re: Former Players, Staff Reveal Troubling Allegations of Toxic Culture Under P.J. Fleck

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Former Players, Staff Reveal Troubling Allegations of Toxic Culture Under P.J. Fleck

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The only thing that’s troubling is that these are “allegations.”

You might see some criticism on the two bullets about player weight and rushing players back from injury due to pressure from Fleck, but most of the article just highlights how frickin' weird and narcissistic PJ Fleck is - his silly gimmicks work at Minnesota, and will attract three-star players with lesser offers, but most four- and five-stars aren't trying to waste their time with standing ovations, sprinting the sidelines during a game, and answering in acronyms

I can’t believe I wasted my time reading that shite. Fleck is kind of a goober and I think the acronyms are corny, but what is he doing wrong?

What team or organization on the planet doesn’t have a handful of disgruntled players/employees who talk bad about the boss behind their backs?

The players complaining were probably low character guys. This gives me Texas Tech and Adam James vibes.

My God!!! These people are pussies!!!

Other than community outreach, this was standard stuff


In High School!!!!

Two other players who were holdovers from the prior regime told FOS that indoctrination started right after Fleck was hired as head coach in January 2017.

Dan Nichol, Minnesota’s head football strength and conditioning coach who followed Fleck over from Western Michigan and interned at Iowa under disgraced strength coach Chris Doyle, gathered the team together after Fleck was hired, one of the former players said. The instruction was simple: Clap whenever Fleck entered the locker room.

“We had to practice giving Fleck ovations multiple times — the first time, because some other people in the back were not moving as quick as he wanted,” a third player told FOS.

Two other former players said that Fleck would reenter a room if he didn’t like the ovation he received.

After that first team meeting in 2017, players received a three-ring binder they were required to memorize and on which they were tested. FOS obtained several pages of the binder used by Fleck during his time at Minnesota.

The third player said that one acronym stood out: F.A.M.I.L.Y., short for “Forget About Me, I Love You.”

“He was making us say, forget about yourself as an individual,” the player said. “I was baffled because it’s not anything logical. If you forget about yourself, then who are you?”

Added a fourth player: “It’s based around Fleck’s ego. You have to talk a certain way. You have to be a certain way. … Within that building of the University of Minnesota, it’s very much like brainwashing.”

The pages obtained by FOS include nomenclature common to sports with inspirational quotes, and most are pretty self-explanatory.

“The Pain of Discipline VS. The Pain of Regret”
“Your how Creates Your who”
“If You’re Juiceless, You’re Useless If You’re Juiceful, You’re Useful”
“Roof Over Your Head – Better Off Than 73% of The World”
But some of the nearly 20 acronyms players were tested on were more abstract.

H.Y.P.R.R. — How/Yours/Process/Result/Response
T.H.I.N.K. — Truthful, Helpful, Inspirational, Necessary, Kind
F.I.S.T. — Family Invested Same Time “Keep it Tight”
S.F./A.M./F.S. — Start Fast, Accelerate Middle, Finish Strong

There was only one acceptable answer when Fleck and other staff members asked, “How are you doing?”

“I’m elite.”

Pack it up gopher bros. It’s back to complete irrelevancy for us.

How much more pussified are we going to get in this country? I have serious doubts as to whether tackle football will still be around in 20 years.