director of player engagement

[upstater]

In the Hartford courant media piece, there is a clear contradiction in the context of what was quoted almost directly from one sentence to the next. One quote is generally tolerant, and a non-issue, and the other is the 'evangelical' statement that clearly is not appropriate. Evangelical Christians can be pretty whacko too, but if you communicate with them to tone down, it's a non-issue.

Several of us have said that the preceding quote doesn't contradict the next one because he's expressing tolerance of various Christian sects. It's a line that's been uttered many times.

 

[sportsart]

See Des's blog.

 

[CAHUSKY]

When did freedom of religion become freedom from religion. I mean, what if a player decides on his own to start a prayer in the middle of the huddle...well, there may not be time as guess what, you are limited in time and need to make sure everyone in the huddle is aware of their assignments. However, in a locker-room if there is time, guess what, the player can pray...and not just in some building to be hidden away from others eyes because they MIGHT offend someone. The atheists law of silencing people is their version of a religious decree. People can and should pray where they want but they will be judged when doing it. Going to a theater and shouting a prayer would be offensive to most if not all people believers and atheists alike. But a person offering up a prayer on a street corner...doesn't bother me, offering up a prayer in the huddle and not getting the proper play calling...not appropriate. In the huddle and someone praying before a victory formation...Appropriate. Notice, it is the individual doing it, and for coach Diaco to say that JC will be in the huddle, whose to say on the sideline after the play was called in, that he is not praying for his team.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a player praying wherever he wants. There is a problem when someone in authority forces their beliefs down someone's throat. I'm fully on board with the coaches doing their all to produce great football players and better people but am just wary of religious zealotry as I've seen it be divisive in a locker room before. All that being said, I'm 99.9% sure that this will be nipped in the but and won't manifest in to nearly the issue it's become here

 

[BlueMAB]

According to Dez:

"what Jones meant: if a player has a need to be in touch spiritually, whichever direction that is, the player will be able to reach out to Jones and he will be able to point him – or them – in the right direction; that you don’t have to disconnect from your faith – if you’re faith-based – because you’re away from home."

Sounds like the fears of some on this board were justified, and Jews, atheists, Muslims, and maybe Catholics will not be welcome in the program. Clearly this is more evidence that Jones is pushing his religious views down the throats of the players.

#fireJones

 

[huskymedic]

See Des's blog.

desmondconner1:49pm via twitterfeed
In The Huddle With The Huskies: A Clarification Post original url/L0D8wR

>>What’s goin’ on?

Well it appears some feathers were ruffled from the “ in the huddle” comment from UConn running backs coach/director of player engagement coach Ernest Jones in the Sunday Courant.

In the end Jones just wants the players on the team to have a good sense of morals in addition to being solid football players.

We need to be clear on this though and here’s a clarification, what Jones meant: if a player has a need to be in touch spiritually, whichever direction that is, the player will be able to reach out to Jones and he will be able to point him – or them – in the right direction; that you don’t have to disconnect from your faith – if you’re faith-based – because you’re away from home.

DC<<

 

[Husky25]

See Des's blog.

There you go. The "talk" was had.

 

[CAHUSKY]

According to Dez:

Sounds like the fears of some on this board were justified, and Jews, atheists, Muslims, and maybe Catholics will not be welcome in the program. Clearly this is more evidence that Jones is pushing his religious views down the throats of the players.

#fireJones

I don't think anyone feared they wouldn't be welcome. They feared that some people would be turned off by proselytizing in the locker room.

 

[BlueMAB]

I don't think anyone feared they wouldn't be welcome. They feared that some people would be turned off by proselytizing in the locker room.

No disrespect but you clearly missed a lot of posts in this thread. It isn't worth rehashing, but they are there if you take the time to find them. That and worse.

 

[huskyblooz]

According to Dez:

"what Jones meant: if a player has a need to be in touch spiritually, whichever direction that is, the player will be able to reach out to Jones and he will be able to point him – or them – in the right direction; that you don’t have to disconnect from your faith – if you’re faith-based – because you’re away from home."

Sounds like the fears of some on this board were justified, and Jews, atheists, Muslims, and maybe Catholics will not be welcome in the program. Clearly this is more evidence that Jones is pushing his religious views down the throats of the players.

#fireJones

Lighten up Francis! How many players do you suppose he has met so far? Is your son in the program?

 

[BlueMAB]

Lighten up Francis! How many players do you suppose he has met so far? Is your son in the program?

/sarcasm

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Have to love Des' dismissive and condescending " ruffled some feathers" comment about the issue.

Hilarious coming from a guy who flips out at people on Twitter over nothing.

I would love to see Des' story if the coach said " Jesus and God aren't in this huddle because Christianity and the bible are fake".

Talk about some feather ruffling.

 

[uconnbill]

The nonbelievers are against you!!!!

Well maybe you should reread the article about guiding them to their faiths. Desmond clarified what he said today, but you and others are just out to push your political correct agenda

 

[NYCHusky]

Have to love Des' dismissive and condescending " ruffled some feathers" comment about the issue.

Hilarious coming from a guy who flips out at people on Twitter over nothing.

I would love to see Des' story if the coach said " Jesus and God aren't in this huddle because Christianity and the bible are fake".

Talk about some feather ruffling.

I also love his "What’s goin’ on?" with the missing 'g' from going. Is that the cool thing to do now?

 

[upstater]

Well maybe you should reread the article about guiding them to their faiths. Desmond clarified what he said today, but you and others are just out to push your political correct agenda

I can care less about being politically correct. You and I know that if someone actually said to this guy, " doesn't even exist," there would be ramifications. Or, Allah is the real God, Jesus is a fake. Etc.

Even the people defending it above recognize that someone had been "talked to." But go on...

 

[upstater]

Have to love Des' dismissive and condescending " ruffled some feathers" comment about the issue.

Hilarious coming from a guy who flips out at people on Twitter over nothing.

I would love to see Des' story if the coach said " Jesus and God aren't in this huddle because Christianity and the bible are fake".

Talk about some feather ruffling.

It really is just idiotic and stupid. Why get embroiled?

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

The atheists law of silencing people is their version of a religious decree.

I am unaware of any, uh, "atheist law" silencing people praying. I think for many atheists, the problem is that having religious structures, like the Ten Commandments, on a courthouse wall, constitutes an establishment of Christianity as a state religion and would be considered illegal.

Nobody cares what you do on the privacy of your own lawn. Except your judgy neighborhood association.

 

[huskymedic]

desmondconner1:49pm via twitterfeed
In The Huddle With The Huskies: A Clarification Post original url/L0D8wR

>>What’s goin’ on?

Well it appears some feathers were ruffled from the “ in the huddle” comment from UConn running backs coach/director of player engagement coach Ernest Jones in the Sunday Courant.

In the end Jones just wants the players on the team to have a good sense of morals in addition to being solid football players.

We need to be clear on this though and here’s a clarification, what Jones meant: if a player has a need to be in touch spiritually, whichever direction that is, the player will be able to reach out to Jones and he will be able to point him – or them – in the right direction; that you don’t have to disconnect from your faith – if you’re faith-based – because you’re away from home.

DC<<

desmondconner4:33pm via twitterfeed
UConn President Susan Herbst On Respecting All; Religions Post original url/L1f9O0

<<Folks here’s a statement from UConn president Susan Herbst regarding the in the Huddle comment from running backs coach/director of player personnel Ernest T, Jones.

From UConn….. Statement From UConn President Susan Herbst: “At public universities we value everyone in our community, and treat each person with the same degree of respect, regardless of who they are, what their background is, or what their beliefs may be. Every student, including student-athletes, must know they are accepted and welcomed at UConn. Always. Our staff should educate and guide students, to ensure they are well-prepared for life at UConn and beyond. But it should go without saying that our employees cannot appear to endorse or advocate for a particular religion or spiritual philosophy as part of their work at the university, or in their interactions with our students. This applies to work-related activity anywhere on or off campus, including on the football field. Our Athletic Director and Coach Diaco agree wholeheartedly with me, and have made this clear to their staff.”<<

Guess Des won't be getting any team intel from Jones for a while...

 

[jbdphi]

desmondconner4:33pm via twitterfeed
UConn President Susan Herbst On Respecting All; Religions Post original url/L1f9O0

<<Folks here’s a statement from UConn president Susan Herbst regarding the in the Huddle comment from running backs coach/director of player personnel Ernest T, Jones.

From UConn….. Statement From UConn President Susan Herbst: “At public universities we value everyone in our community, and treat each person with the same degree of respect, regardless of who they are, what their background is, or what their beliefs may be. Every student, including student-athletes, must know they are accepted and welcomed at UConn. Always. Our staff should educate and guide students, to ensure they are well-prepared for life at UConn and beyond. But it should go without saying that our employees cannot appear to endorse or advocate for a particular religion or spiritual philosophy as part of their work at the university, or in their interactions with our students. This applies to work-related activity anywhere on or off campus, including on the football field. Our Athletic Director and Coach Diaco agree wholeheartedly with me, and have made this clear to their staff.”<<

Guess Des won't be getting any team intel from Jones for a while...

Yeah, I'd say this means that the comment wasn't taken lightly by the President of the university. And also that the feedback which prompted it came from a lot more than just this thread on the BY.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Not even two weeks on the job and having the university Prez publicly reprimand you, not good.

These players better be fully engaged for his sake!

 

[huskymedic]

Another take (somethings still tells me he got too comfortable w/ one reporter. Neither John Fuller or John Silver went there).

John Silver ‏@JohnFSilver2m
A bit on UConn’s Ernest Jones http://snyuconn.com/uconn/football/a-but-on-uconns-ernest-jones/… via @SNYUconn

 

[formerlurker]

Not even two weeks on the job and having the university Prez publicly reprimand you, not good.

These players better be fully engaged for his sake!

*blank* willing, all of this will blow over and he's back on Susan's *blank*mas card list very soon. *blank* forbid this becomes a real issue.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Not even two weeks on the job and having the university Prez publicly reprimand you.

Many head football coaches make the choice to not allow media to speak with their assistants unless it's under highly controlled circumstances, if they even allow them to meet with media at all. I would be shocked to find out that any of the UCONN football coaching contracts other than Diaco's mandate media accessibility.

What we've all witnessed here, was Diaco's very first rookie head coaching mistake. I had feared that it was in his hiring of too many chiefs, but it seems that it was an indian that caused the problem.

At some point in the future, he will make the conscious choice to either allow his assistants access to media and will trust them with what they say, or he'll turn into a Randy Edsall (Bill Parcells) type, and his voice will be the only voice for his program. For now, he's got to be consistent, which means I don't think that media access to assistants would be restricted, but I guarantee that they will be very careful about what they say, and to whom from here on out. It's good that this kind of thing happens in the offseason, when only diehards are paying attention.

As for the concerns that others have had, the position and work this guy is going to do, has been done at two other public universities (Cincinnati and Central Michigan if I'm not mistaken) and I highly doubt that we've got a coaching staff hired here that has got a goal of being evangelical proselytizers and has for some reason changed what they did specifically for UCONN.

Yes, the things quoted in the media piece, were in line with that kind of evangelical thinking, but the concern that people have here, is born out their own biases, experiences and preconceived notions leading to conclusions, because the reality is that there is no reason to think that these coaches named, are trying to get our recruits and players to be born again Christians, following evangelical Christian belief systems.

The entire thing is the product of a beat reporters bad choice in writing, and most likely, without that media piece, there is no need for a supervisory speaking to and public address by the university president.

But it's done and overwith. I will now post only photos of beautiful women in this thread.

 

[formerlurker]

Many head football coaches make the choice to not allow media to speak with their assistants unless it's under highly controlled circumstances, if they even allow them to meet with media at all. I would be shocked to find out that any of the UCONN football coaching contracts other than Diaco's mandate media accessibility.

What we've all witnessed here, was Diaco's very first rookie head coaching mistake. I had feared that it was in his hiring of too many chiefs, but it seems that it was an indian that caused the problem.

At some point in the future, he will make the conscious choice to either allow his assistants access to media and will trust them with what they say, or he'll turn into a Randy Edsall (Bill Parcells) type, and his voice will be the only voice for his program. For now, he's got to be consistent, which means I don't think that media access to assistants would be restricted, but I guarantee that they will be very careful about what they say, and to whom from here on out. It's good that this kind of thing happens in the offseason, when only diehards are paying attention.

As for the concerns that others have had, the position and work this guy is going to do, has been done at two other public universities (Cincinnati and Central Michigan if I'm not mistaken) and I highly doubt that we've got a coaching staff hired here that has got a goal of being evangelical proselytizers and has for some reason changed what they did specifically for UCONN.

Yes, the things quoted in the media piece, were in line with that kind of evangelical thinking, but the concern that people have here, is born out their own biases, experiences and preconceived notions leading to conclusions, because the reality is that there is no reason to think that these coaches named, are trying to get our recruits and players to be born again Christians, following evangelical Christian belief systems.

The entire thing is the product of a beat reporters bad choice in writing, and most likely, without that media piece, there is no need for a supervisory speaking to and public address by the university president.

But it's done and overwith. I will now post only photos of beautiful women in this thread.

Well?

 

[Carl Spackler]

Yes. There is a God.

 

[RedSoloCup]

View attachment 4766

Yes. There is a God.

and I am happy to observe those creations!

 

[Stray_Dog]

I am unaware of any, uh, "atheist law" silencing people praying. I think for many atheists, the problem is that having religious structures, like the Ten Commandments, on a courthouse wall, constitutes an establishment of Christianity as a state religion and would be considered illegal.

Nobody cares what you do on the privacy of your own lawn. Except your judgy neighborhood association.

You do know the ten commandments were established by the Jews followed by Jesus as Jesus was a Jew, and respected by the Muslims...so again and lets be honest here, its not the ten commandments that atheists find fault with but the ones with Thou shalt not have any God(s) before me, or Thou Shalt not use the Lord's name in vain, which by the way ...I would dare anyone religious or not to do that in a courtroom...profanity of any kind is not welcome. And my last point on this issue, If Christians were to put up a commandment in a court house, which one would it be...How about none of the ten but the 11th that Jesus gave to us...Love one another as I have loved you! ...And would that be really bad, I mean if Buddha or Gandhi or Mohammad said that quote, it might be allowed because most people wouldn't know who it came from. If Martin Luther King said it, everyone would want it posted. But Martin Luther King was a religious man - so lets not make any exceptions. My point is, that most people if you remove the religious connotation would have to agree with most if not all of the messages of the ten commandments. I love that the highest point in Waterbury CT is a cross overlooking the mix master. Why, in many other communities the highest point is a jail or a dump site...I wonder which of the three each of us on this board would rather see???

 

[Carl Spackler]

The core lesson of the judeochristian religion is simple and it's one line and it's one of few fundamental truths, I believe. .

Do to others as you would have done to you.

 

[formerlurker]

JESUS in the HOUSE!!

Not a poster here who can debate these are God given...

 

[Irishfan]

This is what happens when you get a couple of coaches from a Catholic school. Next step will be Diaco having a pre game mass.

 

[Nostical]

Do to others as you would have done to you.

I've never been able to reconcile the Golden Rule with the concept of proselytyzing. If I don't want someone of another faith telling me I've got it all wrong--why would I try convincing them to see it my way?