It looks like JRob's exit negotiations are still stalled according to J's attorney/agent James C.W. Bock who was on the Mike Max show on WCCO radio last night. A very knowledgeable poster on The Guillotine College Wrestling Forum listened to the interview and described it as follows:
"J's spokesman was on with Mike Max tonight on WCCO for about 20 minutes. Nothing really new to report. He seemed frustrated that the U is dragging their feet, and that they won't come out and say what exactly J should have done in this situation other then one he did do. He wasn't critical of Coyle as much as the higher up U administrators. J's legal team has not been privy to any emails between acting AD Goetz and her higher ups, since at this time there is no court action on this issue going on (no charges filed). Both he and Maxy seemed to imply that if/when they attempt to terminate J's contract, there would be lawsuits, and then all emails would need to be made available to them, to see if things were handled correctly by the administration after J reported his suspicions."
So, it seems like J is definitely out as Head Coach and that the U administration is having a hard time striking a deal that satisfies J. It also looks like J thinks he is being blamed for internal oversight errors made by Athletic Dept. higher ups. AD Coyle has been trying to strike a deal that would avoid a lawsuit by J. But, if there is no deal, and they just terminate J, he will file a lawsuit. This may still not have any negative effect on the wrestling program, but it could lead to more negative publicity for the U.
J's lawyer likely used this radio interview to put pressure on the U to reach a mutual settlement. I suspect that we will still have a settlement, amiable or not, sometime in the next few weeks.
Here's the Pioneer Press article from last night:
U, Wrestling coach J Robinson negotiating exit strategy
Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson (Pioneer Press file photo)
Pioneer Press
By John Shipley
August 12, 2016 at 8:31 pm
UPDATED: August 12, 2016 at 9:37 pm
The agent for suspended Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson said Friday that negotiations with the school are breaking down, and that it appears the U is trying to make Robinson the scapegoat for the athletics department’s broken drug policy.
“From the inside, it looks to me as though the university, for some reason, wants to blame Coach Robinson for internal athletic department, and probably larger, failures,” James C.W. Bock, an attorney and Robinson’s agent, told WCCO Radio.
Robinson, 69, is on paid leave pending the results of a school investigation into the way he handled allegations that some of his wrestlers were taking and selling the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.
A University of Minnesota Police Department investigation was launched after a complaint related to the wrestling program was filed on its confidential EthicsPoint reporting service April 7. The results were forwarded to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which declined to press charges.
Athletics Director Mark Coyle suspended Robinson indefinitely June 1, and an internal school investigation into how Robinson handled the issue is ongoing, a school spokesman said late Friday. He declined further comment.
In the meantime, the U hired Robinson’s longtime assistant Brandon Eggum as interim head coach and has been negotiating an exit strategy for Robinson, who appears to have surrendered the hope of keeping the job he’s held since 1986. Under him, the Gophers have three NCAA titles and 124 All-America honors.
“The bottom line is, in all candor, we’ve been negotiating with the University of Minnesota, and if the university wants a scapegoat, then pay (Robinson) his contract and kick him out the door,” Bock told WCCO’s Mike Max.
Emails released to the Pioneer Press by the university and Bock show that Robinson made efforts to follow school protocol, informing his superiors of his suspicions in early March. The entire team was drug-tested March 22, and three days later, interim athletics director Beth Goetz emailed Robinson the department’s drug and alcohol policy.
After the story went public in late May, the U said it was launching its own investigation.
According to documents released by the UMPD, one wrestler told police, “There was illegal selling of drugs. Our coach tried to cover it up by making all the people involved turn in the drugs they had” on the weekend of March 25. The anonymous EthicsPoint complaint made the same allegation, contending Robinson told wrestlers to turn over “any illegal drugs that they have in their possession” to him.
This meeting, according to emails and police documents, took place two weeks after senior associate AD Marc Ryan emailed Robinson a form he had to complete to get his student-athletes drug-tested. What remains unclear is whether Robinson knew wrestlers were selling drugs or if he told the university.
Also unclear is how the U has responded to the allegations; whether any wrestlers have been punished and/or entered into the school’s confidential substance abuse program.
“It looks like their internal practices broke down, so they need a scapegoat,” Bock told Max.
"J's spokesman was on with Mike Max tonight on WCCO for about 20 minutes. Nothing really new to report. He seemed frustrated that the U is dragging their feet, and that they won't come out and say what exactly J should have done in this situation other then one he did do. He wasn't critical of Coyle as much as the higher up U administrators. J's legal team has not been privy to any emails between acting AD Goetz and her higher ups, since at this time there is no court action on this issue going on (no charges filed). Both he and Maxy seemed to imply that if/when they attempt to terminate J's contract, there would be lawsuits, and then all emails would need to be made available to them, to see if things were handled correctly by the administration after J reported his suspicions."
So, it seems like J is definitely out as Head Coach and that the U administration is having a hard time striking a deal that satisfies J. It also looks like J thinks he is being blamed for internal oversight errors made by Athletic Dept. higher ups. AD Coyle has been trying to strike a deal that would avoid a lawsuit by J. But, if there is no deal, and they just terminate J, he will file a lawsuit. This may still not have any negative effect on the wrestling program, but it could lead to more negative publicity for the U.
J's lawyer likely used this radio interview to put pressure on the U to reach a mutual settlement. I suspect that we will still have a settlement, amiable or not, sometime in the next few weeks.
Here's the Pioneer Press article from last night:
U, Wrestling coach J Robinson negotiating exit strategy
Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson (Pioneer Press file photo)
Pioneer Press
By John Shipley
August 12, 2016 at 8:31 pm
UPDATED: August 12, 2016 at 9:37 pm
The agent for suspended Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson said Friday that negotiations with the school are breaking down, and that it appears the U is trying to make Robinson the scapegoat for the athletics department’s broken drug policy.
“From the inside, it looks to me as though the university, for some reason, wants to blame Coach Robinson for internal athletic department, and probably larger, failures,” James C.W. Bock, an attorney and Robinson’s agent, told WCCO Radio.
Robinson, 69, is on paid leave pending the results of a school investigation into the way he handled allegations that some of his wrestlers were taking and selling the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.
A University of Minnesota Police Department investigation was launched after a complaint related to the wrestling program was filed on its confidential EthicsPoint reporting service April 7. The results were forwarded to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, which declined to press charges.
Athletics Director Mark Coyle suspended Robinson indefinitely June 1, and an internal school investigation into how Robinson handled the issue is ongoing, a school spokesman said late Friday. He declined further comment.
In the meantime, the U hired Robinson’s longtime assistant Brandon Eggum as interim head coach and has been negotiating an exit strategy for Robinson, who appears to have surrendered the hope of keeping the job he’s held since 1986. Under him, the Gophers have three NCAA titles and 124 All-America honors.
“The bottom line is, in all candor, we’ve been negotiating with the University of Minnesota, and if the university wants a scapegoat, then pay (Robinson) his contract and kick him out the door,” Bock told WCCO’s Mike Max.
Emails released to the Pioneer Press by the university and Bock show that Robinson made efforts to follow school protocol, informing his superiors of his suspicions in early March. The entire team was drug-tested March 22, and three days later, interim athletics director Beth Goetz emailed Robinson the department’s drug and alcohol policy.
After the story went public in late May, the U said it was launching its own investigation.
According to documents released by the UMPD, one wrestler told police, “There was illegal selling of drugs. Our coach tried to cover it up by making all the people involved turn in the drugs they had” on the weekend of March 25. The anonymous EthicsPoint complaint made the same allegation, contending Robinson told wrestlers to turn over “any illegal drugs that they have in their possession” to him.
This meeting, according to emails and police documents, took place two weeks after senior associate AD Marc Ryan emailed Robinson a form he had to complete to get his student-athletes drug-tested. What remains unclear is whether Robinson knew wrestlers were selling drugs or if he told the university.
Also unclear is how the U has responded to the allegations; whether any wrestlers have been punished and/or entered into the school’s confidential substance abuse program.
“It looks like their internal practices broke down, so they need a scapegoat,” Bock told Max.
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