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Post by 642fiddi on May 10, 2022 11:19:40 GMT -5
How is this for credibility....everybody is leaving.
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Post by tommyboy on May 10, 2022 11:43:46 GMT -5
Is the "dietician" in this thread someone who attended practices regularly? Traveled with the team? Was in team meetings with the coaches? Was this "dietician" a full-time employee? If so, was this a full-time position assigned exclusivity to VB or did the position also do work with other teams/sports? Not relevant, they are speaking to what they were responsible for - and, as they said, their actions were standard and well justified. Like I said before, the quotes around weigh ins and meal restrictions are a distration from the real issues in the program. Every time anyone mixes standard, approapriate behavior (eg preseason weigh ins, meal spending limits) with the abusive behaviors (eg demeaning treatment by the coach). The accusations of abusive behavior are dilluted. Completely agree. This is a way to lose any valid argument you may have. I tend to believe the athletes in this situation, but what if we are all wrong? We don't have the information and are just hearing one side. Is it possible that a group of athletes that had a high opinion of themselves didn't like being held accountable and blamed the staff instead of themselves? Yes, I don't think that is too crazy of a thought. One thing is for sure, Indiana volleyball under Aird is done. You can't undo this damage to recruiting and he doesn't have enough talent to compete in a tough Big 10. He should take a buy out and lay low for a year or two because it's only going to get worse. Even if he is not at fault, he's not going to win this battle. |
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Post by bbg95 on May 10, 2022 12:27:06 GMT -5
Not relevant, they are speaking to what they were responsible for - and, as they said, their actions were standard and well justified. Like I said before, the quotes around weigh ins and meal restrictions are a distration from the real issues in the program. Every time anyone mixes standard, approapriate behavior (eg preseason weigh ins, meal spending limits) with the abusive behaviors (eg demeaning treatment by the coach). The accusations of abusive behavior are dilluted. One thing is for sure, Indiana volleyball under Aird is done. You can't undo this damage to recruiting and he doesn't have enough talent to compete in a tough Big 10. He should take a buy out and lay low for a year or two because it's only going to get worse. Even if he is not at fault, he's not going to win this battle. I agree. Indiana has to bite the bullet on the buyout and just move on. Keeping Aird for three more seasons will only exacerbate the situation. |
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Post by c4ndlelight on May 10, 2022 12:30:46 GMT -5
I'm not sure how a dietician who speaks to the players every few weeks is in position to speak on the claims of what the coach said to players.
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Steve Aird
May 10, 2022 12:31:42 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Truther on May 10, 2022 12:31:42 GMT -5
As the former dietician to the IU volleyball program, I want to categorically deny many of the allegations in this story. I worked in very close coordination with Coach Aird and his staff and can personally verify many of these claims are unsubstantiated. As part of our nutrition education, I would meet with the team every few weeks to provide guidelines and education on proper nutrition for their body. Prior to meals, I would receive direction from staff on where the team would be eating (if catered or individually ordering meals) and I would either 1) provide specific choices for the team to eat or 2) let the girls order whatever they liked and, before the order was placed, work with the girls and staff to make healthier choices within their selections. Additionally, player weights are something we took very seriously during our time at IU. We use this statistic to help us determine how much water weight a player would lose during practice and whether they were properly hydrated. The coaching staff did not have access to this information and it was only shared between myself, our athletic trainer, and our strength coach. To this end, it would be improper for me to discuss individual cases of players being told they were "too skinny" or "too fat," but I can assure you these conversations with student-athletes were handled by our ATC, strength coach, and myself and not the coaching staff. Unfortunately, we had players fall out of healthy weight ranges and, if allowed to play or train, would be severely detrimental to their health. Similarly, our performance team (the athletic trainer, strength coach, mental health professional, and myself) would regularly meet with the staff to discuss individual SAs and their ability to perform on a given day. We relayed general information to the coaching staff (without violating HIPAA protections) to help them make their practice plans and lineup decisions. Many of Coach Aird's decisions were influenced by this and it is untrue he acted unilaterally. Lastly, I would like to make something abundantly clear: collegiate athletes should not be eating fast food in the hours before a match or drinking alcohol shortly after they workout when they are supposed to be recovering. This is harmful to their health and does not allow them to operate at peak levels. I often saw, or heard, about these behaviors and appreciated the staff doing their best to ensure the team was following a healthy lifestyle. The reason you will not find many of the staff speaking out is because it puts all of us in a no-win situation. If we comment, we automatically become vilified and associated as supporters of these allegations which many in the community have determined are true regardless of substantiated evidence. I can assure you the university did a thorough investigation into the program and found no evidence of abuse. As a risk averse institution, the university would not put itself in a situation to ignore any harmful behaviors and the idea it would is flat out wrong. The school similarly did not find many of the student-athletes who came forward as credible as multiple of them had previously been suspended by Aird for various reasons and thus, in part, viewed these actions as retaliatory. This does not mean the administration rejected their allegations outright, it is only to say that as a result of a thorough investigation they came to this conclusion. My hope is that you all can understand there are two sides to every story and approach this with a more critical eye than you have. Steve has three kids, and it is unfortunate that allegations alone can destroy his career in the volleyball world and possibly damper any future job prospects he may have. This certainly is some insight into a literal sliver to what was covered in the article. What years were you employed with IU and IUVB? I just find it interesting how you’re so quick to put a stop to the narrative with your very lengthy explanation to 5% of the article. This doesn’t dismiss the words he’s allegedly used with athletes, the physical stress he’s caused them and god knows what else. It also does not even consider the part that he has lost nearly half of the athletes he’s had since his time at IU. Follow the actions he takes and those closest to him. These women wouldn’t just up and leave their D1 volleyball program to make a point. That being said why is everyone making excuses a for him when you even outline why personnel won’t make statements? He is the issue, the cause of stress emotionally and physically for these women. Disgusting. |
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Post by c4ndlelight on May 10, 2022 12:35:22 GMT -5
As the former dietician to the IU volleyball program, I want to categorically deny many of the allegations in this story. I worked in very close coordination with Coach Aird and his staff and can personally verify many of these claims are unsubstantiated. As part of our nutrition education, I would meet with the team every few weeks to provide guidelines and education on proper nutrition for their body. Prior to meals, I would receive direction from staff on where the team would be eating (if catered or individually ordering meals) and I would either 1) provide specific choices for the team to eat or 2) let the girls order whatever they liked and, before the order was placed, work with the girls and staff to make healthier choices within their selections. Additionally, player weights are something we took very seriously during our time at IU. We use this statistic to help us determine how much water weight a player would lose during practice and whether they were properly hydrated. The coaching staff did not have access to this information and it was only shared between myself, our athletic trainer, and our strength coach. To this end, it would be improper for me to discuss individual cases of players being told they were "too skinny" or "too fat," but I can assure you these conversations with student-athletes were handled by our ATC, strength coach, and myself and not the coaching staff. Unfortunately, we had players fall out of healthy weight ranges and, if allowed to play or train, would be severely detrimental to their health. Similarly, our performance team (the athletic trainer, strength coach, mental health professional, and myself) would regularly meet with the staff to discuss individual SAs and their ability to perform on a given day. We relayed general information to the coaching staff (without violating HIPAA protections) to help them make their practice plans and lineup decisions. Many of Coach Aird's decisions were influenced by this and it is untrue he acted unilaterally. Lastly, I would like to make something abundantly clear: collegiate athletes should not be eating fast food in the hours before a match or drinking alcohol shortly after they workout when they are supposed to be recovering. This is harmful to their health and does not allow them to operate at peak levels. I often saw, or heard, about these behaviors and appreciated the staff doing their best to ensure the team was following a healthy lifestyle. The reason you will not find many of the staff speaking out is because it puts all of us in a no-win situation. If we comment, we automatically become vilified and associated as supporters of these allegations which many in the community have determined are true regardless of substantiated evidence. I can assure you the university did a thorough investigation into the program and found no evidence of abuse. As a risk averse institution, the university would not put itself in a situation to ignore any harmful behaviors and the idea it would is flat out wrong. The school similarly did not find many of the student-athletes who came forward as credible as multiple of them had previously been suspended by Aird for various reasons and thus, in part, viewed these actions as retaliatory. This does not mean the administration rejected their allegations outright, it is only to say that as a result of a thorough investigation they came to this conclusion. My hope is that you all can understand there are two sides to every story and approach this with a more critical eye than you have. Steve has three kids, and it is unfortunate that allegations alone can destroy his career in the volleyball world and possibly damper any future job prospects he may have. This certainly is some insight into a literal sliver to what was covered in the article. What years were you employed with IU and IUVB? I just find it interesting how you’re so quick to put a stop to the narrative with your very lengthy explanation to 5% of the article. This doesn’t dismiss the words he’s allegedly used with athletes, the physical stress he’s caused them and god knows what else. It also does not even consider the part that he has lost nearly half of the athletes he’s had since his time at IU. Follow the actions he takes and those closest to him. These women wouldn’t just up and leave their D1 volleyball program to make a point. That being said why is everyone making excuses a for him when you even outline why personnel won’t make statements? He is the issue, the cause of stress emotionally and physically for these women. Disgusting. I'm still not sure exactly what part of the allegations this is refuting. |
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Steve Aird
May 10, 2022 12:44:03 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by gibbyb1 on May 10, 2022 12:44:03 GMT -5
I was just going to say, "how do we know the assistants didn't try to report?", only to not be heard, so they left quietly. They are in a bad position, too. They're in a bad position, but it's one they chose to be in. It's not like Gwitt hasn't know Aird for his entire adult life. [b They also left when it all hit the fan in terms of the internal investigation. The things being alleged were happening over a long period of time it sounds like. |
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Post by asthma92 on May 10, 2022 12:47:08 GMT -5
One wonders why Indiana is so committed to a project that's obviously failed, is getting worse, and is also publicly embarrassing in multiple ways. It honestly goes to show how %*$#ey admins are with respect to protecting their kids. Programs think that image stems from the top down, and this is never the case. Not taking student athletes seriously and not putting them first is the reason why kids are in crisis. From an admins perspective, it would look good to fire Steve, and it would not make the donors happy. But, again, if the kids aren’t happy, not in a great mental space because of him, we have a problem. Why don’t other assistants speak up and speak out? Krista? Dan? if you love your job and student-athletes, they would say something. I get it, i was a younger assistant once that didn’t want to step on toes, but isn’t there a point where you have to speak up? I have worked for a multiple staffs, some good, some alright, and some that were very very bad. The bad had one thing in common, not putting players first |
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Post by asthma92 on May 10, 2022 12:48:47 GMT -5
I hope Vansant and Gwitt are forthcoming as this continues. That can’t be complacent about this. Complacency brings staleness to change and maintaining status quo is easy and comfortable. When you are working with young women, you (being the assts) have to stand up for what’s right otherwise it shows who you are as a person. full stop. |
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Post by asthma92 on May 10, 2022 12:52:18 GMT -5
Call me crazy, but I do not see the issue with limiting what college kids eat at restaurants. You can’t eat chicken fingers and ice cream and be ready to go play Nebraska. I feel like some of this is girls with strong hatred towards Coach Aird and the program having too much of a voice to supply information. If the university did its own investigation, one would hope they could receive better evidence than a student reporter. I believe there is a lot of truth to it, and I do think IU needs to move on from Coach Aird. My main point is that if you nitpicked any statements from coaches through the year, similar statements are said in multiple programs. I highly doubt Coach Cook and other top coaches only give positive reinforcement. Again, I believe that IU does need to move on, but I feel like a lot of this happens at all top level programs. Yes you can. You want them to eat lettuce? Unique perspective here, i majored in nutrition during undergrad when i played. Kids need to just eat what they can and when they can. It was the same problem when i graduated in 2011 as it is now…stop viewing things as healthy and unhealthy |
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Steve Aird
May 10, 2022 13:00:35 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by gibbyb1 on May 10, 2022 13:00:35 GMT -5
One thing is for sure, Indiana volleyball under Aird is done. You can't undo this damage to recruiting and he doesn't have enough talent to compete in a tough Big 10. He should take a buy out and lay low for a year or two because it's only going to get worse. Even if he is not at fault, he's not going to win this battle. I agree. Indiana has to bite the bullet on the buyout and just move on. Keeping Aird for three more seasons will only exacerbate the situation. The money the owe him is peanuts relative to what they may pay if a group pursues civil action against the university. People are making a huge deal about not wanting to pay the payout. But I bet they are paying fired football or basketball coaches way more |
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Post by ineedajob on May 10, 2022 13:02:02 GMT -5
Call me crazy, but I do not see the issue with limiting what college kids eat at restaurants. You can’t eat chicken fingers and ice cream and be ready to go play Nebraska. I feel like some of this is girls with strong hatred towards Coach Aird and the program having too much of a voice to supply information. If the university did its own investigation, one would hope they could receive better evidence than a student reporter. I believe there is a lot of truth to it, and I do think IU needs to move on from Coach Aird. My main point is that if you nitpicked any statements from coaches through the year, similar statements are said in multiple programs. I highly doubt Coach Cook and other top coaches only give positive reinforcement. Again, I believe that IU does need to move on, but I feel like a lot of this happens at all top level programs. Yes you can. You want them to eat lettuce? Unique perspective here, i majored in nutrition during undergrad when i played. Kids need to just eat what they can and when they can. It was the same problem when i graduated in 2011 as it is now…stop viewing things as healthy and unhealthy That's a take. I don't agree with it, but I would love for you to be able to change my mind so that it's ok for my players to have milkshakes and cheese fries before a match. |
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Post by bbg95 on May 10, 2022 13:03:15 GMT -5
I agree. Indiana has to bite the bullet on the buyout and just move on. Keeping Aird for three more seasons will only exacerbate the situation. The money the owe him is peanuts relative to what they may pay if a group pursues civil action against the university. People are making a huge deal about not wanting to pay the payout. But I bet they are paying fired football or basketball coaches way more They definitely are. They paid over $10 million to make Archie Miller go away. Granted, boosters (Mark Cuban?) paid for at least part of that. |
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Steve Aird
May 10, 2022 13:03:27 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by gibbyb1 on May 10, 2022 13:03:27 GMT -5
Call me crazy, but I do not see the issue with limiting what college kids eat at restaurants. You can’t eat chicken fingers and ice cream and be ready to go play Nebraska. I feel like some of this is girls with strong hatred towards Coach Aird and the program having too much of a voice to supply information. If the university did its own investigation, one would hope they could receive better evidence than a student reporter. I believe there is a lot of truth to it, and I do think IU needs to move on from Coach Aird. My main point is that if you nitpicked any statements from coaches through the year, similar statements are said in multiple programs. I highly doubt Coach Cook and other top coaches only give positive reinforcement. Again, I believe that IU does need to move on, but I feel like a lot of this happens at all top level programs. Yes you can. You want them to eat lettuce? Unique perspective here, i majored in nutrition during undergrad when i played. Kids need to just eat what they can and when they can. It was the same problem when i graduated in 2011 as it is now…stop viewing things as healthy and unhealthy Yeah, I’m going to totally disagree. Diet in the terms of what you’re eating has an enormous impact on performance. It’s not binary you can manage diet in a safe and healthy way. Every major program in the country is focused on “proper” nutrition, eating what they can when they can isn’t supported by any credible nutritionist. |
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Post by asthma92 on May 10, 2022 13:11:59 GMT -5
Yes you can. You want them to eat lettuce? Unique perspective here, i majored in nutrition during undergrad when i played. Kids need to just eat what they can and when they can. It was the same problem when i graduated in 2011 as it is now…stop viewing things as healthy and unhealthy Yeah, I’m going to totally disagree. Diet in the terms of what you’re eating has an enormous impact on performance. It’s not binary you can manage diet in a safe and healthy way. Every major program in the country is focused on “proper” nutrition, eating what they can when they can isn’t supported by any credible nutritionist. sorry, context is important. I thought you were referring to subway, chipotle etc, not crap from mcdonald’s. |
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