Yost Arena no more?

[Hockeybuckeye]

First let me say I am an old cranky man with no tolerance for the ridiculous and ludicrous issues cropping up in our society and now we see a commission at the "woke" University of Michigan recommends the name change of Yost Arena because of racist issues concerning the man who's long dead? I cannot put into words the absurdity of it!
This is the same backwards agenda pushed to erase history and replace it with something sterilized. I hope the alumni base at U of M unify and use their weight to fight this tooth and nail!
My grandmother graduated at U of M in 1918 and knew Fielding Yost and if she were alive I guarantee you she would defend him and have a few choice words for those running the University now!

 

[purpleinnebraska]

This sends a strong message to Fielding Yost. I bet he'll never again do whatever it is that he was accused of.

 

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Maybe they finally "woke" up and are ready to admit Yost never played hockey, and yet he was their best option for naming a hockey facility. Shows you were hockey ranks on the Michigan campus (and pretty much any BIG campus other than Minnesota). If Gophers football continues to turn things around, even Minnesota hockey is going to find themselves displaced from the #1 sport on their campus in the state of hockey.

 

[Drew S.]

What did he actually do that was racist? I've seen one incident mentioned where he held a black player out of a game against a southern school. It certainly wasn't the honorable or right thing to do, especially viewed in today's world, but it seems like if there isn't more that's pretty flimsy evidence.

edit: the person who started Michigan hockey is a true hero in every sense of the word. Maybe they could name the rink after him?

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

What did he actually do that was racist? I've seen one incident mentioned where he held a black player out of a game against a southern school. It certainly wasn't the honorable or right thing to do, especially viewed in today's world, but it seems like if there isn't more that's pretty flimsy evidence.

edit: the person who started Michigan hockey is a true hero in every sense of the word. Maybe they could name the rink after him?

You could go back 100, 300, 1000 years and pick any person and find fault with them by todays "standards" but their views and attitudes would be in line with the society OF THAT ERA.
Yost was an amazing contributor to the University and worthy indeed of the honors there bestowed upon him. If anyone here thinks otherwise message me so I can tell you what I think without the moderators banning me!

 

[jjmc85]

First let me say I am an old cranky man with no tolerance for the ridiculous and ludicrous issues cropping up in our society and now we see a commission at the "woke" University of Michigan recommends the name change of Yost Arena because of racist issues concerning the man who's long dead? I cannot put into words the absurdity of it!
This is the same backwards agenda pushed to erase history and replace it with something sterilized. I hope the alumni base at U of M unify and use their weight to fight this tooth and nail!
My grandmother graduated at U of M in 1918 and knew Fielding Yost and if she were alive I guarantee you she would defend him and have a few choice words for those running the University now!

What issues do you have no tolerance for?

The Boston Red Sox have arguably the most racist past of any team. They renamed the street Fenway Park is on to stop honoring Tom Yawkey, who was a racist to the point it probably cost his team several championships. Why rename the street? Because racists shouldn’t be honored. If people 100 years ago made the decision to honor a racist, of if people 50 years ago, or 10 years ago, or even yesterday made the decision to do so, it was the wrong one. We shouldn’t be stuck with their bad decision to honor racism.

Also, what exactly more do we need to know about Yost other than he wouldn’t let a member of a varsity team compete because of the color of his skin to conclude he shouldn’t be honored? Seems pretty open and shut to me.

 

[pdt1081]

What did he actually do that was racist? I've seen one incident mentioned where he held a black player out of a game against a southern school. It certainly wasn't the honorable or right thing to do, especially viewed in today's world, but it seems like if there isn't more that's pretty flimsy evidence.

edit: the person who started Michigan hockey is a true hero in every sense of the word. Maybe they could name the rink after him?

It truly doesn't matter what he did. How much can they sell the naming rights for?

 

[Sol Diablo]

I suppose the same thing could be stated about Engelstad, that he didn't portray himself in the best light. But, although you should never say never, its unlikely the arena will ever be re-named being its not owned by the university.

 

[Sean Pickett]

What did he actually do that was racist? I've seen one incident mentioned where he held a black player out of a game against a southern school. It certainly wasn't the honorable or right thing to do, especially viewed in today's world, but it seems like if there isn't more that's pretty flimsy evidence.

edit: the person who started Michigan hockey is a true hero in every sense of the word. Maybe they could name the rink after him?

Drew, I recommend that you read the full 36-page report. It includes a lot of detail that shows Yost did more than just hold Willis Ward out of the game, including scheduling the game in the first place. In any event, I found the report to be well balanced and show both the positives and negatives of Fielding Yost as coach and athletic director. In my opinion he handled the game, benching and events around it poorly and I believe he knew he did.

By the way, I like your idea of naming the building after the founder of Michigan hockey, but I would suggest naming it after Vic Heyliger, who is not only the greatest Michigan hockey coach, but arguably the greatest college hockey coach.

Sean

 

[Sean Pickett]

You could go back 100, 300, 1000 years and pick any person and find fault with them by todays "standards" but their views and attitudes would be in line with the society OF THAT ERA.!

The 36-page report goes into detail about the views and attitudes OF THAT ERA, especially in Michigan, and states that society then, like now, had a wide range of views and attitudes on race. It furthermore goes into some detail about the views and attitudes of Yost as well.

Sean

 

[Drew S.]

Drew, I recommend that you read the full 36-page report. It includes a lot of detail that shows Yost did more than just hold Willis Ward out of the game, including scheduling the game in the first place. In any event, I found the report to be well balanced and show both the positives and negatives of Fielding Yost as coach and athletic director. In my opinion he handled the game, benching and events around it poorly and I believe he knew he did.

By the way, I like your idea of naming the building after the founder of Michigan hockey, but I would suggest naming it after Vic Heyliger, who is not only the greatest Michigan hockey coach, but arguably the greatest college hockey coach.

Sean

I took your advice and it was interesting reading. I'm not convinced he was racist at all or that his name should be removed. You certainly can make the argument he should have done more to help black athletes but its easy to say that in 2021 and is completely different than saying someone was racist.

If they rename it Jospeh Barss Arena no one could ever complain and would go down well in Canada too.

 

[Split-N]

...You could go back 100, 300, 1000 years and pick any person and find fault with them by todays "standards" but their views and attitudes would be in line with the society OF THAT ERA...

I'm with Mr. Buckeye to the extent that judging those who lived in past decades--or even centuries--by the standards of today serves no purpose. One of the things that separates humans from other species is that we evolve over time, socially, economically, and morally, to name just a few. If you're deceased, you have no opportunity to change your mind about things. So if we insist on judging our forbearers through the prism of the third decade of the 21st Century, then we'll have to rename anything and everything that isn't a product of our own time, starting with the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. Heck, even Abraham Lincoln can't pass all of the woke litmus tests.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

I'm with Mr. Buckeye to the extent that judging those who lived in past decades--or even centuries--by the standards of today serves no purpose. One of the things that separates humans from other species is that we evolve over time, socially, economically, and morally, to name just a few. If you're deceased, you have no opportunity to change your mind about things. So if we insist on judging our forbearers through the prism of the third decade of the 21st Century, then we'll have to rename anything and everything that isn't a product of our own time, starting with the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. Heck, even Abraham Lincoln can't pass all of the woke litmus tests.

I think Split-N said it well. Knowledge and attitudes evolve with the passage of time and to hold earlier eras to standards of a later era can't be done rationally. The University leaders at the time who honored Yost obviously no problems with him because they had the same mindsets as it was the norms of the society they lived in. Do we remove their names from the buildings on campus as well? There are no wrongs to be righted here or social justice to be championed.
Old sayings stick around because there typically is an inherent wisdom in them and I think the saying "It's best to let things stay in the past" should be heeded.

 

[MichVandal]

Other than the racists issues of Mr Yost, don't forget that Yost Field House was build in 1923, ONE year into Yost's tenure as AD. Nothing like naming a new sports building after yourself.

Then again, why does it bother you so much that people actually have realized that Yost was not a great person. Maybe a great football coach, but that's hardly everything in a person. I've not looked into the full report, and all of the things Yost did, but I know enough to really question whether the building should be named after him. Time marches on, and it's not a bad thing to correct things.

It's quite probable that few know what Yost did in his lifetime, including groups that would have been directly effected by his views. But looking back and educating people of what someone stood for, and acknowledging that it's not acceptable- exactly why is that such a bad thing? It's just a name, and he was just a football coach.

BTW, I do expect that a lot of alumni will be very upset. And seeing the very racist vitriol laid out to the Fab 5 30 years ago, it's to be expected.

 

[MichVandal]

Maybe they finally "woke" up and are ready to admit Yost never played hockey, and yet he was their best option for naming a hockey facility. Shows you were hockey ranks on the Michigan campus (and pretty much any BIG campus other than Minnesota). If Gophers football continues to turn things around, even Minnesota hockey is going to find themselves displaced from the #1 sport on their campus in the state of hockey.

Just as a reminder, it was Yost Field House from 1923 to 1973. So for 50 of the 98 years, it wasn't a ice anything. It turned into Yost Ice Arena because the coaching staff needed something other than the tiny coliseum, and one of the assistant coaches realized that an ice rink would fit perfectly in the then barely used Yost Field House. (the BB team moved from Yost Field House to Crisler in 1967)

It was pretty easy to transition from Yost Field House to Yost Ice Arena.

Also, I would say that Michigan Hockey fans fully realize that we are #3 on the athletic depth chart. I'm ok with it.

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

I'm curious of the opinions of hardcore Michigan hockey fans here like Wolverine Trumpet on how pis*ed they'd be if the name Children of Yost was banned?

 

[MichVandal]

I'm curious of the opinions of hardcore Michigan hockey fans here like Wolverine Trumpet on how pis*ed they'd be if the name Children of Yost was banned?

Before they were the Children of Yost, the Athletic Department told the student fans to not be so obscene with their words. That didn't go over well, then, but eventually the language was cleaned up. We were not the CoY when I was a student- and I'm pretty sure that the time that I have been a fan, the minority of that they were called the CoY. So a minority of alumni and fans would be that upset.

I'm not 100% convinced, but I do at least understand the message that is trying to be put out. I'm betting that some of the fans may realize that, too, when they look back on the history.

 

[MichVandal]

BTW, I looked into the Michigan Daily, and no real reference to the news. Interesting.

One more thing to add- the University is currently asking for community opinions- so it's very much in the hands of Michigan fans and alumni for what happens.

 

[Lost_Husky]

I think Split-N said it well. Knowledge and attitudes evolve with the passage of time and to hold earlier eras to standards of a later era can't be done rationally. The University leaders at the time who honored Yost obviously no problems with him because they had the same mindsets as it was the norms of the society they lived in. Do we remove their names from the buildings on campus as well? There are no wrongs to be righted here or social justice to be championed.
Old sayings stick around because there typically is an inherent wisdom in them and I think the saying "It's best to let things stay in the past" should be heeded.

While not a Michigan Hockey fan, I don't have a problem renaming an almost 100 year building, especially one that has been re-purposed. They do it all the time in cities with streets and other things. Time marches on and items named after people should be allowed to be changed. There is no need to drag said person's name through the mud and, pardon the pun, turn them into a political football. Step up and say something PC while saying how great Yost was, and move forward. Let the alumni, donors, and community select a new name and be done with it.

No person is perfect and no person should be treated, dead or alive, as a demigod. There is nothing wrong with wanting to rename something.