The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 20, Gibbons left the university. He could not travel with the team to Tempe, Ariz., for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl Dec. 28, and Hoke noted in a Dec. 23 press conference that the fifth-year senior kicker was dealing with a family matter at home. Amid criticism regarding what was said about the placekicker, Hoke re- leased a statement Feb. 3, with no mention of Gibbons' name. It stated the following: "Michigan athletics has no influence over any part of a review of a poten- tial violation of the university's student code of conduct — not the process, the investigation or the timing of the resolution. "In general, while we may be aware of an on-going process, we always strive to balance transparency with privacy. "Our usual approach is not to issue dis- cipline related to a student's standing on the team before the university's pro- cess runs its course and the outcome has been determined. We will always respect the rights and confidentiality of the process and the parties involved. One way we do that is by not discuss- ing the details of student disciplinary matters. So while I could like to be more forthcoming, I can't provide the details due to federal privacy laws and univer- sity policies. "We talk every day with our kids about the importance of character and integrity. It's something we take very seriously, how we're going to do things the right way. We talk daily about your name and what it means. That's why you get into this as a coach, to help young men grow and learn and ma- ture. We're held to those standards, and we hold them to that. I think I've made clear our expectations, and our actions and discipline involving incidents in the past have reflected that. And those standards will not be compromised." Hoke expanded on the latter empha- sis in a Feb. 5 meeting at Schembechler Hall, which included representatives of The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, An- nArbor.com, The Wolverine and WTKA radio. "Track record," Hoke stressed. "I've dealt with everything that has hap- pened on this team, from character is- sues to the integrity they have. Those are two of the most important things that I have — my character and my in- tegrity. I got into coaching to help kids understand that. "That's a huge part of what this job is, and why I got into it. For people to at- tack the character and integrity that we have as a program, as Michigan, and me personally, is something that's not true, because we've dealt with it. "We can go back and look at all the different cases that we've had, and we haven't had many. But there have been consequences, discipline and all of those things." Those cases include suspending wide receiver Darryl Stonum for a year be- cause of legal issues related to driving under the influence of alcohol; sus- pending punter Will Hagerup for the 2013 season for undisclosed reasons; benching starting tailback Fitzgerald