The Mel Pearson situation is a dumpster fire
For those not in the know, Michigan hockey has been under investigation for the last several months, over allegations of a toxic culture, dishonesty, sexism, and complacency, to name a few things.
Now, this could all be settled tomorrow, or Saturday, or early next week, but the more this investigation goes on, the worse it looks for the university.
What exactly am I talking about here? Well, The University of Michigan is currently in a stalemate right now over how to move forward with things. It would seem to me that there should only be one appropriate course of action taken for all the things that were laid out in the 70-page WilmerHale document, but what do I know?
More sources: the status of UM hockey coach Mel Pearson has now been reduced to a stand-off between the Regents (8-0) and interim pres. Mary Sue Coleman on one side, and Pearson and UM AD Warde Manuel (who earlier this week wanted to sign Pearson to an extension) on the other.
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) August 4, 2022
Out of all the things that have occured with this investigation, and the following actions, the lack of urgency to cut ties with Mel and his staff (Rick Bancroft, and others) by AD Warde Manuel is extremely concerning.
When I first saw that tweet from John U. Bacon, I couldn’t believe it. I did a double take. How could Warde even consider still keeping Mel employed? And the fact that Warde openly knew about the outcome of this investigation for three months should tell you something.
And the guy literally tried re-signing Mel earlier this week to an extension! I just can’t believe that Warde Manuel would willingly take the side of a guy who’s at the center of all the issues that have occurred over the past few years!
If the conduct catalogued in that report is not grounds for dismissal, then no UM employee or student should ever come forward to report wrongdoing again.
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) August 4, 2022
UM will lose the trust of its constituents.
John U. Bacon is 100% right. There should be no second thoughts on this matter. Swift action has to be taken. If not, it will result in a very very dangerous precedent and leave another black stain on the face of the University of Michigan.
When numerous people come up to you about something serious, you as a public figure have a responsibility to take it seriously and investigate it to the fullest extent possible, and take swift action, if necessary. Failure to do anything other than that is a fireable offense, plain and simple.
The Board of Regents should be able to override anything Warde does anyway. Maybe Santa J. Ono needs to get involved with this. He wasn’t around for the investigation, but Santa would earn more respect by taking a stand for what’s right.
You want to know the most ironic thing about all of this though? Warde Manuel is willing to re-sign a coach who has done so many bad things during his time as Michigan’s head hockey coach, but when it comes to NIL and everything else, Warde is unwilling to bend for that.
Oh yeah, and this is a totally different situation than the Juwan situation. Juwan doesn’t have a culture of toxicity. If there is a culture of toxicity, I’d like to see a report of it.
Juwan made an error when he slapped the Wisconsin coach, but he owned up to his mistake. That’s a huge difference. Mel hasn’t owned up to his mistakes, and instead has tried deflecting them, and has even gotten caught in some lies. People don’t complain about Juwan mistreating any female staff members. With Mel, they do.
I could go on and on and on about the differences between this situation and the Juwan situation. but I’ll save it.
If Warde cares so much about Michigan’s image and prestige, then he needs to make things right and let Mel go. It makes no sense, Warde’s logic. He needs to get it together, and fast. There shouldn’t be a stalemate right now.