Independent Florida Alligator: Abuse under Coach Newbauer

I wouldn't assign a covert "spy." My experience in the world of work is that spying on your own never works and only makes things worse, if not intolerable. I'd recommend a transparent, clear approach. Simply have a staffer watch and film every practice and workout session. Doesn't have to be the same person. In fact it should be at least three different persons, to get a variety of takes.

 

I'm with you up to the point of opening all practices in all sports all the time. Some of the best Gator days ever you knew were coming were when Spurrier would close practices a few days right before a big game. Something BIG was about to happen.

 

A completely uneducated guess:

First, I think Newbauer was a lot like Mac in that he looked "plausible" on paper but was wholly unprepared for running a program the size they were given and so... Too bad it took some bad juju to get to the logical end for both coaches (New's is much worse, timing-wise). I am not sure whether he really broke bad or just used "old tactics" that blew up in a more modern setting. Too much "he said/she said" to get to the real truth.

Now to SS. I have to believe he has risen up the ranks by having some acumen as an administrator but relies on his "good karma" to set people up in his sphere of influence to do good things. Like a lot of head football coaches who do not do very well unless they have really great talent and assistants. I can't say it can't work but rather you need to know when it is time to stop singing Kumbaya and begin doing the tough work. It appears he got too caught up in whatever to realize New was in over his head.

He is getting dinged but it isn't fatal. He just needs to show he is learning what it means to be the AD at UF. Not the same as at MSU.

 

The world has changed as well. They don’t allow second chances or redemption of people who make mistakes. Can’t learn from an incident. Not tolerated. Have to dismiss immediately. Only acceptable outcome for the social media judge and jury. Plaintiff is always to be believed

 

And opposed to calling multiple girls liars? Yeah, let's believe the one man against the five women. Bitches be loco, after all.

As for learning from the incident -- that sounds great, until it's you who have been the victim and being told that the other person is learning from the incident. Learning from an incident input impies actually making a change -- Newbauer was given the chance to change. He didn't.

Unless you're talking about Stricklin. In which case, you'd think that after stuff with McElwain, Stricklin would have learned to pay attention to what was going on in fields and offices. Or that after the first allegation -- the one that got him to the point of putting things in place to monitor -- he'd have continued paying attention.

How many chances is enough?

 

By all accounts, Newbauer got second, third, fourth, fifth, and umpteenth chances. Never learned from it.

 

Watching it on sports center. He sounds like a dick, but goodness these girls sound soft as hell. "He made me cry and I still had to run drills!".

 

Perhaps it is just age. I grew up in an era where teachers and principals still paddled or spanked you in school with rulers. I grew up where coaches yelled, demeaned and physically punished the team to improve and fight through mental hurdles to win, and nothing I’ve every experienced was as bad as the military and basic and technical training schools. The military training and TIs make Coach Cam look like a choir boy. Just a softer politically correct world where helicopter parents fight their grown kids battles.

The allegations are he yelled at kids in practice and they cried, that he asked them to dress for success (required of many jobs and several professional teams have dress codes), that he threw a ball at a player (did not hit them), that he made comments regarding hair choices, and that he told players he did not like their LGBTQ life style. No physical touching, no assault, no sexual advances, … An Assistant Coach no longer with the team said he did not witness that behavior in any practices he attended during the time in question. Cam’s coaching style no longer tolerated in today’s world, but most of us had this type of coach.

 

I think most of it is over the top, but I thought he was throwing and hitting the girls with basketballs? I may have misunderstood, but that definitely isn't okay. The rest of the claims are a bit of a stretch, but that stuff doesn't fly in today's world. I didn't see anything about an LGBT comment? And who is the coach who said they never saw it? I think there is going to be soooo much more come out on this one.

 

Okay, you're mis-stating some facts here: the clothes in question were casual wear so it's not a matter of dressing for success as much as dressing as the coach likes, he did hit the player with the ball, the person (not clarified as an assistant) quoted by ESPN did not dispute things had happened but said they weren't that bad -- they were just a demonstration of how "intense" Newbauer could be.

But the bigger issue is this: he was a terrible coach. Awful. The worst coach of any UF program in 30 years. Much worse than any of his predecessors at WBB, but worse than any other coach at any UF program. Posters on this thread have regretted Peck, but Peck made the NCAAs twice in five years and had two 19-win seasons. Newbauer never won more than 15 games. If you wanted to say his techniques were antiquated but brought results, that would be one thing. Bobby Knight was one of college basketball's winningest coaches; I've heard Gino can be a bear. But Newbauer's did not work. You're lamenting his style, but it was his acumen. He sucked. His last year was worse than his third. He got rid of a lot of players; almost everyone on his roster were his own recruits. And still they were terrible. So why was he allowed to continue?

And more than that, no players have come forward to defend him. No outcrying when he left. No texts of support from either of his programs. You can wish for the ole days all you want, but those coaching behaviors were tolerated because they were successful. They were supposedly building character.

Newbauer wasn't. He was just abusing his power and his position. If you're a successful asshole, you can get away with a lot. When you're unsuccessful, you're just an asshole.

 

I think he was a terrible coach and a bad hire. Won’t argue with anyone on these points. Also agree he was ineffective. Not sure why we would ever hire men to Coach female sports, but SS has done this several times.

 

While I agree that hiring a qualified woman, when possible, is the best option for wbb... I do have to add, its not because I believe that woman coaches are any less abusive than the men. In fact, I would wager that more female coaches have been removed for abusive behaviors over the last 10 years. Just off the top of my head:
MaChelle Joseph, Sharon versyp, Terry kix, lavonda wagner, Marlene stollings, & Sylvia hatchell all women who have proven allegations similar or worse than our situation