Okay, some of you may be wondering what the heck went on Tuesday evening with former Board of Trustees member Brian Mosallam making accusations about former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis tampering with MSU’s search for a new athletic director.
Some of you may have heard the comments, which took place during this week’s edition of the “Inside the Locker Room” podcast, hosted by former Michigan State offensive linemen Brian Mosallam and Jason Strayhorn. The latest edition aired on Tuesday, just after 8 p.m.
Strayhorn is color commentator for Spartan football games on the Michigan State Spartans Sports Network.
Strayhorn is also a member of the Michigan State Board of Education.
Mosallam was a member of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees from 2012 through 2020.
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Before we get into Mosallam’s comments we may ask: Why is any of this newsworthy? Mosallam is no longer a Board member and Hollis is not employed by Michigan State.
Well, firstly, Michigan State has an ugly history of damaging political battles when it comes to filling head coach and athletic director vacancies. Any winds of a political tug-of-war in this search for an athletic director - with memories of Perles/DiBiaggio, Merrily Dean Baker, Merritt Norvell, Peter McPherson and other troubles and compromises dating back to Clifton Wharton and the search that almost landed Barry Switzer in the early 1970s - are enough to make old time Spartan fans vomit.
Secondly, Mosallam is a former Board of Trustees member. When former elected officials comment about things they used to help govern, sometimes it’s newsworthy. You can be the judge on that. My personal opinion in this case: Yes it’s newsworthy when a recent Board member puts a recent A.D. on blast.
On Tuesday, Mosallam accused Hollis of “polluting the waters” in the university’s search for a new athletic director. Mosallam alleged that Hollis has called Michigan State donors and discredited Alan Haller’s candidacy for the job.
These are heavy accusations.
As a news person, we have to consider the source - Mosallam. Does he have an axe to grind against Hollis? If so, as news people we are supposed to be cautious about writing a news story from one person’s perspective, especially if that person has a vendetta of sorts against the person he is accusing of wrongdoing.
Does Mosallam have a vendetta against Hollis? I’ll leave that question unanswered here.
Who are Mosallam’s sources? We don’t know. Does he name them? No. (That doesn’t mean his accusations are untrue. These are just things to consider when putting together a story).
Does Mosallam have a history of verbally flying off the handle a little bit in public? Does that have an impact on his credibility or at least provide cause for pause?
(I’m not answering all of these questions here. These are just things a news person has to take into consideration).
Secondly, does Hollis have any response to this?
I sent a text to Hollis to ask him if he has any reaction to Mosallam’s accusations. I haven’t heard back from Hollis. To be fair, I texted an old 517 phone number of his. Maybe that’s no longer his number. Even if it is a current working number for Hollis, I wouldn’t expect to hear back from him.
Basically, Mosallam is acting as a whistle blower, albeit against someone who does not hold a university office.
In the old days, if Mosallam came to a newsroom with this information, a newspaper or TV station would pause and try to get comments from the accused, and hold the story until both sides were represented. And then a decision would be made as to whether the whole thing was newsworthy.
But in today’s world, newsmakers don’t have to go to a mainstream media source to get a story out. They can go straight to the airwaves via podcasts or social media, and that’s what Mosallam did.
So here we are trying to make sense of it all before we have all the facts. We may never get all the facts, but we have a well-known figure in state-wide politics making heavy accusations against a nationally-known former sports administrator.
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People are asking me what I think about all of this. It’s hard for me to have an opinion because I don’t know all of the facts. Period.
I know of some former MSU football players who take Mosallam at his word and are angry about this. These people are very much pro-Haller in the athletic director search and have become suspicious of Hollis.
I also know of at least two major donors who say that haven’t heard anything from Hollis that disparages Haller. One of those donors said Hollis is angry about Mosallam’s comments and says they are untrue.
As for background information: Hollis worked closely with Haller when Hollis was athletic director at Michigan State. Hollis sought Haller and Tom Izzo for assistance during MSU’s search for a football coach in December of 2006. Those three were the kingpins in that coaching search. Haller was a member of the Michigan State University police department at the time and is a former Michigan State football player and NFL player.
Hollis soon brought Haller into the athletic department in an official capacity. Haller steadily earned a greater role and trust. Haller was instrumental in MSU's most recent coaching search, resulting in the hiring of Mel Tucker. In the past year, Haller has become a close confidante and aide for Tucker. Haller has been instrumental in the planning of MSU's next round of sweeping facility upgrades.
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I’m not going to get into rumors about rivalries between MSU’s two biggest athletic donors and a domino effect it might have on any of this. Mosallam made brief mention of the principals in a business/donor rivalry during his rant on Sunday, but I’m not going to attempt to color in any specifics here.
As for Mosallam’s direct quotes, in case you haven’t seen or heard the podcast, here are the main portions of those comments:
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“This a very high-profile hire. Fair or not fair, historically MSU has had a reputation so-called of meddling in processes.”
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“Alan Haller has what it takes, just (my opinion) as an outsider, personal opinion, Alan Haller has what it takes. He’s got the experience. He has worked on special projects. He was heavily involved in the hiring of Mark Dantonio and Mel Tucker, and he has worked on facility design. He has a lot of the credentials that you want. He knows Michigan State. He is from Michigan State. Is that good or bad? That’s to be determined. I think it’s a good thing, I think it’s a great thing when you understand our culture and understand our people. That’s the candidate that we know, so we are able to talk more about him.”
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“There are a lot of rumors and banter going back and forth and I’m just going to be pretty honest with you here: Mark Hollis has been polluting the waters. Word is, he has called several donors who have called me who have had comments about Alan in terms of experience and stuff. I don’t know what the point is of that and that’s why I felt it’s important to bring it up.”
******
“The reason I’m speaking out today is because this polluting the waters for potential internal candidates is unacceptable. We’re all Spartans. Let’s all get out of the way, let the process evolve, let everybody compete and let the best man or woman win. And whoever gets that job, every one of us has to get behind - I don’t care if you agree, disagree or whatever it is, you get behind that candidate because you don’t burn the forest trying to burn a tree.
“What we want at that university is everyone going in the same direction. With everything that we have been through at that university and all the trials and tribulations, this is one process that we need to let play out. This will be a national search. Whoever it is, we are going to get behind.
“I think those are things that need to be said.
“I’m sick of hearing about it. I’m sick of getting calls from donors, from former players. I’m sick and tired of all the comments, all of this, all of that because at the end of the day we need to support our university and get out of the way.”
******
“We’re Spartans, we’re Spartan Dawgs and when you attack a Spartan Dawg, you attack one, you attack us all. It’s that simple. That’s why I felt compelled to say something today, like this bullshit, these bullshit games that we’re playing, they have to stop right now, and let everybody get out of the way and give everybody a chance to compete. Everybody get out of the way, including me. Everybody. That’s just my feelings and my take.”
Some of you may have heard the comments, which took place during this week’s edition of the “Inside the Locker Room” podcast, hosted by former Michigan State offensive linemen Brian Mosallam and Jason Strayhorn. The latest edition aired on Tuesday, just after 8 p.m.
Strayhorn is color commentator for Spartan football games on the Michigan State Spartans Sports Network.
Strayhorn is also a member of the Michigan State Board of Education.
Mosallam was a member of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees from 2012 through 2020.
******
Before we get into Mosallam’s comments we may ask: Why is any of this newsworthy? Mosallam is no longer a Board member and Hollis is not employed by Michigan State.
Well, firstly, Michigan State has an ugly history of damaging political battles when it comes to filling head coach and athletic director vacancies. Any winds of a political tug-of-war in this search for an athletic director - with memories of Perles/DiBiaggio, Merrily Dean Baker, Merritt Norvell, Peter McPherson and other troubles and compromises dating back to Clifton Wharton and the search that almost landed Barry Switzer in the early 1970s - are enough to make old time Spartan fans vomit.
Secondly, Mosallam is a former Board of Trustees member. When former elected officials comment about things they used to help govern, sometimes it’s newsworthy. You can be the judge on that. My personal opinion in this case: Yes it’s newsworthy when a recent Board member puts a recent A.D. on blast.
On Tuesday, Mosallam accused Hollis of “polluting the waters” in the university’s search for a new athletic director. Mosallam alleged that Hollis has called Michigan State donors and discredited Alan Haller’s candidacy for the job.
These are heavy accusations.
As a news person, we have to consider the source - Mosallam. Does he have an axe to grind against Hollis? If so, as news people we are supposed to be cautious about writing a news story from one person’s perspective, especially if that person has a vendetta of sorts against the person he is accusing of wrongdoing.
Does Mosallam have a vendetta against Hollis? I’ll leave that question unanswered here.
Who are Mosallam’s sources? We don’t know. Does he name them? No. (That doesn’t mean his accusations are untrue. These are just things to consider when putting together a story).
Does Mosallam have a history of verbally flying off the handle a little bit in public? Does that have an impact on his credibility or at least provide cause for pause?
(I’m not answering all of these questions here. These are just things a news person has to take into consideration).
Secondly, does Hollis have any response to this?
I sent a text to Hollis to ask him if he has any reaction to Mosallam’s accusations. I haven’t heard back from Hollis. To be fair, I texted an old 517 phone number of his. Maybe that’s no longer his number. Even if it is a current working number for Hollis, I wouldn’t expect to hear back from him.
Basically, Mosallam is acting as a whistle blower, albeit against someone who does not hold a university office.
In the old days, if Mosallam came to a newsroom with this information, a newspaper or TV station would pause and try to get comments from the accused, and hold the story until both sides were represented. And then a decision would be made as to whether the whole thing was newsworthy.
But in today’s world, newsmakers don’t have to go to a mainstream media source to get a story out. They can go straight to the airwaves via podcasts or social media, and that’s what Mosallam did.
So here we are trying to make sense of it all before we have all the facts. We may never get all the facts, but we have a well-known figure in state-wide politics making heavy accusations against a nationally-known former sports administrator.
******
People are asking me what I think about all of this. It’s hard for me to have an opinion because I don’t know all of the facts. Period.
I know of some former MSU football players who take Mosallam at his word and are angry about this. These people are very much pro-Haller in the athletic director search and have become suspicious of Hollis.
I also know of at least two major donors who say that haven’t heard anything from Hollis that disparages Haller. One of those donors said Hollis is angry about Mosallam’s comments and says they are untrue.
As for background information: Hollis worked closely with Haller when Hollis was athletic director at Michigan State. Hollis sought Haller and Tom Izzo for assistance during MSU’s search for a football coach in December of 2006. Those three were the kingpins in that coaching search. Haller was a member of the Michigan State University police department at the time and is a former Michigan State football player and NFL player.
Hollis soon brought Haller into the athletic department in an official capacity. Haller steadily earned a greater role and trust. Haller was instrumental in MSU's most recent coaching search, resulting in the hiring of Mel Tucker. In the past year, Haller has become a close confidante and aide for Tucker. Haller has been instrumental in the planning of MSU's next round of sweeping facility upgrades.
******
I’m not going to get into rumors about rivalries between MSU’s two biggest athletic donors and a domino effect it might have on any of this. Mosallam made brief mention of the principals in a business/donor rivalry during his rant on Sunday, but I’m not going to attempt to color in any specifics here.
As for Mosallam’s direct quotes, in case you haven’t seen or heard the podcast, here are the main portions of those comments:
******
“This a very high-profile hire. Fair or not fair, historically MSU has had a reputation so-called of meddling in processes.”
******
“Alan Haller has what it takes, just (my opinion) as an outsider, personal opinion, Alan Haller has what it takes. He’s got the experience. He has worked on special projects. He was heavily involved in the hiring of Mark Dantonio and Mel Tucker, and he has worked on facility design. He has a lot of the credentials that you want. He knows Michigan State. He is from Michigan State. Is that good or bad? That’s to be determined. I think it’s a good thing, I think it’s a great thing when you understand our culture and understand our people. That’s the candidate that we know, so we are able to talk more about him.”
******
“There are a lot of rumors and banter going back and forth and I’m just going to be pretty honest with you here: Mark Hollis has been polluting the waters. Word is, he has called several donors who have called me who have had comments about Alan in terms of experience and stuff. I don’t know what the point is of that and that’s why I felt it’s important to bring it up.”
******
“The reason I’m speaking out today is because this polluting the waters for potential internal candidates is unacceptable. We’re all Spartans. Let’s all get out of the way, let the process evolve, let everybody compete and let the best man or woman win. And whoever gets that job, every one of us has to get behind - I don’t care if you agree, disagree or whatever it is, you get behind that candidate because you don’t burn the forest trying to burn a tree.
“What we want at that university is everyone going in the same direction. With everything that we have been through at that university and all the trials and tribulations, this is one process that we need to let play out. This will be a national search. Whoever it is, we are going to get behind.
“I think those are things that need to be said.
“I’m sick of hearing about it. I’m sick of getting calls from donors, from former players. I’m sick and tired of all the comments, all of this, all of that because at the end of the day we need to support our university and get out of the way.”
******
“We’re Spartans, we’re Spartan Dawgs and when you attack a Spartan Dawg, you attack one, you attack us all. It’s that simple. That’s why I felt compelled to say something today, like this bullshit, these bullshit games that we’re playing, they have to stop right now, and let everybody get out of the way and give everybody a chance to compete. Everybody get out of the way, including me. Everybody. That’s just my feelings and my take.”
