sheesh, WP cant get a break.
Interesting point about the early cuts / transfers, I can believe that most of them were in ODP pipeline for years. And straight from high school → college
You can’t treat 18-22 year olds the same as14-18 year olds, gone are the days of Chris Segesman and Larry Rogers.
The only reason something similar has not popped up at UCLA is because win’s fix everything
Wait, what? The article says the contents of the investigation were leaked to the OBJECT–Flacks-- of the investigation? If true , game over. Wonder if the Muir sacking has anything to do with this… (knowing that no one notices polo, and its all about football)
It makes sense that this was published on April Fools Day…No truth to any of this, just a bunch of bull…
What’s the Larry Rogers and Chris Segesman reference point? No sarcasm on my end. Honest curiosity from someone unfamiliar with insider college polo history.
Rogers was a coach at Bellarmine for a long time. From personal knowledge of teammates who played there, Rogers was what some would term abusive and demanding - old school. Break you down, intimidate you, critical, demeaning. But a lot of top players came out of there, and 25 CCS Water Polo titles makes up for a lot. Yes winning does make a lot of things go away. He could also be encouraging and supportive. I guess maybe just too much of the former. Different time.
Too bad, not good for polo! is there a pdf version to be able to read and hope there is no truth to it🙏
Bobby Knight never would have made it today.
Help me out here. I want to make sure I understand this story. The accusation is Coach Flacks in the course of coaching used terms “bottom-feeders”, “victims”, and “pussies”, and accused someone of being a faker in regards to an injury.
Parents termed being subjected to that as “psychological and emotional trauma” which has caused onset of depression, panic attacks, and some to seek therapy. The parents demanded an investigation, which they got, and the investigators concluded there was nothing to it. Subsequently the parents said an investigation shouldn’t have even been needed as the unsubstantiated allegation from the parents should itself have been enough for Stanford to remove Coach Flacks.
Now the parents, whose earlier claims were found to be without merit, have launched a new campaign against Coach Flacks using allegations of retaliation. They also say Coach Flacks must have had all the files from the third party investigators the whole time because the parents claim one of the parents who was not party to the complaint knew some or all of the parents who were calling for the investigation of Coach Flacks, and therefor Coach Flacks must have had the files.
Is that really the story? Am I misunderstanding this situation?
That was my take away after reading the article 2x…
I think Stanford sports are in shambles in some areas and the elites smell blood in the water. Ever since the soccer goalie killed herself a few years ago the knives have been out.
A friend who has had 3 kids who are Stanford graduates once told me that there is an immense push and pull at the administrative level whether to be the “Harvard of the west” or to have equal athletic and academic excellence…and it changes with the leadership.
Sounds like a mess all around.
I have to believe there is more to this story…but no matter how you read it, retaliation is illegal- If he’s attacking his players, he should go.
Parents launching grenades within high school water polo programs have caused a lot of destruction lately. Almost always, the root cause is a lack of playing time or recognition for their son or daughter, It looks like they have now graduated to college programs. This is very sad and unfortunate for 90% of the parents and players who support their team and coaches, even when things don’t go the way they want.
speaking of High school programs, players and parents were saying for years that at HW Flacks was guilty of the same charges referenced in the article. Flacks also “graduated” to a college program and brought the same unfortunate tactics with him. Jeremiah 13:23
sounds like that is a narrative that Flacks would like to get out there. Playing time does not launch investigations.
But as a parent with many friends at HW back in the day, Flacks was just as problematic there.
I just reread the article and it sounds like my 13 yr old daughter who is upset when someone talks behind her back. Where there is smoke, there is always fire. Also- did you notice that Stanford did not go out of their way to defend him?
Multiple things here: Yes, AD Bernard Muir gone, Andrew Luck in, Football Coach Troy Taylor out due to “allegations he mistreated staff members”, Andrew Luck friend and old coach Frank Reich hired as interim yesterday, and now this. Let alone trying to adapt to new world order of College Sports which doesn’t exactly fit the Stanford model but they are trying. Things are a bit crazy on the Farm these days.
My guess is that the name calling isn’t the worst of it. It’s interesting that the investigation was done by the same firm that initially cleared the football coach in his first investigation only to be reinvestigated and then fired. Even if Flacks’ behavior didn’t rise to whatever standard the investigators used to determine abuse, his alleged retaliation should be considered unacceptable, illegal, inappropriate and a fireable offense. It is possible to be a tough demanding coach but with respect and win titles. John Tanner and Susan Ortwein on the women’s side are perfect examples. They care about the emotional wellbeing, personal development along with athletic achievement. They are the gold standard and could teach a master class on coaching greatness in all aspects of college athletics.
@dinosaurdad summed it up.
I played for Larry [old teammates peep the username!] so can attest to the intimidation and “old school” mentality but I am the man I am today because he pushed me further than I thought I could go.
Saying that, there is absolutely no chance I would have continued to play in college with that style and not winning championships
I cannot speak personally Segesman but have heard stories of a similar reputation. Segesman was a legend at Mater Dei and I believe he used similar tactics to achieve similar results
I don’t think Stanford could go out of their way to defend anyone in that position. The responses to these situations are boilerplate. “We take all accusations seriously and are investigating the allegations. [Insititution] has no tolerance for [bad things].”
Personally, I wish the authors of the piece could have pried a bit more out of the unnamed “Stanford alumni and former Olympian”. There is one of those who immediately comes to mind who also happened to play for Flacks in High School. He is someone who could provide a first-hand account instead of parents said, parents said, parents said.