Change at Illinois State

What a fantastic role model for our young men. Nice.

Rather than vilify the man, let's hope he gets the help he obviously needs and gets his life back on track. And let's not be so blind to think that this behavior doesn't exist not only at ISU, but also at other schools, including, among professors, administators, coaches and athletes.

I am not defending Coach Brownlee's actions. He made a horrible mistake. And yes, he is in a position of guiding young men. But let's not be so quick to condemn him.

Boris, I'm all about second chances. I think most people in this country would also agree. But, this man already had 2 previous DUI convictions, and one of them was for 2 counts of drunk driving. What I'd like to know is how does this man have a license and auto insurance (if he does)? What's wrong with judges today that don't follow the laws that are on the books? I guess if someone had been killed more people would be asking these questions.

quote:

Originally posted by tralpaz:
What a fantastic role model for our young men. Nice.

Sarcasm is about the most idiotic form of communication there is. And yes as wrong as it is to drink and drive, dont be so quick to cast stones at people. It is an unfortunate situation and I hope that this is a wake up call for him to make changes. I know the family well and my heart goes out to them.

I can't speak for his mistake nor the number of times he has done so. I too have made mistakes. I've spoken to Tim on numerous occassions. He's been a very positive person. He's shown interest in various parts of this state as the person in charge of recruiting. Around the field, I've heard nothing but good things about him. Unfortunately he repeated a mistake. He also stepped up to that responsibility by resigning. I don't care to throw salt into that wound. IMO, Tim Brownlee is a good man and coach who happened to make a mistake. That's all. I hope that he's back in coaching and soon.

Tim is a good guy but everybody has their demons. Some big, some small. Hopefully he gets his life back in order and has the opportunity to get back into baseball if he desires. As bad as the situation is for him right now I believe it can be a lesson learned for the ISU players right now.

This is very sad to hear and I hope coach gets the help he needs.

I say that even after getting hate mail from him a few months back because I voiced my opinions on ISU's program on this site. I was told because of that he would never consider sending a player our way

Regardless I wish him the best and I hope he gets the help he needs. Hopefully this is a lesson for the kids as well

Coach Steely, Thanks. I am so happy you know the family. That makes all the difference in the world. Maybe you can then find out if the kids that were recruited were told of the driving while intoxicated issue? Do you think it may have change things if it were, (note i am assuming it was not).

What about the school? the AD? the head coach?

Do parents now have to google the recruiters that represent institutions of higher learning.

Yes, i do hope the man gets help because if he doesnt he will kill one of us with his car.

I feel bad for everyone, I truly do. Players, families, everyone.

Alcoholism is a terrible disease & if you know anything about it, people with the disease need help & crucifying them as if they did this on purpose is not going to help anyone. It is a crushing disease that affects many people involved -think of that the next time you or your college kids have a few too many. We seem to accept the binge drinking by students as a part of growing up.

Steeley, tell him the Kaminska's wish him the best and we will pray that he can move beyond this -

My college kids do drink. I am not happy about it, but I am proud that they ALWAYS have what they call a DD (deignated driver).

I wish the family well. I also view it as a disease that needs treatment.

However, I also feel if a person is injured or killed due to driving while intoxicated, the driver should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I also believe the laws are too lenient. A person killed by such a driver is just as dead as if it were an intentional crime.

I hope Coach Brownlee gets the help he needs, and I am happy that no one was ever injured or killed. People can come back better and stronger than before, and I hope that is the case in this situation. Good luck coach!

All the kids involved in the program are very lucky young men. They get to be impacted by the negative experience that arises from such a simple bad decision. A good life lesson for them, and I hope it sticks with each and every one.

coach tim is a good man with a horrible disease that is not easily fixed. it is easy to bash somebody for their mistakes when you barely know the man. his decision has many serious effects not only on his own life but on many other peoples lifes such as his father and his team. those people that he has let down are not the people that are verbally bashing him or typing on a computer trying to make this situation a more painfull situation then it already is. they are the people there for him because of the person he was. like we have said alcoholism is a disease lets pray this incident has save his life and possibly someone elses life.

quote:

Originally posted by nc42dad:
I feel bad for everyone, I truly do. Players, families, everyone.

Alcoholism is a terrible disease & if you know anything about it, people with the disease need help & crucifying them as if they did this on purpose is not going to help anyone. It is a crushing disease that affects many people involved -think of that the next time you or your college kids have a few too many. We seem to accept the binge drinking by students as a part of growing up.

Steeley, tell him the Kaminska's wish him the best and we will pray that he can move beyond this -

Could not have said it better myself.
I've had the pleasure of getting to know Tim over the last five years and he is a heck of a baseball guy.
As someone else said, we all have our demons. Some of us are just unfortunate to have them aired out for everyone to see.
Let's be thankful no one was hurt and let's hope that Tim gets some help and gets back in the game.

It's obvious he made mistakes and needs some help. He's no different than millions of other people who battle various problems.
I found him to be an honest, nice guy as well as a very knowledgeable baseball person.
I wish him and his family well. Don't know the details of the incident but hopefully nobody was seriously hurt if there was indeed an accident.

Good luck to a wonderful person.

It is beyond me why someone would put something like this on this site.

imo the first two posts on this topic are bush league.

Sparky,

I agree. Let's move on

Styles, your parents must be proud of you. You're a very wise young man.

Rather than discuss what a great guy coach is. I sure everyone is right, great guy gives to his church, loves puppy dogs all that. I'd like to hear opinions as to what the obligation the school or program owes the student athlete or family in terms of disclosing the fact that they are allowing a person with a predisposition to this kind of activity in contact with thier kids? Did the school know? i have not heard one thought on that. Is it because this board is really that tight of a community?

I've posted my opinions, fair and square, call me bush or an idiot, doesnt change the fact that by the grace of god, an innocent family did not lose a daughter, son, mom or dad.

Tralpaz,

Thank you for enlightening us all on your opinions. I am sure the head coach will contact the signed kids to let them know about the situation. Does this in some way affect your life or your son's? Why are you so concerned with the state of ISU's athletic department.

Now if you can tell me that you in your entire life have never made a bad judgement call, then i guess you are better than all of us and we should all listen to you. The consequences are going to ring from this in his life and his family's life for a long time. Instead of sitting around looking for a noose, the right thing to do is to support and help whoever needs help back on their feet.

People who sit around and talk about how bad stuff is and what could have happened take the easy way out. What are we supposed to do when anyone makes bad choices, write them off and complain about them and demand action?

Did you ever drink before you were 21? have you ever been drunk in your life? What would have happened if you got in a fight and killed someone? We could play that game all day long. So dont stand on your soap box and demand action, nobody owes you anything.

There are teachers and coaches all over the place that deal with this stuff, but still have a tremendous impact for the betterment of kids lives. Teachers and coaches have problems just like anyone else. Why dont you apply for the job and solve all of ISU's problems?

It is so important from a coaches position to not only tell these kids the right way but to model it through your own life. I draw on my stupid mistakes as a young man and use that to tell kids, hey there are better ways to go or better decisions to make. So I use my dumb experiences for the teaching of young men. I am sure the coach is going to bounce back from this and somewhere down the line, be able to use this to help some kid or person who struggles with the same thing. So writing them off could be hurting future generations that would not get the opportunity to learn from some one else's bad decisions.

What is going to happen if by chance your son or daughter gets an MIP in college, are you going to banish them from the house and cut them off? Of course not! Because as a parent it is your job to help them sort through the times that they make bad judgements. Which they are going to make.

And just a bit of advice, your sarcastic remarks do nothing but stir emotions and show your insecurities. People are not going to care what you write or what your opinions are because of the approach you have in communicating with them. Sarcasm does nothing but show that the person you are talking to is so beneath you that you cant even communicate directly with them.

IMO, Our problems as society is that we are so quick to judge people because it is the easiest thing to do instead of, loving people and building people back from their mistakes. Was what he did wrong, absolutely, and he will have to face the music for his actions. But, if I or anyone in here can say that they have never gotten a second chance and benefited from it, I would be shocked.


If you want to have a discussion with someone use just a bit of tact. If you want to communicate directly to me, it is not hard to find my number and give me a call. www.cangelosibaseball.com

Coach, Your response is well and good. You still did not answer my question. What and when did the school know and is there an obligation to disclose?

and maybe i do know more than the average redbird about kids in the program.

Coach Steeley,
Well said. I see nothing positive from keeping this thread open. Let's give it a rest.

I see nothing positive now as well. I don't think the intent of our site is to trash people. I'm locking the thread. If anyone has issues with this, pm me.

Take care,

Darrell Butler