siouxfan512

Meanwhile its takes them months to update the football roster with new players and updates weights.

Wrong! Had the school handled this proactively, I may agree with you. They made a bad situation worse; by handling this retroactively. This decision should have reviewed long before this kid ever set foot on campus. The Coyotes botched the way they handled this, and UND has followed suit. UND just showed there lack of leadership here; had they cut the cord on this in June or July, it would have made way more sense. Deciding half way through the first semester, and a day after the coyotes cut them, show that they are just following suit and appeasing the status quo. To be clear, I am not making an argument for this kid to be on the team, and I'm certainly not going to defend what he did. I don't give a rat's a$$ if he is the #1 draft pick. MM issues are 1 part of the equation here. UND's handling of the situation is the other. They accepted the risk on the kid, knowing what they were taking on, then changed course. I'm not saying anyone should or shouldn't feel bad for this kid. He has clearly done some terrible things and I have no idea where is head is at now, but I cannot even imagine the rollercoaster of being 18, going to UND to play hockey, starting school, making new friends, getting drafted, then having everything pulled back like that. What a mind

Just my opinion, committing to a kid, bringing him to campus, letting him start school, having him practice with the team, then kicking him to the curb because of the public opinion of issues you already knew were in place would be an equally big black eye. The argument can absolutely be made as to whether or not this kid deserved to be a part of UND or any program, but UND already made that decision; knowing full well what they were taking on. They made a decision, they need to own that decision, take whatever criticism comes with it, and make the best of it.

Exactly .... I don't think there is a person out there that would defend what MM did, but from a program standpoint, this looks really dumb for the Coyotes. Hoping UND does not follow suit on this one. You made a decision, you made a commitment, stick it out, make the best of it, use it as a opportunity to teach others. If this kid is going to play for UND, I think he should have some exceptional circumstances, be held to a higher standard than others, and truly be forced to face what he did every day. Saying he wants to help create change against bullying in a form letter sent to NHL teams or a public statement is worthless, get out and actually do it; and the coaches should shoulder some responsibility in helping to make this happen.

I understand the Coyotes doing this, though what a disaster of a way to run your program. Why did they draft him in the first place then. At this point, I don't want to see UND do the same thing, and this is why .... If UND didn't want to deal with a PR nightmare, they shouldn't have brought him in. They knew exactly what they were dealing with, and what baggage would come along with it, and made the decision to move forward with this. Now the kid has been on campus, going to school and practicing with the team. UND and Berry needs to speak up and address this, more so than the canned responses that we have heard, but they need to own their decision. Cutting the kid at this point is simply saying we don't want to deal with the problem ..... that is something they should have though about before ever bringing the kid to campus.

Interesting podcast by Miller. Good point for discussion. Nice to hear someone who has had the opportunity of playing at a school like UND speak to the issue, and he does make some solid points. Do I think the kid should be condemned for life, No. Though the podcast does have me somewhat reconsidering my position on does this kid deserve to play at one of the most prestigious schools in the country? He may have made a mistake, but those mistake do have some consequences. UND could have easily washed their hands of this and moved on. At this point, I think it would be tacky to do so, because it would have nothing to do with their opinion of the kid, or the situation or taking a moral stance. It would only be because it is becoming a public spectacle in the hockey world; something they should have seen coming. I would not go as far as Miller does, to say the kid should never play in the NHL. Maybe he has to go a different route, maybe he should have gotten drafted when he did, and should have needed to find another way to work his way up. But we don't get to control all of that either. Truth is, if UND didn't take him, another school would have, or a major junior team ... trying to make an ethical point from one perspective won't convince everyone else to take that same approach. Its sad, but there are too many schools, programs, etc. that are going to say (not publicly) the kid is just too talented to not take. I am hoping it wasn't that direct with UND, as they could have found other top talent. Hopefully they did their due diligence on the situation, set the expectations, and assessed the risk in bringing in a kid with this type of history. What a bizarre story for UND though.

She also claimed that him rollerblading past their house was him taunting the family. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Who is going to give the entire truth on this, and again, where the heck are his parent on all of this? - I really feel for the kid that was bullied - I seriously question the bullied kid's parents to a degree as well, as they clearly have some issues of their own. Not questioning whether any bullying took place, clearly it did, but did the bullying actually continue as recently as two years ago? Who knows? - I assume the coaches saw something in the kid, other than hockey skill to make him worth taking a chance on; but I think a better statement from Berry and the school, and Miller are warranted here. - I'm already sick of hearing about this story, purely from a hockey fan perspective. That's not intended to be insensitive .... I watch sports to get away from all other crap, sucks when this stuff seeps into what should be entertainment.

The fact that a court order apology had to be issued seems ridiculous in the first place. As a parent, I would have been on that before going through the court system. I would have talked with the other kids parents and apologized myself, had lengthy conversations with my kid; and a written apology wouldn't cut it, that apology better be face to face and sincere. Not know everything that happened here, it sure seems like there were a lot of failures on the way to this happening.

100% agree with this, and who know where they stand with some of this, that stuff doesn't always come out publicly. When something like this happens with kids, I immediately wonder where the parents are at. I for one am extremely mindful in talking about this stuff with my kids. As much as I would hate to watch them get bullied, I absolutely never want to see them on the other side of that either. Maybe the parents did everything right to point this kid towards the right actions, maybe not. I would be very interested to see how they responded to this though. We all know those parents who would never acknowledge their kids wrongdoings, even when it is staring them in the face. Truth is we probably will never know in this case.

Fair points, I would be interested to know how MM actually feels about all of this. Is he truly remorseful, or not. If he is not, then it certainly say a lot about the kind of person he is.

Just started doing a little more research, and I agree there was some terrible stuff out there. Though the article I read was still pretty vague; if you have any specific links could you send them to me. I would be interested to know more. Thanks.

Dude, I'm not tolerating anything, and I probably haven't read into this as much as some of you, other than what has been posted on here. I'll make a point to do that; all I'm saying is what someone does as a kid is not what should define them for the rest of their life. I don't know the kid, and I'm guessing you don't either. Maybe he is a good kid that did something wrong, maybe he really is a POS that doesn't deserve another shot. I truly have no idea, but who am I to judge without knowing the whole story or the kid himself. For the record its the same judgement your putting in your post. You don't know me or anything about me. I have no tolerance for bullying or use of the N-word, and I have three kids. Our family has constant conversation about what we expect in terms of behavior. How to react if you are being bullied, or see someone else being bullied, or have friends that are being bullies. My only point in the who post I made was should his actions as an 8th grader, as egregious as they may have been, prevent him from other opportunities later in life? Should every kid that has ever done something wrong, be eliminated from college consideration or a job? I don't have those answers, I'm just surprise how many people think they do with out even being a party to the situation.

Some of you just amaze me. A kid does something he shouldn't have, and we want to hold it against him for the rest of his life. Was it right? Absolutely not! Should he have been held accountable at the time? Yes! (though I don't know if he was) Regardless, how many people here did stupid stuff when they were in 8th grade that is the complete opposite of the people they are today? I know I did dumb things that I wouldn't want to be judged on as an adult. I also know that I faced bullies, as so many kids do, and I also wouldn't want to have those kids lives ruined because they were jerks when they were little. In fact, I've run into several of those folks years later and seen them turn into fine people. In some regards, its like using slang word from that same age group. The term faggot was thrown around a lot when I was in middle school and probably even high school. Did kids understand the gravity of the word, how it might hurt or offend people? No, at that age it was a meaningless word; you just used it for people you didn't like, just like calling someone an A-hole. The point is, things you say or do as a kid, does not directly reflect the kind of person you are, or the kind of person you become. To hold someone, especially a kid, to that high of a standard is not only asinine, it is hypocritical, because the number of people out there who can honestly say they never did something they regret as a kid, is few and far between. Should the kid have directly apologized? Yes, that would have been the right thing to do; but we can't control how kids think, act, or respond. This guy is no longer in 8th grade, but he is still a kid. I question how his parents may have handled the situation, but that is also not fair to judge, as none of us really know all of the details there either. Should this have become a pattern over years, or should another incident occur, I think there is more validity to the harsh comments some of you have. But I would say that before you want to condemn someone for the rest of their life because of something they did (obviously there are some exceptions here), think back to something you did as a kid, or something a friend may have done that you watched and said nothing, or how you would want to see this play out if it was you kid. Again, I'm not defending what this player did. I find it disgusting, and would be extremely disappointed if I learned that my kid did that, but I think we also need to be careful on just how hard we judge the actions of a kid in 8th grade, and how long they should have to face punishment for some of those actions. There is a lot of grey area in there.

At least Starman has some insight on the teams and players.

Yeah I originally just put melrose, then edited my post to add Bucci. He is more likeable than Melrose but he still sucks. I’d way rather listen to Heinert and Brandt. At least they know college hockey and the teams. Bucci and Melrose sounds like they are commentating a discount video game. C’mom Bucci, we all know where Grandma keeps the peanut butter, no need to tell us anymore.

That would be cool, I think he did the MN HS Hockey Tourney a few years back. Could we start a petition to have him do the Frozen Four and replace Bucci and Melrose?

Yeah, I'm not nuts about the black Jerseys in football. I like the greens. I would actually prefer the greys to the blacks.

Now more than ever!

Ugh I hope not. Boltmann is a tremendous athlete, but has done nothing to step up in that position at the college level, other than some flashy trick plays. I'd way rather see him lined up at WR and maybe the Brockstar formation here and there. I get not wanting to burn eligibility, in which cash Schuster would make the most sense, but he only has 1 game of experience, so he isn't way ahead of anybody else. If Vaughan or Neal come in and prove to be the best, then the I could care less about eligibility. Whoever gives the team the best chance to win should play. Just my opinion ... which may sound like I'm down on Brock, but I'm not. I'm a big fan of Brock, I just think he can be better utilized than a full time QB.

I'll take spring over nothing, but as we watch FBS leagues and High School sports backpedal and reverse their decisions, I think it is pretty clear a lot of people jumped the gun with the decision to cancel or postpone events.

So who wins the QB battle, now that the new guys will have so much more time in the system? Vaughan certainly has the size and arm strength, Neal sounds pretty athletic, and Schuster has some live game experience (though extremely limited). There has been zero reporting that I have seen on the players or the progress of the team this fall. So, any thoughts?

^This ... if you have one kid that can't tie his shoes, do you make everyone else wear velcroe? Some people will have more severe symptoms, does that mean everyone else has to suffer the impact? I'm not saying people shouldn't exercise caution ... they should. I'm not saying teams, schools or leagues shouldn't have new rules in place ... they already do. But the overall numbers, don't seem to quite reflect the scary story that was preached several months ago. I think we have seen an unknow (which was certainly unnerving) turn into a political agenda, with the public, students, athletes, fans, workers, and so many more taking the brunt of the impact. It sucks! Life can't snap back to 100% normal overnight, but we should be working towards that. As much as I hated hockey getting cancelled last spring, it was more understandable, because we Covid was the unknown, but cancelling the football season, and bumping FCS back to spring seemed extremely hasty and premature (in my opinion).

Agreed, I would have liked to have seen them play. If nothing else, it gets the young kids on the field and gets them some experience. Anyone hear anything about how fall/spring camp is going?

Agreed, I think many have gotten to the point where we still need to be cautious and smart, and considerate of others who may take extreme caution, but altogether, people still want to be able to live their lives. Temporary disruption seemed acceptable as we learned what was happening. Obviously we have more to learn, and this isn't going away tomorrow, but we can't put life completely on hold for a year or more either. Certainly hopeful that with time, and hopefully a vaccine of some sort, that life shifts back closer to normal by next summer.

Any updates from fall/spring camp?