An open letter to the person or persons who released the Bo Pelini recording to Deadspin

[It'sNotAFakeID]

While it is highly unfortunate, for all of Husker Nation, that any of this has transpired, Pelini, and he alone, is responsible for his actions. Whatever the intent of the person who released this tape, no head coach should put himself in a position to have had this circumstance occur. Why would any head coach ever make statements like that, in any venue, at any time?]/b] Why? I feel for the players as they are the ones who will have the difficult task of hanging together through all of this. I will be cheering louder than ever---------for the players.

 

Because he's a human, too.

 

But please tell me you'd never do a thing like that, no, certainly not.

 

 

I have been involved in coaching at various levels for the past 42 years. Never did I ever fly off of the handle at fans, media, or players like that. Never! End of story!

 

Really? Have you ever coached at Nebraska?

 

 

No, I have not coached at Nebraska. But, I have, back in the day, officiated Big 8 athletic events. It does not matter where you coach. Nebraska is not unique. There are hundreds of programs where coaches of character elevate themselves above the fracas of negativism. It is what you do as an example to your players, staff, media and fans. You are losing this argument. Give it up.

 

Yes, yes it does. It's a lot easier answering to the few instead of answering to the many. I mean, you as a former coach should know all about that simple concept.

[MCAT800]

Excellent post Knap..

[Kiyoat Husker]

 

Blah, blah, blah, blah, ... Nebraska is not unique. ... blah, blah, blah, ...You are losing this argument. Give it up.

 

How can you say that about Nebraska? What kind of fan are you?

 

Oh, wait. Did I take that out of context? Hate when that happens.

[TAKODA]

Dear person,

 

Today you chose to submit, unsolicited, a recording of Bo Pelini ranting against members of the local media, and most damning, ranting against Nebraska fans. Pelini can be heard threatening to leave Nebraska, and seemingly gleefully so. This recording was made in 2011, in the aftermath of a very difficult, emotionally draining game, and after a very difficult week. Pelini will have to own his words, and he'll suffer the consequences of his candor.

 

This is precisely what you intended.

 

It is not lost on anyone, anywhere, why you did this. You dislike Pelini. You have an agenda. You chose the moment of this release purposefully, with malice aforethought, and you intended it to have consequences for Pelini - perhaps for the football program as a whole.

 

The utterly transparent nature of this act is going to work against your intent. Once the anger at Pelini dies down, once the shock wears off, more and more eyes are going to turn your way. Blame is a fickle thing, and while plenty will (rightfully) blame Pelini, plenty more will blame you. This base attempt at destroying a man when he's at his lowest flies in the face of what Nebraska fans respect most.

 

You've misjudged the fans at Nebraska. We are not a sneaky bunch. We are not a people who respect perfidy. Had you stood up in front of a camera and released this tape the day it was made, the reaction would be very different.

 

But you didn't. Instead, cloaked behind anonymity, you purposefully waited until you felt Pelini was vulnerable.

 

You waited too long. You waited through obvious changes Pelini has made to his character. You waited through too many examples of his steadfast loyalty to his players. Most embarrassingly, you waited through the 2013 Spring Game, where Pelini orchestrated one of the most heartwarming sports moments in recent memory.

 

Unfortunately, for you anyway, you've missed your mark.

 

Perhaps Pelini will be fired from Nebraska. There's certainly ample reason for angst among the fans, on-field trouble that could lead to his ouster. But by waiting two years, by being so obvious about your ugly intent, you may have inadvertently bought Pelini even more time.

 

You've very publicly stabbed a man in the back for a wrong he did two years ago, and for which he has already made many amends.

 

 

Nobody, anywhere, respects that. And that lack of respect for your message removes much of the sting.

 

Knapplc; while I understand and appreciate the intent behind your public outcry for this piece of work to make him/her self known, the problem I have with Bo's recording is pretty self explained.

 

I work in an industry where this type of frustration and cursing is used when aggravation occurs so this is not shocking to me and in some form I agree with his assessment on some of our more fickle fans. Not in the instances where we question his ability to take us to the next step, but for those who were ready to remove him from his position a year or two after he was hired.

 

What I have a problem with is the fact he was given his post to represent the University and act accordingly. With title come responsibilities and the fact that he said his remarks outside of the group of coaches he works with daily, and especially in front of a female, shows me that his judgment on his issue was not sound and he was probably in over his head.

 

I like Bo's honest black and white demeanor and the Lord knows I have heard much worse, but this is something that I am sure the brass at Nebraska will consider as it shines a light on a situation that shouldn't have happened.

 

Regardless if he knows he is being recorded or not, he can't say the things he did out of the circle of people he works with. I am sure the other coaches can relate to the frustrations Bo feels and I am sure they would not have a big problem of him releasing steam behind the scenes.

 

The fact that he chose to make such comments in front of people outside of his circle raises doubt as to his train of thought, professionalism or let me say "how to process" things properly.

 

I hope this does not cost Bo his position as I think he truly is a man with conviction to getting us to where we need to be, but it will take more than conviction to right the ship that we have been sailing on in the past few years.

 

I respect your letter but I say once again, what he stated is not so much of the problem for me (if spoken within a select group of people), it’s the fact that he knowingly said it to outsiders and used language that should not have been used in front of females. This to me constitutes a lack of common sense in management practices.

[It'sNotAFakeID]

Here's probably a thing that should be considered:

 

Why even record the conversation in the first place? Did this one person hear Bo talking, think to themselves, "I wonder if I could get anything good on Bo, to get him fired because dammit I hate him." So they record it and when they get what they wanted they run home and bury it in their back yard until the right moment (which was apparently today).

[Red is Power]

Before I proclaim backing Bo 100%, I think to myself, what would the reaction be like if Tom Osborne said this as AD in the press box at one of our games and someone leaked the audio to that? His 25 year coaching record would be frowned upon. Former players would be shocked, hardcore fans would probably end their lives by way of suicide. Ok, probably not that but still. There would be serious repercussions for such an act and people would be stunned.

 

The reason people aren't 100% stunned by this form of behavior is because it is pretty common for Bo and it's accepted by our fan base which pays him. We are the ones who lowered our standards for how we perceive our head coach. Osborne was a darling to the media and he was very approachable. Bo is the exact opposite so some people (like me) akin to the past. So, no... as a fan I am not behind Pelini for what he said 2 years ago in fact, if politicians are forced to step down for past mistakes or your regular hard working American can get fired for something like this, then the potential of Bo being fired for it should not be ruled out.

 

Obviously the athletic department is in a tough position right now. If they keep Bo and he doesn't pan out in the W-L record, then we'll face a lot of heavy criticism from the media and football fans for not canning him when we had the chance.

[It'sNotAFakeID]

I love this:

 

While scandals run rampant across the country, Arkansas--Okie Light--Auburn--Miami--Ohio State--Penn State--USC

 

We're mad because our coach was mad at the fans.

[Goal-line]

 

Blah, blah, blah, blah, ... Nebraska is not unique. ... blah, blah, blah, ...You are losing this argument. Give it up.

 

How can you say that about Nebraska? What kind of fan are you?

 

Oh, wait. Did I take that out of context? Hate when that happens.

 

As I have reported in several other threads, I have been an NU fan for over 5 decades, which is probably more years than you are old. I have been a season ticket holder for the vast majority of those years, cheering the Huskers through thick and thin. I stay until the end of every game. I am an extremely loyal fan. Swing and a miss for anyone who thinks otherwise.

[MCAT800]

I love this:

 

While scandals run rampant across the country, Arkansas--Okie Light--Auburn--Miami--Ohio State--Penn State--USC

 

We're mad because our coach was mad at the fans.

 

Thank you!!!

Well said.

[sd'sker]

 

Blah, blah, blah, blah, ... Nebraska is not unique. ... blah, blah, blah, ...You are losing this argument. Give it up.

 

How can you say that about Nebraska? What kind of fan are you?

 

Oh, wait. Did I take that out of context? Hate when that happens.

 

As I have reported in several other threads, I have been an NU fan for over 5 decades, which is probably more years than you are old. I have been a season ticket holder for the vast majority of those years, cheering the Huskers through thick and thin. I stay until the end of every game. I am an extremely loyal fan. Swing and a miss for anyone who thinks otherwise.

no one is doubting your fandom. but if you want to take bo's comments personally, that is on you.

[QMany]

I love this:

 

While scandals run rampant across the country, Arkansas--Okie Light--Auburn--Miami--Ohio State--Penn State--USC

 

We're mad because our coach was mad at the fans.

... for leaving a game early against a huge B1G program.

 

Ri-God-Damn-Diculous.

[Red is Power]

I love this:

 

While scandals run rampant across the country, Arkansas--Okie Light--Auburn--Miami--Ohio State--Penn State--USC

 

We're mad because our coach was mad at the fans.

 

The saying is "It's not what you say, but how you say it." In this case, he said all the wrong things. Period. Emotions rampant or not. At the end of the day, he represents the most prestigious sport/team in our state. There are no excuses for this. I've thought about it and I'm not for calling Pelini's head. I do however expect some kind of suspension or perhaps changes for the team in order to win games. Schemes, coaches, players whatever it takes. If we finish worse than 9-4, he's gone. We won't fire him but he'll leave on his own accord.

[ladyhawke]

Thanks Knappic

[VectorVictor]

Frankly, I'm mad that the leaker chose Deadspin to leak this to--that site is a cesspool that is constantly banging the drum for outright payment of players and championing the cause of schools that are habitual cheats.

 

There are better outlets that this could have been sent to...then again, this probably *was* sent to those better outlets, and they likely had the wherewithal to not run this tripe.

[TK34]

Did anyone else read the OP's letter in the voice of the narrator from the South Park Canadian Royal Wedding episode? Or was it just me?