Missouri Softball Is Upset That Their Coach Is Being Investigated So They Wrote A Whiney Letter In Protest

Player statement pic.twitter.com/alup4O5VNC

— Blake Toppmeyer (@btoppmeyer) May 7, 2016

BigLead- The Kansas City Star published a story that might shed some light on the situation. In August, the The National Fastpitch Coaches Association publicly reprimanded Earleywine for repeated violations of the organization’s code of ethics, mainly rude and unsportsmanlike things Earleywine has said over the last three years. These remarks include a contentious e-mail exchange with Missouri State in 2015, and a disparaging comment about the talent of an opposing pitcher.

What, if anything, this has to do with Mack Rhoades, the Missouri administration or today’s “protest” remains unclear. Earleywine is 411-138 in his time at Missouri.


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I still don't necessarily understand what Missouri Softball is so goddamn upset about, but one thing is for certain - their University already reached it's limit for undue outrage for the year. I don't even care if the softball team had a legitimate gripe (they very clearly don't), because EVERYONE is already tired of hearing from people involved with Mizzou athletics. Sorry ladies, but if you wanted people to care then not only should you have beat the football team to the punch, but you should have showed an equivalent about of intensity in doing so. Missouri football only plays 12 games a year is actually something that people want to attend, yet players were ready to boycott a game. Meanwhile the softball team - that plays 52 games a year (before playoffs) - is so concerned about the job security of the program's winningest head coach, but they won't even threaten to forfeit a game on his behalf. Grow up gals. If you are going to make a stink then at least make a large enough stink that it clouds the stupidity of your complaints...

-Bullying and intimidating players during forced interviews.

​"Wah, the investigators are asking us questions that they want clear, concise answers to and they aren't even smiling when they ask them."

- AD Mack Rhodes told us that we, the players, don't have ANY say in who is the coach of our team.

In fairness, they might just have a point here. If there is anything I know about college athletics it's that the student athletes are generally given all the power to make such important decisions.

- We believe a gag order has been placed on all our coaches.

​I do appreciate how they incorporated "gag order" to make it sound like a super egregious transgression, but all it really means is that the higher ups told the coaches not to discuss private business with self important, loud mouth college chicks. 

- The administration was incompetent in handling the fall football scandal and they are doing a worse job at this.

I can't say I know too much about how they are handling "this", but I don't believe it's worse than how they handled a campus wide, racially charged protest that forced the President and the chancellor of the University to resign. Mentioning the football scandal wasn't a bad idea. I can't say the same for trying to make their circumstances sound more critical than the nationwide debacle that happened earlier this year.

- The softball program under coach Ehren Earleywhine IS THE WINNINGEST PROGRAM IN THE HISTORY OF MISSOURI SPORTS.

Hm. Well, if winning doesn't cure all then emphasizing the amount of winning with all-caps certainly does. I guess their coach should be allowed to say and do whatever the fuck he wants without being questioned. Fair is fair, right?


Now, it appears that all this guy did was talk shit about another team and it's players in an e-mail so I agree that this investigation is much todo about nothing. However, so was this over-the-top, nonsensical reaction from a bunch of girls that shouldn't be concerning themselves with grown folk's business in the first place. I didn't even know there was an investigation going on until this team wrote some stupid letter that accomplished nothing other than spreading the fact that Missouri sports are, yet again, in the midst of controversy. They clearly didn't learn anything from earlier this year or they would know that more negative press leads to more people losing their jobs, and it's much easier to fire a softball coach than an Athletic Director.