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Backlash over Ron Brown hiring has already started

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Observer:

--- Quote from: go guins on February 11, 2015, 11:51:56 AM --- This whole thing has me at a loss.  Ron Brown should be on a short leash because??  I understand he is outspoken, but let's be honest, Muslims certainly wear their religious beliefs "on their sleeve."  Literally, you can see it from a 1/2 mile away.  And isn't free speech part of what we believe and teach at YSU? 
If we are going to be "all inclusive" and everybody's opinion is valuable and in fact needed.  How do we justify our bias against bigots?  If Muslims are welcome, gays welcome, transgenders welcome why aren't fundamentalist Christians and bigots welcome?

--- End quote ---


That's an easy question.  No.  No they're not welcome.  Bigots and Fundamentalist Christians are never happy just saying what they believe, They believe they have some pre-ordained, manifest destiny to manipulate and tell people how to live, even change laws if necessary.   Why is this bad?  Because a majority of society thinks it is.   A person is completely free to go against society, but society is also free to cast a person out.

Its like driving the wrong way on the expressway and yelling at everyone else that they're breaking the law.  Its called being a jackass.  Just because you're on the expressway doesn't mean you have to drive the same car, listen to the same music, or go to the same place as other people.  But it does mean to keep your car in your lane in an orderly fashion so everybody gets where they're going. 

As for Brown, I hope he does well at YSU, but all should know that if he says something opinionated or bigoted he will be skewered for it, and he will have earned every burn mark.  If YSU is prepared to protect his freedom of speech they should be prepared for the long greased up lens of ESPN, and lawyers.  Fact.

Lets_Talk:
For those interested, here is the first of the 3 letters to the Editor that appeared in The Jambar print edition, and online with drivegoogle.com I am not sure how the privacy setting work with drivegoogle.com. so that is why I did not share the link directly from my google browser. This letter was written by Bruce Walker, Chair of Philosophy and Religious Studies. It is accessible on-line by going to the Jambar page on Facebook, as that is where I found the original link.


"YSU recently hired a new head football coach, Bo Pelini, whose first act was to profoundly embarrass the university and all those associated with it by indulging in a profanity-filled rant against people at the University of Nebraska. In the course of his vicious attacks he sought out the most demeaning language he could imagine, employing gutter language comparing them to the genitalia of women (“Big Red Today,” Dec. 19, 2014). No one who uses such sexist language — language clearly expressing an overt attitude of disgust toward women — should be employed by YSU, and certainly should never be in a position to foster that attitude in the young men in our athletic programs.

We have now hired a new assistant coach, Ron Brown, who says he is eager to join Pelini because Pelini promotes Christian values. Profane attacks on former colleagues, laced with gross insults to women, do not strike most of us as belonging to the same category as the Christian virtues of kindness, forgiveness and love; but Ron Brown seems to have his own version of Christianity. If you go on YouTube, and are willing to suffer through it, you can find Ron Brown’s “sermon” on why Christian men (not women, apparently) should strive for domination. Perhaps I missed a verse, but when I read the Sermon on the Mount, I find Jesus saying blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers; but nowhere do I find Jesus extolling the “virtue” of domination. Ron Brown’s version of Christian fundamentalism insists that “Any other faith outside of Christianity is dead wrong” (“Rapid City Journal,”April 17, 2014) and that those who believe in evolution and do not condemn homosexuality are guilty of wrongs comparable to Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of children (Tammy McKeighan, “Fremont Tribune” Nov. 18, 2011). Ron Brown also believes that homosexuality is a terrible sin, and that homosexual activity is the equivalent of lying, cheating and stealing (“Topeka Capital JournalOnline,” Feb. 14, 2014). Of course he insists that he would still welcome any homosexual athlete onto his football team — but would strive to “convert” him from his sinful ways: “You put your arms around that person struggling with homosexuality and you help walk with him or her to the truth of Jesus Christ, just as you would any other player involved in any other sin” (Cyd Zeigler, “Huffington Post,” Aug. 6, 2012). And this would apply not only to football players. In a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Column (November 2007) Brown condemned homosexuality among women athletes: “There’s nothing heroic about endorsing sin or simply watching it take root without action and exposing it so that there can be confession, repentance and rebirth.” YSU claims that “the university is committed to a campus environment that values all individuals and groups.” But perhaps that commitment is not supposed to cover the athletic department? Ron Brown is and should be free to preach and promote his vile version of fundamentalism, but YSU cannot hire a coach who champions discrimination against gays and lesbians while we also claim to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all our students.

When you pay your annual tuition to YSU, you are paying approximately $1,000 into the athletic department. Are you getting your money’s worth? If you are a religious bigot, a misogynist and a homophobe, perhaps you will regard it as money well spent. If you are instead someone who believes that YSU should live up to its avowed principles of creating a welcoming environment for all people whatever their religious views, gender or sexual orientation, then probably not. If YSU insists on hiring people who are intolerant of religious views other than their own narrow fundamentalist beliefs, whose angry outbursts include gutter language demeaning to women, and who regard homosexuals as sinners in the same class as thieves and liars and cheats, then we should at least give up the rank hypocrisy of claiming that at YSU we “strive to foster an appreciation of, and respect for, differences among the human race; and celebrate the diversity that enriches the University and the world."

Bruce Walker
Philosophy and Religious Studies

Lets_Talk:
January 29 letters to the editor in The Jambar. Again, these letters were in the print edition. They can be accessed by going to The Jambar page on Facebook, and then using drivegoogle.com to read the entire print edition:

"I love YSU football. I love cheering for a team that represents Youngstown, my hometown, the place that I love more than any other. I take pride in the fact that we play in the toughest FCS conference there is. I have followed YSU football through victories and losses, through rain and shine, through white-out conditions that make it impossible to do more than cheer when the faint silhouettes move roughly in the right direction somewhere out there in the blizzard. I have been there at games where we packed the stadium and at games where I could count the student section on one hand.

When we hired Pelini, I was excited. He was a Youngstown guy, coming home to make things right at YSU. With him, we would be able to make playoffs, win big games and put Youngstown on the map again. Like everyone else, I listened to the tape of him speaking to his team, and it made me uncomfortable, but I rationalized it away. It was just locker room talk. He wasn’t insulting women, he was just using words. Everything was fine; football is allowed to be a little rough around the edges. That’s what I told myself, anyway.

Then I heard about us hiring some new guy, a guy from Nebraska with some odd views. I’d never heard of him before, so I went and looked him up. As I read through the first few results I found on Google, I felt my heart sinking. This Ron Brown guy wasn’t just a little rough around the edges; he wasn’t just using a few off-color words — he was directly, deliberately attacking an entire group of people. He was using his position of football glory to tell kids that they would burn in hell for the way they were born. He compared consensual acts between adults to the molestation of children. He actively evangelized for a brand of Christianity that represents the absolute worst that religion has to offer.

If these were simply views he held in private, or offered up only when asked, I would be uncomfortable, but I would strive to be tolerant. Not toward the ideas, which are hateful, but toward the person who holds them. That’s not what Ron Brown does though. He has made it very clear that he sees evangelizing as a core part of his purpose for being involved in football at all. His actions have made these ideas a matter of public concern. He does not simply wish to hold his views and discuss them among his family and friends — he wants to push his ideology of hate on the rest of the world by any means at his disposal.

Ron Brown’s association with YSU is an embarrassment to the school, the city and the fans of the team. The pride I have felt for a team that represents our history, our toughness and our ability to hang on through tough times cannot coexist with the disgust I feel towards this individual and his ideology of hate. As painful as it is to admit, I cannot call myself a fan until Ron Brown is removed from his association with the team."
Tom Goldthwait
YSU Student



"As executive leaders of Youngstown State University’s Student Government Association, we observe the hiring of assistant football coach Ron Brown with certain trepidations.

It is undoubtedly true that under the First Amendment individuals are free to hold their own views and beliefs, and we wholly respect the rights of Coach Brown in such regards. However, we likewise stand firmly behind the importance of the implications generated by the Establishment Clause — that the separation of church and state must not be jeopardized, and that while acting in an official capacity as a representative of Youngstown State, Coach Brown must carefully tailor his words and actions so as to avoid blending his official du-ties as a public employee with a desire to proselytize and promulgate his religious convictions.

Both YSU and Coach Brown must be diligent in assuring that this University remain a welcoming place for all students, regardless of their religious beliefs and sexual orientation, and avoid situations in which those fundamental provisions, espoused in both Youngstown State’s mission statement and the Constitution of the United States, are under-mined."

Michael Slavens
Jacob Schriner-Briggs

Lets_Talk:
It seems to me we have several people who post on this board that likely share the bigoted views of Ron Brown, or have other bigoted views of their own. And, given the laws that govern The United States of America, you are free to have whatever views and beliefs you wish.

The difference between those of us who post on this site, and Ron Brown is that we do NOT work for, or in anyway represent Youngstown State University with our comments on this site. Some of you may well work at YSU, but because this board does not require people to provide their actual name when posting, identities remain anonymous. There are exceptions, such as myself who has their name at the bottom of every post, or others like Ed Puskas and Sean Bryan, who when posting using their real names as their user name.

And, again, Ron Brown is free to have any beliefs he wishes to have, that is NOT THE ISSUE. The issue is his admittedly using his position as football coach at Nebraska as a platform from which to share his beliefs, some of which violate anti-discrimination laws, and laws under which he agreed to work.

Now, all of this took place at Nebraska, so in no way is it the job of Ron Strollo, Jim Tressel or anyone else at YSU to sanction Brown for actions prior to his employment at YSU. But, going forward, it will be up to Ron Strollo, Jim Tressel and others within the administration to make sure Ron Brown is not able to do some of the very things he did while at Nebraska. And, when, not if, Brown uses his position at YSU in a way that violates anti-discrimination laws and/or the Establishment Clause, allowing this to happen without penalty will reflect poorly upon Youngstown State University. The reason I said WHEN Brown acts in this manner is because he has ben quoted as saying it would be an honor to be fired for his beliefs. In some ways, Ron Brown can be viewed as a person who WANTS to be a martyr. A person who is going to say and do whatever he pleases, even if it violates The Establishment Clause, anti-discrimination laws, or the wishes of his superiors. That is what he did at Nebraska for 20+ years, so no reason to believe it will be any different at YSU.

And, when that does happen, there will be a backlash. A backlash from students, faculty, staff, alums and maybe even those in the general public. The backlash will lead to media coverage in local media, and quite possibly nationally. The possibility of national media coverage is made more likely given Browns reputation nationally, as well as, Bo Pelini being a high profile Head Coach, and Jim Tressel being a high profile President.

As of now, Brown has done NOTHING to warrant being fired. I do think his past words and actions are enough cause for concern for him to have not been hired by YSU, but the powers that be have chosen otherwise. As I've said before, I know back when Dan Peter's was Head men's basketball coach, he wanted to hire his friend, Keith Dambrot as an assistant coach. Dambrot had been embroiled in controversy while HC at CMU, when he used the word nigger while addressing his players. He did this while first asking permission to use that word, and no players spoke out against Dambrot when he eventually was fired or forced to resign. While no players spoke out against him publicly, it was similar to the case invovling Bo Pelinin where private conversations with the team were recorded, and then released. In the case of Dambrodt, I do not recall there being any recording made, but what took place in that CLOSED DOOR meeting with his players and staff eventually became public knowledge, and not long after, Dambrot was out of a job.

Peter's wanted to hire Dambrot because he knew the guy. Dambrot was and stil is an excellent coach, as he has proven when he coached Akron SVSM for Lebrons 9th and 10th grade seasons, and with the success he has had in his current position as Head Coach at Akron. Keith was also known to be an excellent recruiter, and it is no secret to anyone with the slightest bit of knowledge of the Dan Peter's era, that he was not found of the recruiting process. In fact, that is likely one reason he failed to have more success at YSU. He relied heavily upon the assistant coach's to recruit. He most likely put too much trust in their player evaluations, and that led to some players that were likely not capable of playing at YSU being offered scholarships. The ultimate responsibility for this lies with Dan.

Dambrot was not hired, largely because Jim Tressel, who was AD at the time saw it as being too controversial of a hire. In essence, what according to players, coaches and Dambrot himself was a poor decision that then got blown out of proportion, resulted in his not being hired by YSU. Not only that, he was blackballed entirely from coaching. That is, until he was given an opportunity by Akron SVSM, and then finally by Akron. Dambrot made ONE mistake, and given the accounts of what happened as I've heard them, I'm not even sure it was a mistake. I say that because of the fact he asked permission from the team to use the word nigger. Having said that, just as no players at Nebraska would come out and speaking negatively of Brown, it is not far fetched that one or more players on the CMU team may not have been comfortable with Dambrot using the word nigger, but refrained from saying so out of fear. And, to his credit, Dambrot to this day will say he made a poor decision. That he messed up, and that it is something he wishes he could undo. Now, compare that with Ron Brown, who has no remorse at all for any of the people he has hurt.

1AA Fan can move this to the BS forum and act as if it has nothing to do with YSU or YSU Athletics. Others can also remain in denial. But, trust me, there are groups closely watching Ron Brown. Groups that will not hesitate to contact YSU and do whatever is necessary to have Brown terminated, IF he crosses the line. The hope is that this will not happen. And, as long as Brown does not abuse his position at YSU, then eventually this discussion will go away on it's own.

Personally, I think a great way to handle this would be to have a press conference to introduce ALL of the new assistant coach's. And, allow ANY member of the media who wants to attend to attend. Not a limited media press conference, like what took place when Bo Pelini was announced as Head Coach. Introduce the coach's. Allow them to speak on their own behalf. Allow them to be asked questions. Just because they are asked questions, they are not obligated to give detailed answers, or say things that will lead to trouble for them or the University. When asked about incidents while coaching at Nebraska, Ron Brown could give a pat answer along the lines of "what happened there is in the past. I'm now coaching at Youngstown State, I'm excited for this opportunity, and look forward to helping build a successful football program, and also help the players and the community in any way possible." He could also pull a Marshawn Lynch, and just answer that he is there because he was told to be there.

The only reason for Brown to go on about his Christian beliefs, and state espousing things that have NOTHING to do with football is if he makes that choice. Even then, simply stating he has a strong faith in Christ would be fine with me. Problems would begin to arise IF he were to state he intended to use his position as football coach to push his beliefs onto players, other coach's and the University as a whole, or he started making comments that violate the anti-discrimination laws and policies of YSU and the Public Education System in Ohio.

paladin:
Had surgery Monday and now out.  I indicated early on that the Pelini hiring would end up being a comedy. Brown is just one of many reasons why. While the conservatives may like, it will attract the ACLU. Brown is an extremist and Pelini knows it. Fair warning..........lots of problems dead ahead. Pelini judgement will be questioned. Football is soon to have a sideshow that stands to hurt YSU.  Oh well......

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