Given what is known, here is what I think happened:
During the game some of the iowa band members were heckled (maybe/probably even food/liquid thrown at them) but that was mostly stopped by security. Game ends with the east side emptying out quicker because of the west side construction) ISU band exits the NE Gate. Iowa band mills about on the field. The ISU Facilitiies Director tells the Iowa band to use the NE gate...whatever reason the Iowa band director refuses and says, nope. The two get in a heated exchange and the iowa band marches toward the NW gate. (I doubt they grasped the traffic situation ahead. I think they thought there was some people there, but they wanted to gloat over the game and given the fact they got heckled. At this point the cops should have been alerted and ordered the iowa band to stop. Much easier to stop them than the thousands of fans still streaming for the gate.). The tuba players reach the impasse...think oh, shit...and decide to continue. Predictably, tempers flare...both fans & band members get jostled, pushed, & shoved....the cops step in and get people moving again.
A day or so passes and iowa band members decide to use social media to vent on what they believe happened to them...the broken ribs, groping, etc.... A media person contacts Barta to ask him about the claims. Barta is probably aware of the broken bus window, the exchange between the two university employees, the broken ribs, the heckling/throwing, etc... Because he has shown himself to be pr challenged, Barta feels a press release is necessary. He gives Jamie a heads up and issues a press release that says very little. Iowa also sends ISU five situations reported to them. ISU begins to investigate WTH happened and is contact with Iowa to get as much info as possible to help them. Iowa has nobody come forth about the "sexual assault", the incidents are investigated and both sides realize there just isn't any evidence available to proceed further. Barta & Jamie both agree (and with President approval) to just publicly end it, but work behind the scenes to figure out what went wrong and how to improve going forward. The iowa band members continue their social media rants over their real & imagined confrontations. The u of iowa Pres decides to abandon the agreed upon plan and does his thing with the Daily Iowan. My guess is he wanted to flex for two groups: 1. to show the students he heard them in hopes they would calm down and not go Mizzou student on him. 2. appease those iowa fans that want their pound of flesh from the heathens from Ames. His action, especially the "something bad happened over there" (WTF?)....forced ISU to defend itself, which it certainly did.
Nobody should be heckled, thrown at, run into, shove back, break windows, etc...but it's going to happen and has happened. When I look at it, the critical mistake was allowing the iowa band to use the NW gate. BTW: this isn't "victim blaming" as some dopes have tried to claim. If security had been notified and stopped the band and/or the iowa band leader follows the directive of using the NE gate then two of the five incidents become highly unlikely as does the internet claim of "sexual assault". That would have left the broken window, the iowa TA wet with beer (assuming that happened in the stadium...not clear, the two university employees jawing with each other, and some heckling. All of that can be dealt with more effectively behind the scenes.
Final Thoughts:
1. Social media amplifies, distorts, and muddies everything
2. Every school has idiots...especially drunken ones
3. The iowa band should have never been allowed to use the NW gate at least until the fans were gone
4. Unless something else concrete comes forward ( and we are now on day 12) this whole thing was overblown and for the most part fixable.
5. The U of I Pres channeling his inner David Boren left his AD twisting in the wind.
During the game some of the iowa band members were heckled (maybe/probably even food/liquid thrown at them) but that was mostly stopped by security. Game ends with the east side emptying out quicker because of the west side construction) ISU band exits the NE Gate. Iowa band mills about on the field. The ISU Facilitiies Director tells the Iowa band to use the NE gate...whatever reason the Iowa band director refuses and says, nope. The two get in a heated exchange and the iowa band marches toward the NW gate. (I doubt they grasped the traffic situation ahead. I think they thought there was some people there, but they wanted to gloat over the game and given the fact they got heckled. At this point the cops should have been alerted and ordered the iowa band to stop. Much easier to stop them than the thousands of fans still streaming for the gate.). The tuba players reach the impasse...think oh, shit...and decide to continue. Predictably, tempers flare...both fans & band members get jostled, pushed, & shoved....the cops step in and get people moving again.
A day or so passes and iowa band members decide to use social media to vent on what they believe happened to them...the broken ribs, groping, etc.... A media person contacts Barta to ask him about the claims. Barta is probably aware of the broken bus window, the exchange between the two university employees, the broken ribs, the heckling/throwing, etc... Because he has shown himself to be pr challenged, Barta feels a press release is necessary. He gives Jamie a heads up and issues a press release that says very little. Iowa also sends ISU five situations reported to them. ISU begins to investigate WTH happened and is contact with Iowa to get as much info as possible to help them. Iowa has nobody come forth about the "sexual assault", the incidents are investigated and both sides realize there just isn't any evidence available to proceed further. Barta & Jamie both agree (and with President approval) to just publicly end it, but work behind the scenes to figure out what went wrong and how to improve going forward. The iowa band members continue their social media rants over their real & imagined confrontations. The u of iowa Pres decides to abandon the agreed upon plan and does his thing with the Daily Iowan. My guess is he wanted to flex for two groups: 1. to show the students he heard them in hopes they would calm down and not go Mizzou student on him. 2. appease those iowa fans that want their pound of flesh from the heathens from Ames. His action, especially the "something bad happened over there" (WTF?)....forced ISU to defend itself, which it certainly did.
Nobody should be heckled, thrown at, run into, shove back, break windows, etc...but it's going to happen and has happened. When I look at it, the critical mistake was allowing the iowa band to use the NW gate. BTW: this isn't "victim blaming" as some dopes have tried to claim. If security had been notified and stopped the band and/or the iowa band leader follows the directive of using the NE gate then two of the five incidents become highly unlikely as does the internet claim of "sexual assault". That would have left the broken window, the iowa TA wet with beer (assuming that happened in the stadium...not clear, the two university employees jawing with each other, and some heckling. All of that can be dealt with more effectively behind the scenes.
Final Thoughts:
1. Social media amplifies, distorts, and muddies everything
2. Every school has idiots...especially drunken ones
3. The iowa band should have never been allowed to use the NW gate at least until the fans were gone
4. Unless something else concrete comes forward ( and we are now on day 12) this whole thing was overblown and for the most part fixable.
5. The U of I Pres channeling his inner David Boren left his AD twisting in the wind.
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