I talked to a lot of people in the last three days since the story broke. Some on the record, most off.
Mismanagement of injuries. This should be the primary focus of the independent investigation. Even if there wasn’t any intentional mismanagement (including making athletes play hurt), this is one area where incompetence can get you fired immediately. Cvijanovich claims he was lied to about what procedure was done on his knee. He also claims he couldn’t play because of severe anxiety stemming from being pressured to return to the field too soon. Further, he claims a coach told him to stop taking his prescription medication. As with any school, there are injury protocols at Illinois. If they weren’t followed, then there should be accountability. Doctors maintain meticulous medical records these days. A review of Simon’s records should shine light on this, and it shouldn’t take very long.
The NCPA. I don't know anything about this organization. I do know that Simon reached out to them, then criticized them on Twitter for not doing anything to help. After his Twitter rant went viral, the NCPA steps in and demands an investigation. Why didn't they take him seriously when he first went to them?
The office visit. The entire thing started with a visit to Beckman’s office. Among the questions Simon had…why wasn’t I invited to the banquet, and why couldn’t I play in the bowl game. ‘You quit’ was the answer, and he didn’t like it. Simon contends he didn’t really quit the team, but stopped showing up for team activities because of anxiety. His grades suffered and he dropped out. The office visit included a trip to the equipment room to give Simon one of the bowl gift packages that players get. But apparently he was sufficiently dissed to set off the Twitter tirade.
The brothers. Illinois made a trip out to East Coast Prep to see Peter Cvijanovich. Ricker recruited him. They felt he had talent, but needed to get a lot bigger. They offered (his only offer) and Peter Cvijanovich committed. They gave a shot to a kid because he moved pretty well, had some length, and was part of the Illini family. FCS level talent, but had potential – then he couldn’t add enough weight because of diabetes. The family was apparently unhappy with Beckman’s suggestion that he go on medical scholarship. He was never going to play at Illinois, with his weight always going up and down between 250 and 285 or so. The younger brother Luke is a MAC type at tight end. He’s not bad, actually, but thin. He camped at Illinois several times, and the dad wanted an offer but never got it.
Disciplinary methods. There’s a reason this program doesn’t have kids on the police blotter. The staff deals with violations of team and school rules expeditiously. They are hard, but fair, and they give kids many chances to get it together. With Darius Millines, they didn’t want him interacting with teammates in the locker room. So they moved him to the location where the assistant coaches had their lockers. One of the coaches that Simon called a bully was former OL coach Joe Gilbert. It stems from an incident at the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in which Simon refused to go in the game. Gilbert yelled at him. Coaches do that from time to time. If an investigation concludes that this stuff is abusive, it changes a culture and methods of coaching and motivating that have proven to be successful for a long time.
Media coverage. Initially, it was okay. Since then it’s been terrible. One would think Pat Fitzgerald is calling the shots. LOL. What makes a reporter think they should be a willing participant in one person's quest to destroy a college football coach? Among the transgressions are refusing to vet those who are making allegations, yet digging up every malcontent they can find. They found a former walk-on kicker from Toledo who was kicked out of school. LOL. They have been very fair to Simon Cvijanovich, Nick North, and Darius Millines (as they should be) - and by the same measure unfair to Tim Beckman and his program. When a person makes these types of allegations without providing proof, they should be fully scrutinized. I was told by one reporter than they won’t print unconfirmed information on any of the accusers. I found that to be hilarious. Principled when it suits them. Blood in the water. Simon’s dad threw himself into the mess in a very public way, but hasn’t been questioned. The role of the father should be thoroughly examined, because trust me - it's substantial.
Irreparable damage? The only way to turn back the clock on this is if 1. The investigation reveals no wrongdoing and 2. The media reports those finding with the same enthusiasm that they reported the allegations. Headlines should read "Fully exonerated" Chances of that happening? Low. There’s some damage here that will take a long time to repair. Win 8-9 games and you’re okay. Coaches need to be recruiting their butts off, including re-recruiting the commits. One thing that would help is if former players who had successful careers are more vocal in their support. But no one in the Illini media is going to seek those guys out - at least not until the review is completed.
Pressure to play. From what I’ve gathered, much of the pressure came from Simon’s father, and much of it was internal. Tom Brattan rode him hard, no question about it. And he rode him hard because that’s the kind of kid Simon is. Not unlike a lot of players, you have to stay on him and find ways to motivate him. He worked hard, but had a sense of entitlement at times. Did any coach push him to return too early from an injury? That's unknown at this time, and something that need to be examined. Simon struggled with the old school stuff from Gilbert and Brattan. He did better with younger coaches Butkus and Ricker. The aspect of this that throws up a red flag for me is that Simon felt he could no longer play due to anxiety. It's hard to be a college football player, and anxiety is no joke. Wherever the pressure was coming from, this is a kid who needed to be in the fold and helped by the medical staff. Simon is a loner, and that is a situation that could turn really bad, really fast.
Politics. I’m glad it’s an internal investigation. I wouldn’t want a politically connected person like Wise making the final decisions in this case. We’ve seen political correctness creeping into athletics for a few years now, and Beckman could become one of the victims in its wake if the wrong people are calling the shots. I also think political leanings explain much of Simon’s stance on what constitutes an “abusive culture” and his calls for unionization.
Former players and staff members. Those who had a good experience at Illinois need to come forward as aggressively as Simon did. Many of them, like Corey Lewis, struggled more with injuries than he did, yet they feel their situation was handled well. I talked to one former staff member who said he never saw Beckman treat players the way that is alleged. He was shocked at the allegations, and hopes Beckman doesn't lose his job. I talked to Bruce Douglas, whose son Bryce is now on medical scholarship due to a neck injury that ended his playing career. Bruce said the staff and administration have been very supportive. Illinois didn’t want Bryce to play again and take a risk with his long term health. And this is a kid that could have helped the run defense just as much as Simon helped the O-line play. Dami Ayoola probably had the wildest ride. So many violations, and so many chances. All of those making allegations are Zook recruits. I asked Frank Cvijanovich if he or Simon have talked to Zook or any of his former staff during this mess. He didn’t appreciate the question. “Call Zook and ask him.”
Kim Jong-un, purple jerseys, and Yoo-hoo. GMAB. I’m supposed to take this seriously? But it does add comic relief to a situation that isn't very funny.
In conclusion: I hate this story. I hate everything about it.
Mismanagement of injuries. This should be the primary focus of the independent investigation. Even if there wasn’t any intentional mismanagement (including making athletes play hurt), this is one area where incompetence can get you fired immediately. Cvijanovich claims he was lied to about what procedure was done on his knee. He also claims he couldn’t play because of severe anxiety stemming from being pressured to return to the field too soon. Further, he claims a coach told him to stop taking his prescription medication. As with any school, there are injury protocols at Illinois. If they weren’t followed, then there should be accountability. Doctors maintain meticulous medical records these days. A review of Simon’s records should shine light on this, and it shouldn’t take very long.
The NCPA. I don't know anything about this organization. I do know that Simon reached out to them, then criticized them on Twitter for not doing anything to help. After his Twitter rant went viral, the NCPA steps in and demands an investigation. Why didn't they take him seriously when he first went to them?
The office visit. The entire thing started with a visit to Beckman’s office. Among the questions Simon had…why wasn’t I invited to the banquet, and why couldn’t I play in the bowl game. ‘You quit’ was the answer, and he didn’t like it. Simon contends he didn’t really quit the team, but stopped showing up for team activities because of anxiety. His grades suffered and he dropped out. The office visit included a trip to the equipment room to give Simon one of the bowl gift packages that players get. But apparently he was sufficiently dissed to set off the Twitter tirade.
The brothers. Illinois made a trip out to East Coast Prep to see Peter Cvijanovich. Ricker recruited him. They felt he had talent, but needed to get a lot bigger. They offered (his only offer) and Peter Cvijanovich committed. They gave a shot to a kid because he moved pretty well, had some length, and was part of the Illini family. FCS level talent, but had potential – then he couldn’t add enough weight because of diabetes. The family was apparently unhappy with Beckman’s suggestion that he go on medical scholarship. He was never going to play at Illinois, with his weight always going up and down between 250 and 285 or so. The younger brother Luke is a MAC type at tight end. He’s not bad, actually, but thin. He camped at Illinois several times, and the dad wanted an offer but never got it.
Disciplinary methods. There’s a reason this program doesn’t have kids on the police blotter. The staff deals with violations of team and school rules expeditiously. They are hard, but fair, and they give kids many chances to get it together. With Darius Millines, they didn’t want him interacting with teammates in the locker room. So they moved him to the location where the assistant coaches had their lockers. One of the coaches that Simon called a bully was former OL coach Joe Gilbert. It stems from an incident at the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in which Simon refused to go in the game. Gilbert yelled at him. Coaches do that from time to time. If an investigation concludes that this stuff is abusive, it changes a culture and methods of coaching and motivating that have proven to be successful for a long time.
Media coverage. Initially, it was okay. Since then it’s been terrible. One would think Pat Fitzgerald is calling the shots. LOL. What makes a reporter think they should be a willing participant in one person's quest to destroy a college football coach? Among the transgressions are refusing to vet those who are making allegations, yet digging up every malcontent they can find. They found a former walk-on kicker from Toledo who was kicked out of school. LOL. They have been very fair to Simon Cvijanovich, Nick North, and Darius Millines (as they should be) - and by the same measure unfair to Tim Beckman and his program. When a person makes these types of allegations without providing proof, they should be fully scrutinized. I was told by one reporter than they won’t print unconfirmed information on any of the accusers. I found that to be hilarious. Principled when it suits them. Blood in the water. Simon’s dad threw himself into the mess in a very public way, but hasn’t been questioned. The role of the father should be thoroughly examined, because trust me - it's substantial.
Irreparable damage? The only way to turn back the clock on this is if 1. The investigation reveals no wrongdoing and 2. The media reports those finding with the same enthusiasm that they reported the allegations. Headlines should read "Fully exonerated" Chances of that happening? Low. There’s some damage here that will take a long time to repair. Win 8-9 games and you’re okay. Coaches need to be recruiting their butts off, including re-recruiting the commits. One thing that would help is if former players who had successful careers are more vocal in their support. But no one in the Illini media is going to seek those guys out - at least not until the review is completed.
Pressure to play. From what I’ve gathered, much of the pressure came from Simon’s father, and much of it was internal. Tom Brattan rode him hard, no question about it. And he rode him hard because that’s the kind of kid Simon is. Not unlike a lot of players, you have to stay on him and find ways to motivate him. He worked hard, but had a sense of entitlement at times. Did any coach push him to return too early from an injury? That's unknown at this time, and something that need to be examined. Simon struggled with the old school stuff from Gilbert and Brattan. He did better with younger coaches Butkus and Ricker. The aspect of this that throws up a red flag for me is that Simon felt he could no longer play due to anxiety. It's hard to be a college football player, and anxiety is no joke. Wherever the pressure was coming from, this is a kid who needed to be in the fold and helped by the medical staff. Simon is a loner, and that is a situation that could turn really bad, really fast.
Politics. I’m glad it’s an internal investigation. I wouldn’t want a politically connected person like Wise making the final decisions in this case. We’ve seen political correctness creeping into athletics for a few years now, and Beckman could become one of the victims in its wake if the wrong people are calling the shots. I also think political leanings explain much of Simon’s stance on what constitutes an “abusive culture” and his calls for unionization.
Former players and staff members. Those who had a good experience at Illinois need to come forward as aggressively as Simon did. Many of them, like Corey Lewis, struggled more with injuries than he did, yet they feel their situation was handled well. I talked to one former staff member who said he never saw Beckman treat players the way that is alleged. He was shocked at the allegations, and hopes Beckman doesn't lose his job. I talked to Bruce Douglas, whose son Bryce is now on medical scholarship due to a neck injury that ended his playing career. Bruce said the staff and administration have been very supportive. Illinois didn’t want Bryce to play again and take a risk with his long term health. And this is a kid that could have helped the run defense just as much as Simon helped the O-line play. Dami Ayoola probably had the wildest ride. So many violations, and so many chances. All of those making allegations are Zook recruits. I asked Frank Cvijanovich if he or Simon have talked to Zook or any of his former staff during this mess. He didn’t appreciate the question. “Call Zook and ask him.”
Kim Jong-un, purple jerseys, and Yoo-hoo. GMAB. I’m supposed to take this seriously? But it does add comic relief to a situation that isn't very funny.
In conclusion: I hate this story. I hate everything about it.
