John Brannen

[Rufus]

Ask away my friend stick a fork in it for its done bball now becomes irrelevant for the next three to five yrs. unless a homerun is hit in obtaining a coach in a hurry

[leo from jersey]

To add insult to injury, look at the timing of this action. There is a complete lack of dignity in most of the University from BOT, President, AD, BB Coach and many fans. This is the most holy weekend in the Christian liturgical year. A few days before or after might have been dignified. At least JB is getting paid so it isn't the absolute worse. Many get sacked without the pay, but without the public exposure either. Such a mess for my beloved bearcats.

[bobestes]

I wanted to point out that Wichita State did an internal review for Greg Marshall. There were allegations of him punching a specific player who was named, choking a specific assistant who was named, and telling a Native American to "get back on your horse" and "making Indian howling noises". And apparently all of these allegations were corroborated by several players.

Guess what? Wichita St. still paid out a 7.75 million dollar settlement, and Greg Marshall resigned (was not fired).

The reason I bring this is up is either these allegations weren't enough to fire him and get out of paying the money, or the University felt that it was better just to buy him out and be done with it (time and cost of litigation not worth it, bad optics, or future well-being of program hanging in the balance).

How is it Wichita St, couldn't find enough to get out of settlement but we can? How is it Witchita St. can come up with the funds (more than we need) to move on but we can't?

Wichita State has Koch Brothers money. We have Sheakley money.

[swilsonsp4]

Wow...that’s pretty rich. Hard practices = floggings?

I was portraying the tenor of the article, not the practices.

[BearKatz]

Tom Mars tells ESPN the investigation has been handled poorly... What else would we expect Brannen's lawyer to say... I find it interesting he has internal documents proving the mishandling of the investigation.. So I am guessing emails?

that collegiate ADs are experts at mishandling internal investigations, and this case is no exception," Mars said. "You don't have to take my word for it. I'm in possession of a communication from within the UC Athletics Department describing the mishandling of this internal investigation in much more descriptive terms.


If so, how long will the prolong the inevitable? Should the AD be fired as well?

[bearcat1518]

If the portrayal of Brannen in this article by anonymous players is accurate, he's Captain Bligh. The only details missing are the floggings and keel hauling.

Wow...that’s pretty rich. Hard practices = floggings?

[GoBearcats31]

Maybe an unpopular opinion here but ... while it’s possible it could’ve been handled differently, I’m not bothered by Cunningham at all. He’s doing his due diligence and counsel is involved, not him dragging his feet. UC has a very talented group of in house attorneys + potentially working with some big time outside counsel. That’s certainly affecting the timeline (and per Justin Williams, administrators are aware of the implications for the program the longer this goes on but also set on doing what is necessary to properly finish the review - for the best long-term solution ... take that for what it’s worth).

I’m sure I’ve posted things in this thread a few weeks ago where I was giving JB the benefit of the doubt and not too impressed with the transfer portal kids. But I’m ready to move on from JB and this newest article — if comments are true from the new anonymous player quoted (Rapolas ?) — then I’m even more so in that camp.

Hoping for a resolution over the next few days ...

[BorisTheCat]

And... i admit.. i've had some bourbons tonite so.... the AD.. the coach... yet.. in the end.. the players and the fans get screwed.... to quote Shakespeare: A Pox on both their houses

[Bearcat1996]

And.. I will say this as an alum. The AD is responsible for keeping the program out of this f'd up situation. The overall situation is something that the AD did not handle properly if this is where we are

I agree with this 100%. CJB is gone. That's for sure. I think JC should go as well. How does he let it get to this point? The leadership must be held responsible.

[BorisTheCat]

And.. I will say this as an alum. The AD is responsible for keeping the program out of this f'd up situation. The overall situation is something that the AD did not handle properly if this is where we are

[London 'Cat]

Wichita St. still paid out a 7.75 million dollar settlement, and Greg Marshall resigned (was not fired).

The reason I bring this is up is either these allegations weren't enough to fire him and get out of paying the money, or the University felt that it was better just to buy him out and be done with it (time and cost of litigation not worth it, bad optics, or future well-being of program hanging in the balance).

Or, his buyout was higher than Brannen’s. Equally feasible in these circumstances.

[MDW79]

I wanted to point out that Wichita State did an internal review for Greg Marshall. There were allegations of him punching a specific player who was named, choking a specific assistant who was named, and telling a Native American to "get back on your horse" and "making Indian howling noises". And apparently all of these allegations were corroborated by several players.

Guess what? Wichita St. still paid out a 7.75 million dollar settlement, and Greg Marshall resigned (was not fired).

The reason I bring this is up is either these allegations weren't enough to fire him and get out of paying the money, or the University felt that it was better just to buy him out and be done with it (time and cost of litigation not worth it, bad optics, or future well-being of program hanging in the balance).

How is it Wichita St, couldn't find enough to get out of settlement but we can? How is it Witchita St. can come up with the funds (more than we need) to move on but we can't?

[London 'Cat]

Pretty sure there’s no smoking gun.

All lawyers who represent people in Brannen’s current position have “smoking guns.” If he did have a smoking gun that would completely absolve Brannen, then he would have given it up. This would allow Brannen to recruit a new roster via the transfer portal and from high school players. The longer he withholds the “smoking gun,” the more he hurts his own client by mitigating his effectiveness. Brannen is finished at UC, it just a question of how much UC will pay him to leave.

[MDW79]

For those of you who have heard rumors that were more severe, does this Athletic article match up with any of them, or did you hear something else?

[Rufus]

I cannot wrap my head around this timeline. There's no way the athletic department hasn't completely mishandled this entire situation.

They should have known by season's end exactly how they were going to proceeed. I can't think of any good reason for the two weeks it took before an outside investigation was announced, or why he wasn't suspended earlier.

I currently sit at two possible conclusions:

1.) The University does have cause, but they didn't do their due diligence during the season, and/or they were dragging their feet at the end of the year before moving forward.

2.) The University has no cause, and they know none will be found. This entire saga has been nothing but a game of chicken, in which they hoped to pay out less in a settlement. It's now a game that they're losing, and they'll probably pay out as much or more in the long run as they would have had they just paid the full buyout immediately.

I agree, if Brannen was reprimanded once already for exceeding practice limitations that to me gives authorization and documentation for going forward with termination. I don't know what smoking gun JB s attorney may have but I can't foresee any document that could justify voting against the medical staff. Go ahead and terminate him let the attorney' s work out the settlement and lets begin searching for a replacement before we get stuck having to field a team with football players.