| FTBL Hawaii out of Hawaii Bowl

252BAMA

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Hawaii Rainbow Warriors out of Hawai'i Bowl due to COVID-19 issues​


Hawaii announced Thursday night that it has pulled out of the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl against Memphis, citing COVID-19 issues within the program in addition to injuries and transfers.

The game was scheduled to be played in Honolulu on Friday.

 
This whole thing is getting folks in another panic akin to the early days of this shit. Show me ONE player, or for that matter, coach or staff.personell laying up in the hospital about to be read their last rites. To hear Jimbo tell it, you'd think that half the team was laid up in the hospital 🙄
 
I bet every team would jump at a chance to go to Hawaii.
A lot of the Hawaiian team does not want to play in this game. It's not about it being "meaningless," it's not about Covid, it's about their disdain for Todd Graham. There is literal hate from the players, including starters, towards their head coach.

Graham will be gone soon.
 
A lot of the Hawaiian team does not want to play in this game. It's not about it being "meaningless," it's not about Covid, it's about their disdain for Todd Graham. There is literal hate from the players, including starters, towards their head coach.

Graham will be gone soon.
I'm not doubting you but I am curious where you heard this.
 
I'm not doubting you but I am curious where you heard this.
On the phone in the off season while discussing the O/U on win totals. (I believe they were six and finished with a 6-6 record.) Hawaii has been good for making a few bucks over the years. They're one of the easier wagers with against whom and where. I didn't play them this season because of what I heard before the season.
 

The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy. But a not-insignificant contingent of players on the team is anything but enthused at the prospect of playing another game for Graham, who they say has fostered an unsustainable, troublesome environment during his brief tenure that overshadows any tenuous on-the-field achievements. As one current player told SFGATE, “A lot of players want him fired, especially the starters.”

Another told SFGATE: “Me and a lot of others can truthfully say Graham has killed our love and passion for football.”
Players complained of rampant favoritism, incompetent coaching and a locker room environment that failed to build camaraderie between teammates. As one player shared on the forum, “I’ve played on a 1-11 team and have never felt like this.”
Graham is a known disciplinarian, including at his previous head coaching stints with Rice, Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State. Several Hawaii players said they believe Graham’s approach has consistently crossed the line in terms of decency and respect. One player told SFGATE, “I would go as far to say it’s verbal abuse the way he talks to guys. … It’s personal. It’s not like, ‘Oh, you need to be faster.’ He’s calling guys useless, jackass and a sack of s—t.”

Another player reiterated to SFGATE that Graham insults his players constantly, reportedly calling players “dogs—t,” among other demeaning terms. Multiple players also said Graham constantly threatens to take away playing time from anyone who questions him. One player recalled Graham telling a teammate to “stop talking back or I’m going to take away your senior year.”

Meanwhile, according to multiple players, Graham’s own future aspirations are abundantly clear. They recall different instances when Graham had openly discussed his aspirations to leave Hawaii for the NFL. “He basically kept telling us he’s using us as a stepping stone,” as one player put it.

Said another player, “I see why he wants the bowl game so bad. It ain’t for the seniors. It ain’t for Hawaii. It’s for his reputation and the extra bowl game check.” (Graham will receive a $20,000 bonus for participating in the Hawaii Bowl. If Hawaii wins the game, he will receive an additional $40,000.)

I think that's why players refused to play for him... This is quite damning for Todd Graham. Don't see how he makes it to next season.
 
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