I had your standard-fare Blue’s News in the works. It was all neatly outlined, had a few stories picked out and things to analyze, all of it. Then, I found out late in the day that a former recipient of my ire is plotting his redemption tour.
Therefore, in this special edition of Grifter Wednesday-But-It’s-Actually-Thursday, we turn to ex-Michigan hockey head coach and absolute clown show Mel Pearson.
Pearson was the subject of a lengthy investigation of whether his firing of former volunteer assistant Steve Shields violated Michigan’s policies on gender/sexual misconduct. While Pearson was not found in violation of such policies, the investigative firm WilmerHale still revealed a generally retaliatory and hostile culture. After public backlash over the contents of the report, Warde Manuel fired Pearson – albeit somewhat against his will.
The disgraced coach broke his silence after his Aug. 5 firing to The Rink Live, a site that primarily covers hockey in Minnesota and North Dakota. Part tell-all, part pro-Pearson circlejerk, the publication goes to bat for him and serves as his mouthpiece. Pearson painted his own picture without pushback, a picture that WilmerHale disagreed with so strongly, they basically suggested he lied to them.
Incredibly, The Rink Live acknowledges this, concludes (inaccurately) that Pearson’s name was “cleared” and then reports as if every word he told them in their hour-long interview was complete truth (my emphasis in bold):
In the end, the law firm found there were cultural issues to be addressed and corrections to be made within Pearson’s hockey program. Investigators concluded in discussions with Pearson that some of his responses regarding the allegations were not truthful.
But the report concluded that the 63-year-old head coach had not retaliated against the former coach or players, nor had he violated school policy governing gender-based discrimination. His name seemingly cleared of the most serious charges, Pearson was discussing a new contract with the Michigan athletic director over the summer.
I don’t think that’s how this works.
Among other things that go unchecked, Pearson alleges that an unnamed staffer, upon hearing of Pearson’s firing, went to a hockey house to “party” with student-athletes:
After his firing was revealed, Pearson was told that a Michigan staffer who had clashed with the coach in the past showed up at the home of several Wolverines hockey players – at least one of whom was underage – with alcohol. When they opened the door, the staffer said, “We got the motherf–ker. Let’s party!”
This bold accusation is presented as fact, with no further verification from The Rink Live. Connor Earegood of The Michigan Daily publicly questioned this and other fact-checking on claims presented as truth throughout the article.
Pearson also suggested that if the culture was truly toxic, staffers and players would have simply left:
“Seventeen of our 23 guys were on the All-Academic Big Ten that were eligible this year. All our seniors graduated. Not one of our high-profile kids left last summer. None of them. But it’s bad, it’s toxic,” Pearson said, with a clearly sarcastic tone. “Players think they’re going to be retaliated against, or hated, or can’t talk to the coach. It’s just the metrics don’t add up. They just don’t add up. If it’s that bad, that’s why, one of the first things you see is guys bolting.”
I’d guess that players stayed in a toxic environment because of what seemed to be Pearson’s carrot-and-stick approach. The players in Pearson’s good graces are absolutely going to stay; the rest might have hoped that they’d get in the inner circle. Plus, Michigan is a hockey powerhouse; why jeopardize your professional prospects, if any, by leaving?
As for why staff, including Lora Durkee (who alleged harassment and intolerable behavior by Pearson and other program higher-ups) stayed, perhaps it’s loyalty to the program. More realistically, perhaps it was job security and benefits. Either way, it’s not as easy as Pearson thinks it is to leave something you love…
…since he, of all people, knows what it’s like to not really let go. After all, he still posts as if he wasn’t fired.
On publication day for the Rink Live piece, Sept. 28, Pearson tweeted a photo of himself, his wife and their grandchild in Ann Arbor at the Michigan volleyball game. I’ve never been properly fired anywhere, but if I had been, I wouldn’t hang out there casually because I’m not a fucking malicious weirdo.
I’m speculating now, but come on. This cannot be a pure coincidence. Mel Pearson is retweeting the team’s Twitter and player news as if he’s still head coach; the latter I understand to a degree (they’re guys he coached), but the former borders on weird/concerning.
On that note, Pearson did not tweet or retweet anything on the day of his firing, Aug. 5. From there, he retroactively retweeted two Michigan Hockey posts from Aug. 5 the following day. Since his firing, he has retweeted the social media account of his former employer over 30 times, including tweets relevant to the upcoming season – he’s not even coaching!
In terms of original tweets, aside from the volleyball photo and sharing an article from ESPN on Owen Power, Pearson posted a screenshot of Bible verses – Psalm 37:7-9, to be exact. I’m no Bible-head, but the verse reflects on “[refraining] from anger and [turning] from wrath,” because the evildoers get theirs in time. Bad vibes!
Frankly, this is a troubling pattern of behavior from Pearson. It’s as if he wants hockey staff and players, whether they liked him or not, to know he’s still around.
Between the deeply sympathetic article dropping and lurking around his former employer, Mel Pearson might be making a play at something. Perhaps he’s gunning for his job back, and hoping the staff that held him accountable fails. Or, he’s using his positive relationships with Red Berenson and Warde Manuel to keep ties with the program.
Either way, if you read any bits of the WilmerHale report, you would know this should be a complete non-starter. Yet, Pearson seems smug in his belief that he is the rightful coach of the program based on some of his bold statements and actions.
He shouldn’t have a presence around Michigan’s athletic programs in any capacity, even as a “fan.” And yet, he’s still here.
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ENOUGH OF THAT! HERE’S A NICE THING.
LOOK AT THE MOTHERFUCKING TURNOVER BUFFS! HELL YEAH. AM I YELLING? I DON’T THINK I’M YELLING.