NYT

[CapitalCityCat]

As much as I'm having trouble with the phrasing of William's comments, I noticed that not one griz fan has mentioned this intellectual quote from Uncle Milt.

Instead of preferential treatment for football players, Datsopoulos asserts, the prosecutors are "very aggressive in their cases in their cases against football players and in their demands for stiff sentences. The deputies in the office of the county attorney are female and activist, and they make every case a matter of women's rights and a gender issue."

I'd say Milt has a slight lead over Williams...

[AlphaGriz1]

Tweet

Jim O'Day @JimODay57

Derogatory comments by Montana Board of Regent Pat Williams in today's New York Times about UM football program are totally unacceptable.
9:01 PM - 07 Feb 13

Well apparently O'Day didn't like the comments... so I guess the means they are...um... inaccurate?

Jim didnt like the comments because it reminded him and everyone else how HE dropped the ball and didnt do his job. This stuff happened on his watch and he needs to be held accountable.

[PapaG]

Tweet

Jim O'Day @JimODay57

Derogatory comments by Montana Board of Regent Pat Williams in today's New York Times about UM football program are totally unacceptable.
9:01 PM - 07 Feb 13

Well apparently O'Day didn't like the comments... so I guess the means they are...um... inaccurate?

That's just his opinion on the comments. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

[PapaG]

"It is certain," Datsopoulos said, "that the environment created in Missoula is responsible for the 10-year sentence. "[Donaldson] did the right thing; he is a quality guy; he told the police what he did; he wanted to clear it up, and it has cost him dearly."

Milt seems to be flailing away at imaginary enemies at this point.

Donaldson admitted he raped a woman. Calling an admitted felon a "quality guy" doesn't help anybody's cause.

[ilovethecats]

"It is certain," Datsopoulos said, "that the environment created in Missoula is responsible for the 10-year sentence. "[Donaldson] did the right thing; he is a quality guy; he told the police what he did; he wanted to clear it up, and it has cost him dearly."

Milt seems to be flailing away at imaginary enemies at this point.

Donaldson admitted he raped a woman. Calling an admitted felon a "quality guy" doesn't help anybody's cause.

ya i found that very odd to. the dude admitted to rape and as far as i'm concerened, he should be thankful for ony getting 10 years. but ya...it's the fault of the environment in missoula that he's doing time.

does he have ANY idea that this is the EXACT kind of things that give people the impression that there might be bigger issues to address?! wow.

[John K]

"It is certain," Datsopoulos said, "that the environment created in Missoula is responsible for the 10-year sentence. "[Donaldson] did the right thing; he is a quality guy; he told the police what he did; he wanted to clear it up, and it has cost him dearly."

Milt seems to be flailing away at imaginary enemies at this point.

Donaldson admitted he raped a woman. Calling an admitted felon a "quality guy" doesn't help anybody's cause.

I thought this sentence was a bit bizarre as well..."he did the right thing"..."he wanted to clear it up, and it has cost him dearly"...WTF?? It's almost like he's implying that Donaldson shouldn't even have been prosecuted, simply because he admitted to what he did...wow!!

[KittieKop]

Yeah, but you have to remember, Uncle Milt is the (un)official staff attorney for the football team. You remember whose office the taser-ees were marched to by the university the morning after that. Milt is the "fixer" for the football team. The guy who makes problems go away.

And if you look at the past, say, 10 years of history with leadership in that athletic department, Milt's comments don't seem out of line: wait for the legal process to run its course, deferred/dismissed criminal charges, good kids who "made a mistake", internal discipline, suspended for a quarter of a game, released from prison and welcomed back on the team, lands in jail again and continues to play, DUIs, assaults, more DUIs, rapes (yes, plural - at least alleged - Donaldson and Johnson), the feminists are out to get us, the Missoulian hates us, the liberals at the college want to disband the football team, poor Jim and Robin got the shaft. The strategy is to make the guilty out to be the victim of injustice, overzealous cops/prosecutors/administration/reporters/etc. Milt seems to be holding the course.

[[cat_bracket]]

http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/mis ... id=1153952" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Milt isn't the only attorney working hard for the Griz. Paul Ryan has also had his hand in numerous UM sports crimes and was voted by the locals as the No. 1 guy in town, but the bio above isn't too flattering.

Whether you get caught driving wasted, or punching out the meathead rooting against the Griz, our readers suggest you call Paul Ryan.

I wish I could link a story done by the UM school paper, but its been taken down. They wrote a story on him 2-3 years ago that was very interesting. He seemed more than happy to show the writer around his daily routine, including showing off his lavish home. Sort of the Austin Powers of attorneys in Missoula. I got the feeling the writer was making fun of him.

[[cat_bracket]]

I see the BOR is distancing itself from Williams NYT comment. I can't blame them. He wasn't too far off, but he choice of words was bad for a person in his position.

One thing's for sure. You won't see any attorneys from Milt's office backing away from Milt's comments.

[webdav]

"It is certain," Datsopoulos said, "that the environment created in Missoula is responsible for the 10-year sentence. "[Donaldson] did the right thing; he is a quality guy; he told the police what he did; he wanted to clear it up, and it has cost him dearly."

Milt seems to be flailing away at imaginary enemies at this point.

Donaldson admitted he raped a woman. Calling an admitted felon a "quality guy" doesn't help anybody's cause.

Wow, Milt's definition of doing the right thing and being a quality guy is committing rape, but admitting it afterwards. Ugh.

Do any of these people realize how utterly ridiculous they sound?

[CARDIAC_CATS]

"It is certain," Datsopoulos said, "that the environment created in Missoula is responsible for the 10-year sentence. "[Donaldson] did the right thing; he is a quality guy; he told the police what he did; he wanted to clear it up, and it has cost him dearly."

Milt seems to be flailing away at imaginary enemies at this point.

Donaldson admitted he raped a woman. Calling an admitted felon a "quality guy" doesn't help anybody's cause.

ya i found that very odd to. the dude admitted to rape and as far as i'm concerened, he should be thankful for ony getting 10 years. but ya...it's the fault of the environment in missoula that he's doing time.

does he have ANY idea that this is the EXACT kind of things that give people the impression that there might be bigger issues to address?! wow.

Exactly. Perfect example of the 'Good Ole Boys' club they were running. Just win baby.

[AlphaGriz1]

No doubt Milt posts on eGriz.......same head up his ass style most of them have over there.

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[CapitalCityCat]

I wonder what Hauck has to say about Pat William's statements? I can't help but think he must be thumbing his nose at Pat.

[allcat]

The more I think about Williams comments the more like Hauck they seem. I don't think that UM recruited thugs, I think that the culture over there is what brought out the problems. Just like Hauck blaming his players if they lost, Williams is blaming the players because of the culture. All of these kids need some direction and some life coaching as well as football coaching.

[John K]

The more I think about Williams comments the more like Hauck they seem. I don't think that UM recruited thugs, I think that the culture over there is what brought out the problems. Just like Hauck blaming his players if they lost, Williams is blaming the players because of the culture. All of these kids need some direction and some life coaching as well as football coaching.

I think there's probably a little bit of the "Ashley Croom mentality" among some Missoula residents and UM alumni and fans. I've heard a couple of UM alums refer to their problems as being the result of recruiting too many "out of state thugs". I pointed out to them that Beau Donaldson is from Missoula, and that JJ hardly fits the profile of a prototypical thug. Those sorts of blanket statements grossly oversimplify the situation. And for the record, I felt exactly the same way when people were saying similar things about the MSU program, when we were going through our "issues".

[KittieKop]

I don't want to out-and-out defend Pat Williams' comments, but in the context in which they were made, they're not far off. Should he have said what he said, in his position as a regent? Hell no. He could have said essentially the same thing, but chosen better words to do so. But really, what he said was UM had been recruiting TOO MANY thugs over the recent past. And he's right. There have been way, way too many "fringe" guys that should not have been there, but were recruited because of their upsides on the field.

I would say the exact same thing about MSU in the late 90's/early 00's. MSU recruited way too many thugs during those years. You take the chances on the "high risk - high reward" guys in order to win games. It bit the Cats in the ass with the former player-involved murder and the drug dealing. Just took a few extra years to catch up to the team in Missoula. Better damage control team, better machine, whatever you want to call it, but I too believe the years of "thuggery" have caught up to UM. That - in conjunction with the self-perpetuating atmosphere that allows indiscretions to slide creating even more problems - leads them to the place they find themselves today.

I don't revel in what UM is going through - I actually feel for the majority of their athletes who go there to get an education and excel in sports. Williams - whether he meant to or not - should not broad brush the entire athletic department as a bunch of thugs, but its hard to deny too many fringe guys (ahem, Wilson) had been welcomed into the program and allowed to continue causing problems in the community for the sake of a winning program.

John K - you beat me to the MSU analogy - I feel the exact same way.

[Bobcat Sig]

As the dumpster fire burns:

http://www.kpax.com/news/some-want-pat- ... f-regents/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bozbobcat]

This situation in Missoula just keeps getting uglier and uglier. It's really not fair to the people that work hard to represent UM well. However, it just seems like an unnecessary step to try to remove a member of the Board of Regents over one comment. I remember our feelings around the time when Kramer was fired and all of the negative attention surrounding the program. However, this fanbase didn't try to have everyone from the athletic trainer to the Board of Regents fired. The only petition I remember was one to Geoff Gamble asking to reinstate Mike Kramer as head coach. (On a side note, I signed that petition yet I think our football program is so much better off now with Coach Ash...hindsight is 20/20.) It makes me cringe to think that people are so mad that someone said something bad about their football team that they lose sight of the greater issues at hand here.

[TomCat88]

This situation in Missoula just keeps getting uglier and uglier. It's really not fair to the people that work hard to represent UM well. However, it just seems like an unnecessary step to try to remove a member of the Board of Regents over one comment. I remember our feelings around the time when Kramer was fired and all of the negative attention surrounding the program. However, this fanbase didn't try to have everyone from the athletic trainer to the Board of Regents fired. The only petition I remember was one to Geoff Gamble asking to reinstate Mike Kramer as head coach. (On a side note, I signed that petition yet I think our football program is so much better off now with Coach Ash...hindsight is 20/20.) It makes me cringe to think that people are so mad that someone said something bad about their football team that they lose sight of the greater issues at hand here.

It's a natural reaction or phase that some people/groups go through in these kinds of situations. I think their best course of action is to just point out that they don't think it was fair. They can probably gain some support that way, but if they over reach it will turn people off.

[GRIZFNZ]

This situation in Missoula just keeps getting uglier and uglier. It's really not fair to the people that work hard to represent UM well. However, it just seems like an unnecessary step to try to remove a member of the Board of Regents over one comment. I remember our feelings around the time when Kramer was fired and all of the negative attention surrounding the program. However, this fanbase didn't try to have everyone from the athletic trainer to the Board of Regents fired. The only petition I remember was one to Geoff Gamble asking to reinstate Mike Kramer as head coach. (On a side note, I signed that petition yet I think our football program is so much better off now with Coach Ash...hindsight is 20/20.) It makes me cringe to think that people are so mad that someone said something bad about their football team that they lose sight of the greater issues at hand here.

The difference being that your AD who cited "lack of control" when defaming and firing Kramer was an employee of the school. While he screwed up by publicly crucifying Kramer his position as AD allowed him to be subjective with regards to his athletics program. Williams on the other hand while entitled to his opinion, is expected to remain impartial as a member of the BOR.

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