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Uncomfortable brands interview


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At first I thought Brands was going to step up to the plate when he seemingly called out the first reporter for nibbling around the AJ issue:

Reporter:  "Will you be having any additions to the roster second semester?"

Brands:  "Just ask the specific question."

Reporter 1:  ".... Will you be having any additions to the roster second semester?"

Pathetic journalism, and I was ready to give props to Brands for inviting direct discussion of the issue, only for the reporter to drop the ball a second time.  But then another reporter DID man up and ask it:

Reporter 2:  "Can you comment on AJ's conduct at the end of the Soldier Salute and what is recruiting status is for the second semester?

Brand:  "You know the answer to that Mike.  You've been doing this a long time..."

Oh come on Tom.  Just answer the freaking question.   AJ just did a podcast making it sound like everything's hunky-dory with Iowa and saying he'd just been admitted, and Pyles has gone on record saying it is "very likely" AJ's recruiting status is unchanged at Iowa, but over at HR reporter they're saying they nixed AJ.  So no, we don't know.  Saying no one's joining second semester "at this time" is an empty truism.  Of course he can't go into detail, but a simple "No we are not recruiting him now" or even a "The situation is fluid, we will have to wait and see how it plays out" would be better than just berating journalists for doing their job.  No one's listening to the interviews to hear you spew out empty "one day at a time" cliches and scowl at the journalists.  Either answer the questions or don't do interviews at all.

And the journalists are even worse.  If you're not going to ask real questions, or push back even a little bit when there's resistance to telling the truth, get a new job.

Edited by BAC
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2 hours ago, BAC said:

At first I thought Brands was going to step up to the plate when he seemingly called out the first reporter for nibbling around the AJ issue:

Reporter:  "Will you be having any additions to the roster second semester?"

Brands:  "Just ask the specific question."

Reporter 1:  ".... Will you be having any additions to the roster second semester?"

Pathetic journalism, and I was ready to give props to Brands for inviting direct discussion of the issue, only for the reporter to drop the ball a second time.  But then another reporter DID man up and ask it:

Reporter 2:  "Can you comment on AJ's conduct at the end of the Soldier Salute and what is recruiting status is for the second semester?

Brand:  "You know the answer to that Mike.  You've been doing this a long time..."

Oh come on Tom.  Just answer the freaking question.   AJ just did a podcast making it sound like everything's hunky-dory with Iowa and saying he'd just been admitted, and Pyles has gone on record saying it is "very likely" AJ's recruiting status is unchanged at Iowa, but over at HR reporter they're saying they nixed AJ.  So no, we don't know.  Saying no one's joining second semester "at this time" is an empty truism.  Of course he can't go into detail, but a simple "No we are not recruiting him now" or even a "The situation is fluid, we will have to wait and see how it plays out" would be better than just berating journalists for doing their job.  No one's listening to the interviews to hear you spew out empty "one day at a time" cliches and scowl at the journalists.  Either answer the questions or don't do interviews at all.

And the journalists are even worse.  If you're not going to ask real questions, or push back even a little bit when there's resistance to telling the truth, get a new job.

Thought the same exact thing.

Tom to first reporter:  Ask the question you want to ask!

Tom to next reporter: You know I can’t answer that!

LOL.  It certainly seemed like he was inviting the first guy to ask about Ferrari.  He didn’t, but I honestly don’t have a problem with that question.  “Do you have plans to add anyone to the roster for the second semester” answers the Ferrari(s) question without having to say the name.  Of course Tom had to add the “at this moment” which adds ambiguity.

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On 1/10/2024 at 8:52 AM, steamboat_charlie said:

Strange awkward man gives strange awkward interview.  

Heck of a coach, heck of a wrestler, but just a strange strange dude.  Still prefer his style over Cael's.  

I hear you - but seems pretty clear that his wrestlers love him and visa versa so have to tip the hat to him there.  How many normal coaches are there and what is wrestling coach normal?  Its not regular person normal.

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2 hours ago, Elevator said:

I hear you - but seems pretty clear that his wrestlers love him and visa versa so have to tip the hat to him there.  How many normal coaches are there and what is wrestling coach normal?  Its not regular person normal.

Agreed there. I find both Brands highly amusing, glad they're in the sport.  

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5 minutes ago, steamboat_charlie said:

Agreed there. I find both Brands highly amusing, glad they're in the sport.  

They don't benefit from the level of secresy in d1 coaching, if they had a reality show I think people would like them.

"Half measures are a coward's form of insanity."

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Congrats to the OP on the understated title of the year. "Uncomfortable Brands Interview" is like "Uncomfortable Jellyfish Sting" or "Uncomfortable Meeting with the IRS." None of those things are ever comfortable. 

It is probably project #439 on my list of things to do, but I will someday do an entire video of the faces that Tom Brands makes before an interview starts. Maybe set it to Minnie Ripperton's Lovin' You or Pavarotti's Nessun Dorma.  

ILLINI27.jpg

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On 1/9/2024 at 7:40 PM, SetonHallPirate said:

There are NCAA rules regarding what a coach can comment on with respect to a prospective student-athlete. Basically, a coach can either confirm or deny that they are recruiting a prospective student-athlete, but cannot go any further than that. I suspect the University of Iowa has a policy that goes even further than that, stating that they cannot comment on prospective student-athletes at all, but am not 100% certain in that regard. That's probably why Brands made that sort of comment.

There was a segment where Matt Storniolo went on FRL some years' back and was asked (I believe by Ben Askren) about a recruit who had fairly recently committed to Northwestern, and Storniolo responded with "we are recruiting <wrestler's name>". That's all he's allowed to say. There was an instance in the 1990's where a coach in a sport other than wrestling, at a school that did not at the time (and still doesn't) sponsor wrestling, in a press conference, stated "NCAA rules state we are only allowed to confirm or deny whether we are recruiting a prospective student-athlete. Well, I'm denying. We are not recruiting <PSA's name>."

In short, it's not that Tom doesn't want to comment on things (although if I were Tom, I certainly would not be commenting on recruiting a human IED like AJ Ferrari), it's that NCAA rules and/or University of Iowa department policy prohibit him from commenting.

Ferrari isn’t a recruit. He’s a guy who trains at their RTC who lost to one of their wrestlers and gave the middle finger to their fans. He should comment on the situation in that respect. 

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16 hours ago, Elevator said:

I hear you - but seems pretty clear that his wrestlers love him and visa versa so have to tip the hat to him there.  How many normal coaches are there and what is wrestling coach normal?  Its not regular person normal.

 

if his wrestlers actually loved him they would win more and place fewer bets on women’s crew. 

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33 minutes ago, billyhoyle said:

Ferrari isn’t a recruit. He’s a guy who trains at their RTC who lost to one of their wrestlers and gave the middle finger to their fans. He should comment on the situation in that respect. 

He supposedly went on an “official visit.”  Didn’t that make him a recruit?

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