Utah Coach Tom Farden Under Review

[Orange]

It’s here.

 

[RedBirdie]

Thanks.

Well, that made me want to vomit. The most glaring thing for me was Farden’s claims that he never threw things, despite multiple witnesses to each incident. So why should we believe anything else he said in the course of this investigation? He has no credibility in my eyes.

 

[OnoNoKomachi]

If I threw things at work, I would have been in big trouble, whether I was aiming at someone or not.
How about everyone else here? What do you think would happen to you?

I worked with a lot of kooky people, but none of them threw things.

If it’s not OK for us, it shouldn’t be OK for him.

How hard is it not to throw things at work?

 

[irichluck21]

If I threw things at work, I would have been in big trouble, whether I was aiming at someone or not.
How about everyone else here? What do you think would happen to you?

Terminated on the spot.

Sounds like he is a childish baby who will do anything it takes to win.

As much as I love multiple gymnasts on the team, it is hard to root for them now.

 

[RedBirdie]

Sadly, I’ve seen firsthand that certain people can get away with throwing stuff and all sorts of other behavior.

Remember that recent article about all the shit you can get away with when you’re a winning coach, or even just perceived as a winning coach? Yeah.

Coach Farden made a derogatory comment to a student-athlete that if she was not at the University she would be a “nobody working at a gas station” in her hometown. We find this comment was personally degrading and, although isolated, violates the Athletics’ Well Being Policy which prohibits the use of degrading language.

Odds are this isn’t actually isolated. Speaking to someone like that, someone you hold considerable power over, isn’t smoothing that happens once and never happens again.

For athletes currently on the team, I can’t imagine the felt like they could truly speak freely.

 

[cuuf]

I know I am going to get dunked on here, but it seems like everyone has their pitchforks out and they want blood. People see what they want to see. Even after an independent group went through, interviewed tons of people and come away with essentially nothing, people are still like “Well I bet it wasnt isolated”. I guess I am more forgiving on this. I really hate to see the venom thrown at someone based upon allegations made that could not be independently verified. I agree that some of that behavior has to change, but honestly it not egregious enough to completely cancel the guy based on innuendo and I have seen worse in DP competitions.

 

[irichluck21]

I know I am going to get dunked on here, but it seems like everyone has their pitchforks out and they want blood. People see what they want to see. Even after an independent group went through, interviewed tons of people and come away with essentially nothing, people are still like “Well I bet it wasnt isolated”. I guess I am more forgiving on this. I really hate to see the venom thrown at someone based upon allegations made that could not be independently verified. I agree that some of that behavior has to change, but honestly it not egregious enough to completely cancel the guy based on innuendo and I have seen worse in DP competitions.

I mean, the throwing of the grip brush alone warrants being fired.
It clearly happened, even if Farden says it didn’t. Isa admitted he threw the brush and she was defending him.

The rest of the allegations of being verbally abusive are most definitely true. Someone who gets violent and throws something most certainly would make nasty comments out of frustration.

Doesn’t really matter. He should be terminated just for the brush incident alone.

Also, an “independent group” had to get paid for their investigation. Who paid for the independent group’s services? LOL.

Not sure why you are defending an abuser.

 

[RedBirdie]

The investigation documented that in addition to the grip brush, Farden also threw a phone and stop watch. Farden outright denied those two things happened. Either he lied, or he doesn’t remember it happening because he views throwing stuff as so inconsequential. Either way, that’s not acceptable in my book.

There’s so much more, but that really stood out to me.

 

[cuuf]

I am not going to spend too much capital on trying to convince the angry mob that cannot be turned. But have we gotten so cynical now that everything has to be a conspiracy? Independent review? No it was a wink-wink just make it right deal.

Tom is an abuser, because you were there, you have had personal interactions with him that you can sit there and judge based upon others words? You have never raised your voice in frustration? You have never had a bad day that maybe you might reflect on and be a little embarrassed about? Btw, the report mentions nothing about a grip brush being thrown, it seems that it actually was a phone and stopwatch (not that that is any better I agree).

Anyway, carry on, burn him, they should criminal charges right? I mean he is an abuser.

 

[irichluck21]

the report mentions nothing about a grip brush being thrown,

A gymnast accused Tom of throwing a grip brush.

This incident was corroborated by Cristal Isa who defended him.

It happened.

I have gotten frustrated a work before to the point of anger. But I NEVER threw anything in the air EVER.
If I had I would have been terminated.

 

[Orange]

I’m not sure anything in the report is enough to label him an abuser, but there’s definitely enough there to call him an asshole who likes to yell and occasionally throw things. That much seems clear.

I just don’t get this from a PR standpoint from Utah, a school that actually cares about gymnastics. It’s not like Farden’s won a bunch of national championships. Why is it worth keeping him around after all of this? If nothing else this has to hurt recruiting, right?

At the end of the day this is just college gymnastics. It’s not brain surgery. There is no need for anyone to be calling someone a waste of space and throwing things.

 

[cuuf]

Tom would definitely benefit from some of the training and oversight that the report recommends, but I can say I have been in several gym environments at the DP level that has had similar if not worse behavior especially from the comment standpoint. I have also seen college football coaches throw headsets, visors, bottles, white boards and other items with little comment or rebuke in the middle of a game! Not just practice. Matter of fact, I have seen football coaches criticized because they are not doing those exact things. Unless you are a coach at a high-level college or professional sports I dont think the “I would be fired” analogy is really valid. As the report mentions, “Some of the circumstances appeared to us to be consistent with student-athletes engaging in a highly competitive sport, within the context of a highly competitive and successful team, led by a highly competitive coach, all of which can contribute to some of the issues identified—including frustration around lineups, dealing with injuries, scholarship designation issues and pressure to perform athletically at the highest levels.”

 

[irichluck21]

Why is it worth keeping him around after all of this? If nothing else this has to hurt recruiting, right?

Sadly, I doubt it will hurt recruiting at all. Especially as he was able to keep his job, I am sure it will be brushed off as “gymnasts being angry they didn’t make line ups”.

I am sure we will hear more in the future about this. Especially as the current group graduates and those that transferred as well.

 

[MrSixkiller]

I am not going to spend too much capital on trying to convince the angry mob that cannot be turned. But have we gotten so cynical now that everything has to be a conspiracy? Independent review? No it was a wink-wink just make it right deal.

Tom is an abuser, because you were there, you have had personal interactions with him that you can sit there and judge based upon others words? You have never raised your voice in frustration? You have never had a bad day that maybe you might reflect on and be a little embarrassed about? Btw, the report mentions nothing about a grip brush being thrown, it seems that it actually was a phone and stopwatch (not that that is any better I agree).

Anyway, carry on, burn him, they should criminal charges right? I mean he is an abuser.

I am in total disbelief that after all this sport has been through in the last decade, attitudes like this are still pervasive.

 

[Csb0621]

In the initial articles that came out about this, it said the former coach(es?) involved worked with him before he was at Utah, so I don’t think it was the Griffeths - though I’m sure they were interviewed for the investigation at some point.

 

[Suzzie]

I must have forgotten that detail from the initial article - thank you for reminding me

 

[irichluck21]

Yeah, the Marsden’s defended Tom Farden.

Gymnasts that backed him are Kari Lee, Cristal Isa (admitted grip/bars brush thrown), Alexa Burch, and Sydney Soloski.

Cristal Isa, who competed for Utah from 2019-23, including a voluntary fifth year, also backed her former coach.

“It’s crazy that this is all coming out now,” she said. “I lived through all these years and the events described weren’t my experiences.”

Among the accusations reported by the Deseret News were times when Farden allegedly threw things at gymnasts. Isa said there was an instance when he threw a brush used on the uneven bars during a meet. Isa said she believed Farden “didn’t throw it at a gymnast, he chucked it into oblivion” but that a gymnast happened to be in the area.

“No one involved in this situation really thought much of it and we didn’t think to ask the girls at the chalk box how they felt watching it,” she said.

 

[Csb0621]

I had been wondering the same thing - that’s the only reason I remember.

 

[Beamer]

For someone to end up suicidal to the point of hospitalization, abuse typically has to be very bad. For TWO people to end up suicidal to the point of hospitalization means something was very wrong.

That speaks volumes more than some “investigation” paid for by Utah. I am disturbed by its outcome and that nothing has truly changed here. I want Farden out at the minimum.

 

[OnoNoKomachi]

At the end of the day this is just college gymnastics. It’s not brain surgery. There is no need for anyone to be calling someone a waste of space and throwing things.

It’s frowned upon for actual brain surgeons to throw things in the OR.

There is some weird thing in society that seems to think sportsball coaches having temper tantrums and throwing things isn’t all that odd.