AD Resignation

[hyperion]

It is time for Mr. Robert C. Vowels Jr. to resign.

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/coll ... 245788001/

“ Detroit Mercy’s women’s basketball team is cancelling the remainder of its season, and it is not due to COVID-19 issues.

A letter obtained by the Free Press and signed by 14 players and their parents was sent Sunday to Titans athletic director Robert Vowels Jr. It detailed a number of allegations of player mistreatment and potential NCAA violations by first-year coach AnnMarie Gilbert, whose time at Eastern Michigan in the last decade ended with the school being placed on probation due to infractions...”

[1975SHjoe]

The allegations made by the parents are painful to read and sickening if true. First BA and now this, I am speechless and angry. IMO the AD's response is lame.

[Tacitus651]

But we’re having so much success with the men’s program. Are we willing to let go of Vowels and risk losing our dominance on the men’s team?

In all seriousness, wtf does Vowels have on Garibaldi and the trustees that he keeps evading being fired?

[Rogobob77]

FYI, there is also a related thread on the Women’s Basketball section of this message board:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4552

[titanmac]

agreed. one wtf too many.

[JDetroitTitan]

I read the article and the letter signed by the parents. I am not rushing to any conclusions at this time about either parties.

The one "possible" take away I got from the article is the University needs to have their scholarship players be able to schedule classes to achieved an on time graduation. But in the parents letter it doesn't really state that is happening.

One thing I was confused about in the parents letter is about the COVID symptom. What I was confused about is aren't the players getting test for COVID in a timely manner before the game to get the results and did this person ended up have COVID in the compliant ?

My final thought on the letter is why are only the parents signing it not the players (I did see the article reasoning for the possible "retaliation from the coach" is why they didn't sign it but agreed with the letter). The letter has more weight if the players sign it. Right now I see you created an extra layer of "possible deniability" since the parents aren't at the practices or games and going off of hear say from their kids. In the end the article left me with a number of questions that didn't get ask to have a greater understanding of the topic.

[udballer]

The letter is completely in line with prior complaints and punishment doled out at her former employer.

Robert Vowels should not have made this hire in the first place and has created another black eye for the university. After he relieves her of her employment, he should start packing up his office.

[hyperion]

agreed. one wtf too many.

Sorry Mac, i get your frustration. The focus of this post is the AD, not the story. In my mind, this was a very questionable hire.

[Detgolf1987]

No one ever gets fired at that school and you can bet your bottom dollar that Vowels will not get fired.

The entire AD staff should be broomed, but there's zero accountability at the place so I expect another season of last place finishes and lots of excuses from an incompetent department. LOSERS!

[Tacitus651]

No one ever gets fired at that school and you can bet your bottom dollar that Vowels will not get fired.

The entire AD staff should be broomed, but there's zero accountability at the place so I expect another season of last place finishes and lots of excuses from an incompetent department. LOSERS!

Sad, but you’re 100% right. Garibaldi won’t fire his friend. And the trustees don’t seem to care. I think it’s fair to assume that most of the trustees sit on at least a few other boards, and have professional lives and business things to tend to. Being a trustee at UD-Mercy is on page 50 of things they care about.

[titanmac]

what are you talking about hyperion? i'm agreeing with you...

[ptctitan]

No one ever gets fired at that school and you can bet your bottom dollar that Vowels will not get fired.

The entire AD staff should be broomed, but there's zero accountability at the place so I expect another season of last place finishes and lots of excuses from an incompetent department. LOSERS!

If there were a "like button" on this site, I would have liked this post +100.

Vowels has turned out not to be the solution; but he is not the problem. If you only fire him, you do not change the "can't-do" or "won't-do" culture that infects that department. And this culture infected that department long before Vowels became the AD. There are a few people that I would keep. If I were the new AD, everybody in that department (with few exceptions) would be on a performance improvement plan with grave consequences if they fail to meet any requirement in that plan.