case of miscommunication, but we really don't know yet do we? An internal investication doesn't cut it IMO.
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I really do think Bollant is a good guy and probably a pretty good coach, but what will bring him down in the end is his loyalty to that lunatic Divilbiss. Apparently it was a "good cop-bad cop" situation that he allowed under his watch, which is totally moronic. Coach basketball while developing the athletes as players and young women. Don't screw with their heads and lives.
 
#95      

joe4304

J
joe4304
Have seen a few practices and games the last 2-3 years and agree with the good cop-bad cop approach. Divilbiss has a history of being extremely tough on his players, and while head coach at Idaho, many girls transferred out.

I believe Gleason simply wasn't good enough to get playing time. In her dad's letter he can't understand why the coaches came down on her for a behind the back pass. I would say many coaches would do that. He also refers to her high school accomplishments, but most Big Ten athletes had storied high school careers.

The concerns from Jacqui Grant's step-father are more valid to me. She was getting plenty of playing time, was by all accounts a good player and a good teammate. Athletes from other sports have said she was one of the nicest kids on campus. Really unfortunate to lose her.
 
#97      

ILLINIShox24

ILLINIShox24
Orange Krush '04 & '05
ILLINIShox24
Has the conversation moved elsewhere?

Mike Thomas did not improve matters with his interview this morning. All of his comments are made to deflect focus rather than show genuine concern for the students involved. Seems to match some of the comments of folks here in terms of likeability.
 
#99      

illiniwil

I
illiniwil
a chain of stupidity

this isn't going away. the longer this chain of stupidity from the coaching staff
to the president of the university goes on the worse our university looks. fire them all, do it now!

im a season ticket holder. can i get a refund? myself and about 10,000 others
could stop this now.
 
#100      

classof2016

C
Guest
classof2016
ILLINIShox24 said:
Has the conversation moved elsewhere?

Mike Thomas did not improve matters with his interview this morning. All of his comments are made to deflect focus rather than show genuine concern for the students involved. Seems to match some of the comments of folks here in terms of likeability.
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Can someone sum up the interview?