Former kicker Brendan Gibbons permanently separated from University [Michigan] for sexual misconduct

Brendan Gibbons, the Michigan football team’s starting kicker for the past three seasons, was permanently separated from the University of Michigan last month for violating the University’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, according to documents reviewed by The Michigan Daily. More like this

University changes sexual misconduct procedures Office of Student Conflict Resolution releases report Internal sexual misconduct investigations complicate police response From the Daily: Communicating safety

“You will be permanently separated from the University of Michigan effective December 20, 2013,” reads a Dec. 19, 2013 letter addressed to Gibbons at his Florida residence from the University’s Office of Student Conflict Resolution, which facilitates disciplinary proceedings against students. The Michigan Daily did not obtain these documents from the University.

The permanent separation of Gibbons, who was a graduate student in the School of Social Work after graduating with a general studies degree, stems from an incident that was reported to have occurred on Nov. 22, 2009, according to documents. This corresponds with previous media reports that a sexual assault involving a Michigan football player occurred in the early morning hours of that day. Gibbons was a freshman and a member of the football team at the time that the conduct was alleged to have occurred.

In the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities as well as the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy, the University uses the phrase “permanent separation” to refer to the expulsion of a student. The letter to Gibbons, signed by Stacy Vander Velde, associate director of OSCR, stated that he would be prohibited from taking any further courses at the University and that his student privileges would be revoked.

There has been an active cover up though since the incident.

After the expulsion letter, Gibbons did not play against OSU for an undisclosed injury “tweak” and then not in the barbeque bowl for “family issues” as portrayed by Brady Hoke, UM’s football coach.

Apparently court records were dumped onto the internet making the coverup impossible to continue.

Also involved is Taylor Lewan, an offensive lineman more than on the field. Lewan threatened the victim with rape if she didn’t shut up. He most recently was involved in an assault on an OSU fan post game 2013. His playing time was never interrupted. His threat to rape only resulted in talking to by the police. Lewan is expected to be a high round draft pick and is known for being a dirty player.

This announcement is also very unusual, not because of the charges, but because of the very protective relationship UM has with local law enforcement and the press.

You will recall the largest cheating scandal in NCAA basketball history, the Fab Five was well known to the likes of Mitch Albom. However, it was not written about and he continued to work on his book about them.

Obviously, the press again looked the other way to maintain access.

The internet once again has made it difficult for a coverup. Bo used to keep it “in the family” but things now have a way to sneak out. Hell, a UM football player actually shot at cops without repercussion. Now that is institutional control.

I have an obviously compromised opinion on anything like this, but this is a tough one to sell for UM.

This case is actually very similar to the FSU case. Makes you wonder how many more there are out there.

I’m concerned about the victim, disappointed the expulsion was 4 years too late, and waiting for the media to pounce. Or not.

On MGoBlue Why it took almost five years to reach this conclusion is unknown. The Daily suggests that revised policies from 2011 may have forced the University to re-evaluate, but policies from 2011 do not result in December 2013 expulsions. Given the timing here it's clear that the guy who dumped various court documents on the internet was the proximate cause. That is of course terribly embarrassing for the university, which was apparently fine with having a student they eventually concluded they were at least 50.1% sure raped a girl as long as no one was complaining about it.

Meanwhile, the athletic department's optics here are horrible. Having him on the team is not the issue, or if it is it's on Rodriguez's head. The incident was a year old and seemingly dead when Hoke came in; without the OSCR or other university body stepping in there would be no reason to reconsider Gibbons's status. But once they knew things were coming to a head they could not have been dumber about this. Not content with offering up the generic and 100% true "violation of team rules" explanation—being enrolled at the university is kind of important if you're going to be on the team—they chose to cloak Gibbons's departure in a thin veneer of sympathy by claiming "family issues." That is a lie. Now they look horrible, and for something a bit more serious than having a noodle in the stadium. Meanwhile, Hoke's explanation for Gibbons's unavailability for Ohio State is questionable at best. Was this "tweak" legitimate? Is it at all plausible that Gibbons was "iffy" for the bowl game on December 16th, three days before the very last gear of ponderous university justice ground to a halt? "He's a little iffy," Hoke said. "He's kicking a little bit. But I don't want to over-kick him (in practice). "I've never been a kicker, so I can't imagine that (muscle pull) problem. So, he's a little iffy." There is absolutely no chance that Brady Hoke was not fully informed of the status of his kicker by this point. Dave Brandon did not call Brady up on the 19th and say "you're never going to believe this, but…" That's also a lie, and in the service of what cause again?

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.