MISSOULA – The University of Montana football team is refusing to answer questions from the school’s student newspaper following a story about an alleged assault by two members of the team.
Last month, the Kaiman published a story about an assault on a Montana student outside a fraternity that went unreported to local authorities — although school officials were notified.
Since then, the newspaper’s staff says football players have told reporters they’re not allowed to speak to them. And in recent weeks, coach Bobby Hauck has dismissed questions from student reporters that he answered for others in the media.
At a recent weekly news conference, a Kaimin reporter asked Hauck whether he was going to continue rotating quarterbacks. “You want something from me now?” replied Hauck. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” A Missoulian sportswriter followed up with the same question, to which Hauck provided an answer.
At the following week’s news conference, the Kaimin reporter asked a question about how the Grizzly defense would defend against the speed of an opposing running back. Hauck’s reply: “I’ll give you this, you’re persistent. Who’s next?”
The silent treatment culminated in the newspaper profiling its opponent on the cover of its gameday publication during homecoming.
“This arrangement is not what the Kaimin would prefer, and it’s probably not what the students and community members who seek out GameDay prefer either,” wrote Kaimin editor Allison Maier in an explanation published in the same issue. “But it will remain this way unless head coach Bobby Hauck and his football players decide to talk to the Kaimin reporters again.”
Athletics director Jim O’Day says this isn’t the first time the team and the student paper have gotten into a dispute.
“I think the only thing that will heal it is time,” O’Day said. “That’s what happens in a case like this. New people. New situations. A time to reflect on everything. And that might take a little while.”