Jimmy Cinnabon

To answer the question: fan interest. Wrestling is a tiny, tiny non-revenue sport that has 0.001% of the fanbase of football and basketball. No money = no media interest.

Bob has donated well into the 8 figures to Iowa wrestling. His name is on the wrestling room and he signs all the NIL checks...I don't disagree that he deserves to call the shots, but I just disagree with him doing public callouts of wrestlers on the Iowa messageboards.

Spencer is the best wrestler in the USA currently and our best shot for Olympic Gold in 2028. He's a living legend and Bo's idol. Kids join Iowa just to be in His orbit.

I'm wondering if a personal visit from The Lee could possibly bring the Bassetts back into the fold? Bo has said Spencer is his idol...you have to think a personal visit at home could undo all the damage, no?

Yes - I was shocked that a donor (even if he's the biggest one) is allowed this level of access/control over wrestlers. Scary, frankly.

It’s not a bad thing when done privately. Putting them on blast on a public Internet forum is what I find objectionable. Also how is Jordan supposed to feel when Bob tells the world he thinks there’s only a 50% chance he makes the team?

If this is true, Iowa needs to report OkSt immediately to the NCAA compliance department.

While I get the intention of this photoshop, I think some of the black wrestlers at Iowa might not find this so funny.

Who would think that Iowa would have a bigger unresolvable issue with the Bassett family than the Ferrari family?

I have to say, having your program's largest donor publicly calling out wrestlers (and even giving odds on Williams' actually making it on the Iowa roster) is a surprising move to me. Could this have anything to do with Bassett's decommitment? https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/jordan-williams-arrest.474969/post-13230360 "I give Jordan's shot to be on the team at one chance in two. The reason I am posting this is because if he is on the team, he needs everyone to encourage him to "Live the Wrestler Life", not the party boy life. You can bet I will. There are consequences to this detrimental behavior. Same with Gabe in other ways. I'll be all over them."

Iowa may have dodged a bullet (or two or three).

Great thread from a quality poster

The loss of Bo and Melvin stings. It's pretty obvious to me that both will land at Ok State, which is good for wrestling because it means in the next 5 years a team other than Penn State is going to win the title. However Iowa needs to take drastic action now if it wants to remain a top 4 program. I think Iowa needs to make one of two moves: 1. Hire Spencer Lee ASAP - I don't care if he's still competing. He can be a player-coach. And he doesn't necessarily need to be HC right away. Bring him on as an assistant coach. Iowa HAS to get Lee locked in before a program like Ohio State makes him an offer he can't refuse. 2. Have Bob back up the Nicolls Truck to PJ Duke and/or Marcus Blaze's houses. - Iowa must flip one of these guys, otherwise the power balance is irreparably tilted toward Penn State and Ok State. Iowa NEEDS star power, pronto and one of these guys could be the next Spencer. If Iowa makes one (preferably both) of these moves, they will stay a top 4 team for the next decade. If they make none, they risk falling off the medal stand altogether.

No room for him

Ok State

The OP asked how certain individuals could witness abuse yet not stop it directly. The answer is the same for the thousands (possibly tens of thousands) of people in the Catholic church who either witnessed or had knowledge of such abuse yet did very little about it.

Now do the Catholic church with its thousands of abused children.

His brother Bo is already committed to Iowa and his other brother Keegan is expected to be a Hawkeye too. Melvin released a list of his top 8 schools today and obviously is included but so are some other powerhouse programs. Is there a real recruiting race here or is Melvin a Iowa lock?

Their situations are similar, though Williams has a extensive history of alcohol related offenses across multiple schools where I believe Davis does not. Do we see both wrestlers receiving a similar outcome?

Significantly, Hellickson’s lead assistant during much of Strauss’s tenure was Jim Jordan – the two-time NCAA wrestling champion turned Freedom Caucus congressman and Donald Trump bootlick. While Jordan would register his share of on-the-record denials at the time, a number of former wrestlers say in the film that Jordan reached out to them privately and pushed them to change their stories in hopes of making the scandal, and the growing scrutiny on him, go away. The story bookends a shocking testimonial from Frederick Feeney, a respected wrestling referee who alleges that Strauss pleasured himself as the ref was showering after officiating a meet decades ago. “The next thing I know, I’m feeling his hand on my butt,” Feeney says to camera, choking back the emotion. “It affected me so bad that I didn’t even respond to him, when I should’ve knocked him on his ass at that point. But I didn’t. As I’m walking out [of the locker room], Russ Hellickson and Jim Jordan were both standing there. I looked at both of them and said, Strauss was in there masturbating beside me in the shower. Jim Jordan looked at me straight in my face and said, ‘It’s Strauss. You know what he does.’”

Anyone watch this yet? https://www.hbo.com/surviving-ohio-state

How do you feel about the fact that Bo Bassett will be 20 years old when he starts his career at Iowa?

For the record, I'm all for second (or third or fourth) chances.

Assault and public intoxication are the charges. Apparently this is at least his 3rd alcohol related arrest, with two while he was at Oklahoma State.