Last updated on 05/10/2014
3PM today, Knight Arena Press Room. That’s the rumor. Yup. Whoops, it’s “Press only”, they tried to kick me and a few students out, but we wouldn’t leave the elevator until they called Julie Brown, who let us in. Thanks Ms Brown!
Andrew Grief report and video, here.
Live-blog:
It’s going to be a short statement then questions.
Altman is claiming he was told that one or more of his players was under criminal investigation, but not which ones? Watch the video, he offers up many other even less credible claims.
Amazing: UO players usually go through training about sexual assault, harassment. Altman reveals that these players did not, and he does not know what that training consists of even for players who do take it.
Gottfredson and Altman have tossed around FERPA claims about student-athlete privacy, but both Altman and Duck communicator Craig Pintens are now claiming that they do not know what FERPA rights players are asked to give up on their FERPA waivers.
Gee, the State of Oregon says you are an “institutionalized news media organization.” If that’s not “press” then what is?
Gee, all those millions of dollars in the athletics program in order to be the best, and the audio has a hum. What a pain in the ear to be listening to…
There was “an incident” and yet he didn’t ask and apparently wasn’t going to ask WHAT those incidents were?? Truly not interested and not curious … or is it just the usual obfuscation that UO coaches give when asked anything from the press. Then he goes on to explain how they educate their players. Yeah, right. He’s just not credible.
He’s full of cliches, non answers, platitudes and coach-speak until people really press him.
So coaches do not need to know the same information that their players are required to about sexual violence (and, presumably, other conduct issues)?
But coach – you could have asked Mullen’s boss if he knew what was going on. As it turns out, Gott tells us he knew the allegations and the names involved before you left for the tournament. Do you feel like Gott left you hanging in an untenable position? Knowing how he handled this (admittedly, in retrospect), do you trust your leaders to help you manage the team in an upstanding, ethical manner?
After reading the report, Coach, did you ask your boss or his boss why they kept these details from you for so long?
Craig – he’s there as UOMatters, you pinhead. He’s also a professor, and, more important, a human, being. Geez…
Oh …. Pintens a little hot at being asked a specific FERPA question by “a professor”?
Tell you what: I’m “disappointed”, “frustrated” at “the process”.
Of all the coverage, and all the statements, I have to say I appreciate Altman’s position the most. If we are to believe what Gott said, and what Mullens said, and what Altman said today, Coach was the last to know, and his bosses failed him.
Yes, but I fault him for either not insisting on knowing or lying today and saying he didn’t know or try to find out. He didn’t do himself or the program any favors today during this interview.
Agreed – but my point is that the folks above him aided and abetted in a manner even more insidious than Altman’s. He’s interested in his team. Mullens and Gott should be more interested in the integrity of the institution, and now they are on the record as being incompetent cover-uppers. Housecleaning!
Oh I agree with your point, but when you consider that Altman is the interface to the abusers/perps and wants to portray himself as an “aw shucks, I care about my players” type, then I say his actions are just as insidious. As far as integrity of the institution, whatever the AD and cohorts want is the skeleton for any possible integrity that could be had and it would seem they feel quite immune to public outcry. There should be housecleaning, but there won’t be. Maybe they’ll find a way to blame it on Geller before he goes? ;)
There were no winners today. Not even the truth…
Once again, UO gets it wrong. They trot out Altman and clearly didn’t anticipate UOM being there to rachet up the questioning — (THAT won’t happen again, you can be sure!)
Rather than taking the opportunity to make the UOAD look good, they instead get defensive and curt and look like liars and idiots. Could any thinking person listen to that shinola and then be pleased these coaches and administrators are paid not only to coach but educate their players and yet the coach admits he’s never participated in the training they ask their players to participate in? Did he think his job was in jeopardy, he was asked — and didn’t he look surprised to asked that question? Disgusting. And then the short session was finished.
He’s also a professor, and, more important, a human, being.
Only members of the media were allowed in. I don’t think anyone else whose media credentials consisted solely of a blog were admitted. Bill made reference to being a professor. The response was 100% justified.
Sandra, his being a professor adds value to his role as a blogger; further, his activities as a blogger fully the meet the definition of “press” or “media” or “journalist” in the state of Oregon. The response was petty; I should think holding the UO Athletics machine to a higher standard than “petty,” especially right now, would be the way to go – wouldn’t you?
When I tried to get into the press conference, some AD employee tried to stop me. He asked for my credentials. I showed him my UO Faculty ID. He said he would have to call Julie Brown. He did. He said to her “Bill Harbaugh is trying to get into the press conference”. He didn’t mention UO Matters, or the fact that I’d showed a UO ID. I couldn’t hear her response, but it was brief. He hung up, said “OK” and let me and a grad student who’d got into the elevator with me in. Another grad student was also there, I’m not sure what screening she went through.
I edit UO Matters, and I also am a professor. That latter point seemed quite relevant to my question to Altman and Pintens, regarding FERPA, so I asked something like “As a professor, I would never reveal the kind of information about my students that you have revealed here. I assume these students have signed FERPA waivers with the athletic department? Can we see those waivers? What rights have they waived?”
They didn’t like this question, because it gets to the honesty of claims by Gottfredson and Altman that FERPA prevents them discussing the parts of the alleged rape and the cover-up that they don’t want to discuss. Though they are perfectly happy revealing student information that makes themselves look good.
They still haven’t answered the question.
Something I noticed today: At both events where UO mouths uttered non-statements for the record in front of cameras, nary a UO logo could be seen. The only exception to this rule was the pin worn by Robin Holmes. She obviously didn’t get the memo and the PR handler missed it when she went on stage…
Craig Pintens was thoroughly unprofessional, no? Not able to put the hard questions from your IAC days aside, Craig? You guys drop the ball on every question UOM asks, in part because you are inclined toward obfuscation, but also because you are not listening to him. His questions are relevant and should be answered directly.
Perhaps one of the best responses to the forlorn Dana Altman 3pm Friday news dump, I mean press conference, was a student writing in chalk on the Matt Court sidewalk, “FIRE DANA ALTMAN”. It was quite telling to have Gott announce that “Altman stays on as coach”, before an external investigation is done. Hell, who knows maybe Gottfredson AND Mullens AND Altman will all get the boot for how badly this was handled. They were the ringmasters of what turned into a circus. The students know they all failed to put their safety first, $port$ was the priority. Dumping the players off the team is not going to fully address all that went wrong. The administrators gross mishandling– even the Eugene Police Department stated they did not say the U of O could not suspend players from the games during their investigation. Stories are not matching up here, really looking like a cover up. What was said & done today is Not enough. This won’t end here. Gottfredson’s quick announcement that Altman keeps his job was a real slap in the face to the students. Transparency is just getting murkier. A better answer would have been, let’s wait for the external review results. They assumed they could simply exonerate themselves & back to business as usual. Not going to happen.
This article answers my question: Are these players on scholarship?
“Altman couldn’t say whether they have lost their scholarships yet. Expulsion remains a possibility.”
They are getting free tuition as student athletes – so if they are dismissed from the team, so too should their scholarship money be revoked.