Did Fired USF Head Coach Jim Leavitt Really Overstep a Boundary?

[GaUSFBull]

from what i gather...and hopefully this doesnt cause brad to call me illiterate, but the author seems like he is saying that leavitt might of thought it would be ok for him to grab and smack miller like that because of the relationship they had.  Or that, its football that kind of stuff happens.

regardless of the relationship and the 10 years of leavitt camp, the walk-on status, etc.  obviously something happened and i think if leavitt would of handled it upfront and with honesty then he would probably still be our coach.

as it is, he didnt do that.  he thought he could sweep it under the rug.  i could handle him getting a little too phyiscal in the heat of the moment but to behave the way he did after the fact is not the type of behavior i would like to see in our head coach.

:clap    I think you drove the nail home with one swing of the hammer. 

He might have drove it completely through the 2 X 4.   :

It's a posted article with little commentary added by me to set up exactly a point I made a while back - that Joel was a little different than most players and that could have led to Leavitt treating him differently than he'd treated other kids.  Not necessarily that it would be okay for him to smack him as Matt tries to drive home, but that he interacted with him without thinking about it at all.

I did not say that meant nothing happened.

I did not say that meant he wasn't wrong.

I did not say that meant he could sweep it under the rug.

I did not say the "after the fact" behavior was what we wanted in a head coach.

The partisanship on this issue is fierce.  As well educated men, I'd think we'd be open to the perspective of Mr. Lunn, a former football player at UConn.

Bulliever, I've been paying a lot of attention to the threads today (thankfully it's a slower day at work) and I've noticed that you've spent a lot of space pointing out what you have not been saying, i.e. "I did not say that meant nothing happened," etc, in multiple threads.

All I'm saying is that Matt's reading comprehension is basically correct - Leavitt's long acquaintance with Miller might have led him subconsciously to think that it was ok to take a few liberties that he might not have taken with another player.  Maybe he did think of him as more of a son than other players.  Who knows?

No need to be defensive.  I was just pointing out that Matt's take on the article you posted seemed to describe the alleged encounter pretty well.  And I appreciate you posting this article for a take on the situation that I would not have otherwise known about.   

[hightechbull]

If he did hit the kid, what type of "slap" was it?

• A slap that a spouse gives the other spouse when he/she finds out that their significant other has been sleeping around?  The kind of slap that leaves a red mark on the face?
  
• A slap across the face to help revive someone who almost drowned in the pool or other body of water?
  
• The slap you give someone who is drunk or drugged out of their mind, and you tried to wake them up before they slip into a comma?
  
• A slap on the face where you grab the person by the chin and tap them to get their attention?
  

What about when you are at a party or tailgate, everyone is chugging beer, and people are slapping each other on the back like good old buddies?  You better watch out for those situations.  You never know who is going to complain to the authorities, or complain to someone else who will tell the authorities or some meely mouthed Internet "reporter".

Unwarrented touching should not be tolerated, but some of you people act as if CJL touched the player in a perverted manor.

[Ruger7mmmag]

If he did hit the kid, what type of "slap" was it?

• A slap that a spouse gives the other spouse when he/she finds out that their significant other has been sleeping around?  The kind of slap that leaves a red mark on the face?
  
• A slap across the face to help revive someone who almost drowned in the pool or other body of water?
  
• The slap you give someone who is drunk or drugged out of their mind, and you tried to wake them up before they slip into a comma?
  
• A slap on the face where you grab the person by the chin and tap them to get their attention?
  

What about when you are at a party or tailgate, everyone is chugging beer, and people are slapping each other on the back like good old buddies?  You better watch out for those situations.  You never know who is going to complain to the authorities, or complain to someone else who will tell the authorities or some meely mouthed Internet "reporter".

Unwarrented touching should not be tolerated, but some of you people act as if CJL touched the player in a perverted manor.

This is what is causing so much problem.  The root of exactly what happened.  Did the severity of the punishment fit the crime?  In my opinion, if the investigator was even adequate, we'd at least have a description of the actual act by someone in at least some detail.  If you slap anyone with any amount of force, folks are going to hear the first one and instinctively look in time to see the second.  Especially with so many folks in close quarters and no doubt folks were watching CJL knowing that when he entered he was likely going to be pissed from the 1st half performance or lack thereof.  Go ahead, slap the person next you.  You have to whack them pretty hard for hit to actually hurt and for it to get that far, it's not "silent" or easily hidden.  If he slapped him hard, wouldn't anyone who saw Miller been able to see finger prints on his face or a red mark for a few minutes after?  How come we don't hear of that by anyone in this report?  If someone slapped you, wouldn't you "dodge or defend" the second one if it was a pretty big slap?  Surely someone would've seen that.

And that my friends is why this investigation was brutally incompetent.  At the very least they should've had more detail from the witnesses they did have and if they saw something that terrible, no way they could forget it.

[jaym]

It is not the slap that got him fired. It is his actions afterward. If he would have apologized right after it happened then he would still have a job.

[BobbyBull]

Well based on reports,  what is clear is that Leavitt obviously did overstep a Boundary that Ben and Joel had for him. Jim’s main fault is that he did not acknowledge/realize that he had overstepped that boundary.

Had he realized it immediately, he could have addressed the team about it after the Louisville game and it would have been dropped, much like the K-State basketball coach did the other night.

Since CJL did not realize he had crossed a boundary, Ben and Joel gave him an opportunity to address it in a private meeting but apparently that did not go as the players had hoped.

That is when Pandora’s box was opened and we are where we are today. It truly is an unfortunate situation.

(Clap ...Clap...Clap....clap...clap)

[LoneBull]

It is not the slap that got him fired. It is his actions afterward. If he would have apologized right after it happened then he would still have a job.

wonder if usf will apologize for their crappy report and violating contract as part of the settlement

[2000bull]

Well based on reports,  what is clear is that Leavitt obviously did overstep a Boundary that Ben and Joel had for him. Jim’s main fault is that he did not acknowledge/realize that he had overstepped that boundary.

Had he realized it immediately, he could have addressed the team about it after the Louisville game and it would have been dropped, much like the K-State basketball coach did the other night.

Since CJL did not realize he had crossed a boundary, Ben and Joel gave him an opportunity to address it in a private meeting but apparently that did not go as the players had hoped.

That is when Pandora’s box was opened and we are where we are today. It truly is an unfortunate situation.

He could be one of those people who can never admit that they're wrong, they just want to forget about it and move on, even though everyone knows.

[SRQ]

I haven't posted with an orientation toward either side as I would rather remain silent than speak from ignorance.  

man, you stand out from the crowd here even more than I thought!

[Guest hm101]

they should do an investigation to find out whether he did or not  : move on

[usf97]

Unwarrented touching should not be tolerated, but some of you people act as if CJL touched the player in a perverted manor.

A perverted manor?!? Where would that be? The Playboy Mansion? Larry Flynt's place?