Ex-Fox anchor fighting back after firing
Mike Barz wants the world to know he never groped, fondled or even hugged the co-worker whose complaint against him led to his firing as morning news anchor at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32.
In his first public comment since his dismissal last summer, Barz, 39, called the episode “a fabricated story” and said he is taking legal action to win reinstatement and back pay. An arbitration hearing is expected to be scheduled this week.
“I expect that as this process plays out, people will realize the truth,” he said. “It’s all been very unfair and unfortunate because it has dragged my name through the mud.”
A Fox Chicago spokeswoman confirmed that the station was aware of his grievance, but declined to comment on personnel matters.
For a time, Barz seemed to be on a fast track to network stardom. A seven-year stint as morning sports anchor on Tribune Co.-owned WGN-Channel 9 led to a high-profile gig as features correspondent and fill-in weatherman at ABC’s “Good Morning America,” based in New York. But shifting fortunes and a change in top producers at the show brought him back to local television via Fox Chicago in 2007.
After more than two years as anchor of “Good Day Chicago,” Barz was fired July 15 – five days after he and about two dozen other Fox staffers attended a party at the Reagle Beagle, for Margaret Shortridge, a reporter whose contract was not renewed.
Although Barz said he has numerous witnesses (including his fiancée, Fox reporter Tera Williams) who’ll swear he never had any untoward physical contact with anyone at the party, a female news anchor who was also there reportedly lodged a complaint with management that Barz had “hugged her inappropriately” and made her feel uncomfortable.
Barz declined to name the anchor who complained or speculate on her motive, but one scenario suggests it may have been a way to inoculate herself in contract negotiations with the station. Merely making the claim – so the theory goes – would strengthen her bargaining position.
In any case, an investigation by management led to Barz’s immediate dismissal, essentially voiding the eight months left on his contract, which was said to be worth $500,000 a year.
In these austere times, saving such a high salary could have been reason enough for Fox bosses to cut Barz without a second thought. The fact that the ratings for “Good Day Chicago” were flat – as was his chemistry with co-anchors Jan Jeffcoat and Tamron Hall – didn’t help either.
Barz acknowledged that the biggest factor against him was an incident two years earlier at a going-away party for a production assistant. His flirtatious dancing with a fellow employee was reported back to management by another staffer, resulting in a two-day suspension for Barz in September 2007.
Barz now calls that earlier incident a “misunderstanding” that he was never able to clarify because his bosses ordered him not to talk about it.
“Nothing that I did that night was inappropriate,” he said. “I was just leaving the party, trying to be a wise ass with people who were being wise asses themselves. But by not being allowed to speak about it then, it took on a life of its own.”
To fight his firing, Barz has hired a lawyer and filed a grievance through his union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
In 2006, AFTRA won a huge victory against Fox when an arbitrator awarded full back pay and severance to 18-year veteran sports anchor Bruce Wolf, who’d been fired for “keying” a car in an off-air bit taped at the Chicago Auto Show. As in Barz’s case, many believed Wolf’s incident was used as a convenient excuse to trim the payroll.
A divorced father of three young children who live with him, Barz is planning an April wedding to Williams, who’s been a general assignment reporter at Fox Chicago since late 2006.
“The No. 1 thing for people to know is that I am exactly the same way off the air as I am on the air – a fun-loving, caring guy who would never do anything to anyone to make them uncomfortable or that could be perceived as inappropriate,” he said.
Although he looks relaxed, fit and happy to be away from the stress of morning television, Barz said he’s eager to get back into the business here.
“I’ve worked very hard to establish my career in Chicago – a city I love and adore – and I expect to have a long-lasting career here,” he said. “I want to be in an environment that fosters teamwork and camaraderie. I want to work for a family – not a bunch of individuals.”
02
11 2009
blogs.vocalo.org
Welcome back, Rob! Looking forward to you once again setting the agenda for broadcast media coverage in Chicago–and to you expanding your voice beyond that portfolio as well.
Rob,
Welcome back to the beat! We’ve been keeping your place at the table.
— Geno in K.C.
(Ex-WBBM, IRN, WLIT, WUSN)
Robert,
For three years I have been reading your reports about Barz’s September 2007 incident in which he, as you have written over the years, “dirty danced”/ “flirtatiously danced” with a fellow employee at a going away party. I wrote to you back then, and I am telling you again … nothing about what Barz did with this woman was dancing!!!
She was sitting at the end of the bar, drinking soda no less, when an extremely intoxicated Barz lifted her off her stool, propped her up against the bar, laid her back and dry humped her like a jack rabbit in heat.
It was a joke, yes. But for Barz to now say he did “nothing inappropriate” disgusts me. The entire bar saw this woman’s underware, because he had her skirt practically up over her head.
This woman took it all in stride and I hate that, because her forgiveness has apparently given Barz the impression he did nothing wrong. She may not have been offended, or willing to tell management she was. But, as witness to the disgusting event, I was. And, I am a man who knows how to take a joke.
Barz should have been fired then, and should consider himself lucky he wasn’t. FOX apparently didn’t have the nerve, because they just invested a lot of money in advertising him as the new face of “Good Day Chicago”. All they did though, was let him know he was going to get away with anything and everything.
There were a number of similar incidents that FOX knew about as well, and did nothing. At a company sponsored trip to the Cubs game, he picked up a female writer and treated her like his personal lap doll … and, there were pictures to prove it!
The Halloween right after the “dirty dancing” incident, he was asked to judge a costume contest with his co-anchor Jan Jeffcoat. He got so fresh with another man’s girlfriend, a bouncer had to break-up what came close to becoming a bar room brawl. This was witnessed by Jeffcoat AND a FOX advertising executive, and still the company did nothing.
Then, there’s the inappropriate relationship Barz had with his intern. In the wide open newsroom, Barz would touch this girl in ways that concerned many. The two also went out to lunch almost daily, where in public they were seen sitting too close for comfort.
It’s funny how everyone within the company knows these stories, yet Barz went unpunished until the Margaret Shortridge going away party incident. If Barz is going to maintain he did nothing wrong at Shortridge’s party, then I sure hope he owns up (in his own mind at least) to the many other incidents where he wasn’t busted.
I don’t know who I am rooting for more, Barz or FOX. Barz is so wrong on so many levels for his frat boy behavior. But, FOX is wrong to have let it go on as long as it did.
The real losers in all of this? People like me who have had to witness this disgusting behavior for the two plus years we worked with Mike Barz.
Great to have you back!
At last, you are back in my morning news routine.
Welcome back and may you never suffer writer’s block!
Robert,
First off welcome back to what you do the Best. You are a great gift to Chicago and now able to reach beyond.
Well done article on Barz.
Looking forward to many more great articles.
Thanks for being YOU!
Lauren (Huggs)
The world seems back in balance. Maybe it’s the smiling face. Or the solid reporting. Or the institutional memory that gives context to the foreground news. In any case, it’s great to have you back.
Welcome Back Rob! I knew you couldn’t stay retired. The more things changed in the media, the more I’ll bet you were itching to write about it. I will post the link to your blog in my weekly newsletter.
Congrats Bob,
I hope you enjoyed your “vacation!” We certainly missed you.
However, I’m a computer goofy, and want to know what do I have to do to get your stores sent to my email address?
Is there some place where we can provide you, Vocalo.org, our email and then select “your name,” as the one we want to read on a daily basis?
Like Sports Illustrated allows us to do.
Merci Beacoup!
Gary
The “new” Rob is the same *old* Rob! Sheesh. In exchange for Feder’s exclusive with Barz (real name Barszcz), Rob omits some of the information that readers would care about the most.
C’mon, Rob — man up and tell us: who was the “fellow employee” with whom Barz “nasty-danced” (or not) in 2007? And more than that, who was the female news anchor who lodged a complaint with management that led to his ouster? It can only be one of a small number of women: Lauren Cohn, Jan Jeffcoat, Robin Robinson, maybe Nancy Loo or Anita Padilla. Probably not Nancy (she lives way out in the suburbs and gets up early in the morning, so she probably isn’t much for attending these kinds of parties), and probably not Anita (same reason). Since you mention Jan elsewhere in the story, doesn’t that really take the possibilities down to just Lauren and Robin?
Let’s name some names here, Rob!
Sorry Mike Barz, but you lie like a rug. I can confirm the previous comments made by another co-worker and can add that Mr. Barz was the biggest nusiance to work with of the entire on-air staff. Please don’t let the boyish smiling face and poor attempts at humor fool you. His daily temper tantrums and belittling of the production and technical staff were second only to his ineptness as an on-air personality (I refuse to use the words “talent” and “Mike Barz” in the same paragraph). Frankly nobody at the station except for Tara Williams was the least bit upset to see him shown the door.
He was tossed out the door at WGN, GMA, and now Fox……maybe you should consider a change in careers Mike, something where you don’t have to interact with other people, you’re just not good at it.
And Welcome Back Mr. Feder!! You’ve been sorely missed.
Hi Rob. Welcome back!
Mr. Feder:
Great article, I can see you haven’t missed a beat. Welcome back. Lew Lazare did well, but you are the source for understanding the local beat. When is WLIT going all-Christmas?
Paul Greenlee
Welcome back. You should see what happened to the industry, after you left!
Now, maybe it will rebound, with your return!!
Best wishes.
Barz engaged to Tera Williams? He is vey lucky — she is beautiful and seems sweet. Barz should never have left WGN, where he was fairly good and fit in with rest of the cast. He was never good at GMA, awkward and like a deer caught in the lights. And that Fox thing was just terrible. Maybe he can find a job at a smaller market.
Another site added to my morning routine. Welcome back Mr. Feder! Heck of a time to take a year off ;-)
Robert,
Great to have you back. It looks like this forum is going to bring a great interactive feel to your fantastic insights into our media.
Your off to an excellent start.
Welcome back!! We missed you. Congratulations on your induction into the NW Hall of Fame.
On Barz, a power keg waiting to explode is the only way to desribe what I hear his conduct was like at station events outside of the station. I guess he didn’t realize that all of the station’s policies apply outside the walls of the station. He is way too lucky to wind up with Tera Williams, but then again frat boy and cheer girl may be appropriate.
I love it!
Feder, you’re barely back & your blog is blowing up with Barz! Nice work, as always! And I love that people who worked with Barz are typing in with details not known to the rest of us.
Dude, you are smokin’ HAWT . . .
Great to see you back Mr. Feder!
Barz engaged to Tera Williams?
Did Barz get a divorce? When? Doesn’t he had like 2 or 3 children? WOW! How do these guys do it? Continue to have bad behavior and yet snag a woman. Wonder if he’ll get a radio show . . . on the internet? TV doesn’t seem to be his place.
Tera should realize this could be a very short marriage.
Honey, be sure and get some divorce insurance with this one . . . and keep *everything* in your maiden name.
Great to have you back, Robert!
Welcome back Rob! How you were sorely missed.
I really take issue with these “co-workers” who anonymously malign Mike Barz. Look people, if you have to hide under anonymity, your word should be taken by all with a grain of salt. If you have such strong convictions against someone, you should have the guts to state your name and stand behind your words.
Welcome back! My morning coffee has not been the same the past year. Your new blog is at the top of my “favorites” list.
Welcome back, Rob!
Rob Feder, oh wow you are back. Very cool. Missed you. For months after you left I still kept looking for you. Sort of hoping that the Sun-Times got their senses back and rehired you.
Lewis Lazare, all due respect seems to cover your beat second hand and now I don’t have to read him any more.
That is very cool..
Robert, Welcome back! Your voice has been sorely missed through these sordid corporate layoffs and Chicago media mis-steps. I look forward to your solid and always entertaining and informative reporting.
Welcome back to the working world Robert – the skills and smooth prose are still there! The new format is interesting as it allows all of us to read the feedback – a much more interactive process.
So good to see that you are back. And, I will still wait for the book.
It’s not that people are *hiding under anonymity* they just don’t want to lose their jobs in this depressed job market. I don’t blame them but at the same time, one person did put their name on their comment. He must have a good, employment attorney.
Good to see you back on the beat, sir!
Congratulations and welcome back, Rob. I’ll be reading you every day again. Ahhh, now THESE are the days!
Thank goodness your back!!!!
Ex-coworker who is commenter #12… Barz was not “tossed out the door” at WGN. He left because he got the GMA gig, which was a big promotion. From what I could see, he seemed to fit in well with Potash and Konrad. He had the on-air chemistry there that was missing on Fox.
Welcome back, Rob!
I’m so glad you’re back. It’s been hell without ya! Tell Torey that Jory said hello.
Good to have you back. Looks like you stirred things up already!
Rob
Welcome back-look forward to chatting; get in touch
Billy
Finally, our inside reporter on Chicago media is back! Hope you enjoyed your time off and are ready to dig back into all things media. Much success with your new venture! And, yes indeed, you’re already stirring up the pot.
you should all know that the Barz children were taken away from their mother due to Barz losing his salary. She lived on that money and as a result of the firing without pay, she could no longer afford them. She stayed home for eight years with them-and just like that they were ripped from her. They had to go live with Mike Barz because he had a new fiancee that could afford them. These kids are the ones who have suffered. I hope that female anchor knows what she ripped three children away from their mother as a result of this.
The unnamed news anchor who filed the complaint is Robin Robinson.
Robert, it’s GREAT to see you back in action! (Sound the trumpets!) I lost count of the number of times I wished I could have read your perceptive views and insights as to what’s been occurring during the past year — lots of changes, turmoil and intrigue, as you very well know. Now the wait is over and your return is most welcome. And belated congratulations to you regarding your induction into Medill’s Hall of Achievement.
FACT CHECK. Some of the comments above are incorrect and one question begs an answer.
1.)Barz was not tossed out at WGN; he recieved a better offer from GMA.
and
2.)the person involved was the one person who has been on FOX’s news since it went on the air.
OK, we’ll give you a pass that you chose to write about Mike Barz on your first day back….we’re just glad you’re back!
Chicago news on news hasn’t been the same! So glad you’re back!
Kath
He’s a real ahole. Nice haircut. Who cares who reads the news. I’d rather have a hot chick doing it, than some tool.
Woo hoo! You’re back … so glad to see your blog! You were definitely missed Robert. Welcome back (and thanks for coming back)! =)
Robert:
Interesting note about Mike Barz – On December 6th of last year, my wife & I left the all-American innocence of Disney World on a Southwest Airlines flight to Chicago and were treated to an on-board R-rated show starring the aforementioned Mr. Barz, who was seated across the aisle. The only time that Mr. Barz did not have his hands on his companion was when he was drinking his 3 beers during the flight. His hands and lips were playing the role of roving reporter during the rest of the flight. Don’t know who his companion was, but I can say for certain that it was NOT his ex-wife nor his current wife-to-be Ms. Williams from Fox, as his companion appeared to be about 24 years old. The passion play ended at the airport as they walked hand-in-hand down the concourse.
I’m so glad to see that you are back! My husband and I have been following your beat since high school! We are Chicago media junkies and had frequently begged the question: “What would Feder have to say about this?” Every time something interesting happened in Chicago media over the past year. Thanks for brightening up my day, and making the conversations we have about Chicago media more fun. :)
Raymo: A lot of people can say a lot of things, but you never really know. I mean, he sure seems like a sleazeball from all these comments, but that’s all heresay right? Sure wish you had pictures or some other kind of proof.
Wow. Robin Robinson should be ashamed of herself. I hope that those children are ok. Hell, I hope the mother, his-ex wife is ok and gets them back.
Read #40
At some point, Barz will fall on his own sword . . . I just hope the children aren’t around to see it happen. That is sooooooooooooooooooo sad the children were ripped away from their mother. Barz, you’ll pay for that too!
Tera, he’s all yours.
Just keep your bank accounts separate . . .
I will tell you that I happen to know Barzs ex-wife and this has been hell for her. I will not go into what she has been through as a result of barz getting fired, but yes, those kids had to go live with their dad aand she lives without out them. had to get a job to survive herself. All because one anchor decided she was going to make up some things….Barzs ex does not get along with Barz, but she knows he did not do anything to that anchor. But this woman, the mother of these three kids, has lost her kids as a result. I have never seen anyone stronger or hurt more as a result of this. Let’s all keep in mind what has happened to three innocent children becasue one wjerk of a person made allegations….I hate that I am posting on here, but people need to know what else happened and what innocent people suffered as a result of this anchor allegations. A mother lost her children and they lost their mom. That being said, Barzs ex says he is a good dad and does a good job-it is just wrong.
Welcome back Robert! This is great stuff!
Raymo, that girl on the flight was Mike’s intern the person in comment #3 wrote about. And, she has since had a baby which is his.
Sleazeball is putting it nicely George!
Leave Robin alone! She would never lie to better her career, especially about something so serious. She struggled with whether she should tell management, knowing it could be the straw that broke the camel’s back on Barz’s career. But, the bottom line is, he did this to himself. Robin has daughters, and all she could think about is … what if this happened to them? So many incidents of sexual harassment go unreported, because of this. Listen to you guys … attacking the victim. Finally, someone had the strength to report Barz despite the verbal attacks from the public she has received for it. Shame on you all. Because of you, other people who have been sexually harassed in the workplace will be afraid to report it. This is disgusting.
As for the comment about Barz’s children “being ripped away” from his ex-wife (oh, and Robin being to blame) … give me a break. Months before Mike lost his job, she checked out of being a full-time mom. She was loving her new-found freedom and her new boyfriend. She pawned the kids off on Tera and Mike for more than half the summer while she went on vacations … oh yeah, and he continued to pay her child support. Now, in addition to the boyfriend … she sold the house to live the single life … and got a $100,000+ job. Oh yeah, she’s hurting! If Mike got a job tomorrow, I’d know she wouldn’t go back to being a stay-at-home mom.
Lastly, the ex-wife saying Mike did not do what he’s accused of doing … please!!! His wandering hands is why they are divorced. It’s pure strategy on her part. She can go back to being a kept woman if she helps him get his job back.
George:
Please read the comment by the intern’s friend, who apparently identified the woman on our flight as Mr. Barz’s intern. I hope that the baby, is enough proof of his wandering hands and other apendages.
That is funny that you would attack the mom that lost her kids in all of this. She was in grad school all summer going to school twice a week AND raising her children. Ummm vacation-never had one-impossible due to school. She had to move, quit grad school and get a a job-ALLLL while losing her kids. And yes, while finding out Barz had another baby om the side. Imagine the pressure of all that and figuring out what she should do about her kids knowing they have a sibling. She was out of the workforce for 8 years-in this economy, she is making 100,000 a year? That is hysterical. I can attest that she is barely making it at a sales job-A SALES JOB. She WAS in grad school for counseling, and now does a sales job. And she did not own any house, she rented it and was FORCED out, children crying because they had to move schools etc…So, strategy? All she wants is her kids back my friend, and when Barz does get a job that is what will happen. You obviously do not know her at all. I DO, and anyone that does knows how devastating this all was for her would understand. Mike groping Robin? Please.
oh yeah and as a good friend of barzs ex wife…wandering hands had nothing to do with their divorce-nothing. He was faithful. They just did not get along. So, Barz ex co-worker, you should really not comment on someone when you do not even know them….and yeah, she had “freedom” and a wonderfully nice boyfriend that she deserves, but struggled with pain beyond your imagination.
Fuji, buy a clue. As a girl who was groped by Mike — WHILE HE WAS STILL MARRIED — I can assure you, he was anything BUT faithful!
wow, a girl who was groped by mike. You must have a wild imagination or at least just do not have much to offer in any way. No one believes you. Mike may have been arrogant and a partier, but he was just no that way, and as a friend I hated him, but get real. Remember we are talking about a career, a father, three kids and a mother who lost them as a result of Robin Robinson allegating that he touched her-bullcrap. Everyone knows she did it to save her own ass and while she was at it she removed three innocent children from their home, their mother and their school. Careful what you say because it will come back to haunt you. Like I said, he may have drank too much or thought he was funny, but that does not mean he deserved these allegations and nor did his children. These things can be dealt with before children are thrown out.
I’m not a divorce laywer but all this stuff about the children being “ripped from their mother” because Barz lost his job is ridiculous! There are millions of unemployed divorced fathers and the children aren’t taken from the mother because of it.
The mother either made the decision to give the children to Barz because she just didn’t want to deal with them or she was court ordered. No decent mother is going to give her children up just because her ex lost his job. There’s got to be more to this story.
I doubt that he’s flat broke and he is obligated to pay child support, employed or not. She’s working ‘in a sales job’ so she has some income. If she can find a roof and food for herself than she can provide for her children.
Yo all,
I want everyone to be able to comment freely, but let’s try to keep it civil. I personally don’t know Mr. Barz or his wife. I don’t know who filed the complaint. If you have proof of any allegations, I ask that you show it so we don’t just throw around claims and negative comments about people we don’t know.
Cool? Please continue!!!!
hey beaner. when all monies, including child support and alimony stop instantly….the mother has no money to keep her kids. Barz was fired as a result of Robins allegations and right then and there all money ceased. No time to prepare-nothing. She gave up her kids because she had no choice. She was home with three kids relying on Barzsz salary. Robin and Fox took away these children from their mother and screwed them. She had been at home with them for 8 years, and had to make a decision no mother could ever do-give her children to the very man who lost his job. He had a fiancee who could help. Wow, this economy is terrific for a mother who has been home for 8 years. She gave up her kids so they would be taken care of and then she quit school and got a job. She got a job after 8 years of being home in this economy-BRAVO. Unfortunately, these kids went with their dad before she gained employment and the scene was set. You have NO idea what these kids and thismother have been through. Not to mention Barz. You may not have liekd him, but he is a great dad and a great on air personality. Robin is no angle and I hope her dirty laundry is aired as a result of this. I hear plenty about her that could ruin anyone. Again I just want people to understand that you may not like a man, but behind that man were three children whose lives were ruined.
I love how people know where to put all the blame without the full stories and are too childish that they can’t even use real names. I f you can’t talk about it then don’t wrie about it
Mr. Feder, nice to have you back!
I am a former co-worker of Mike Barz but we are not friends. I never saw him act inappropriately at work. I do not know of his conduct outside of the work place. If anyone does have PROOF of his inappropriate behavior, they should come forward. But, using a pseudonym or anonymity; why are you hiding?
For me, all bets were off when Mike decided to now say that he did “nothing inappropriate” at the party in September 2007 (an incident he himself admits was the groundwork for his firing). Yes, he did. He knows he did. Otherwise he would not have written an apology to the woman he did it to. I don’t know if his saying that now is some sort of legal strategy, but he is being dishonest and offending the people who were offended by his actions that night … including me.
I don’t know all the details of the September 2007 party. I did hear some information from people who did attend. But again, I don’t know if the info was accurate or not. But, wasn’t it a third party complaint about Mike and NOT the person who was actually involved? I always thought the morning EP had a grudge against Mike. (That’s just my opinion of course). I did hear some rumors of how they were investigating Tera and Mike’s relationship when they first started dating. I was not questioned about the relationship so I can’t say if there was an actual investigation. “Former Barz co-worker” , what did you see that night?
barz is a scum bag. he knows it, FOX knows, his family and friends know it, and all of chicago knows too. set aside he is essentially retarded when it comes to knowledge of the news. he knocked up another girl in chicago and owes a ton of child support. things dont just kep “happening” to this clown. he brings it on himself.
What is wrong with you people? Mike, Tera, his ex-wife and most importantly their children do not need this rumormill happening, in any way. I work at Fox and know Tera. She is a smart, beautiful talented person who is happily engaged…and could have anyone in the world that she wanted… so if she chooses Mike, then he must be worth it. This whole situation has been awkward for all parties, and awful for Tera and Mike. I do not know what is true. I do know that Tera deserves to be happy and this ongoing drama is not helping! Maybe if you all got a life, you would be less inclined to feed on someone else’s, eh?
Megan, I agree with you 100%. Nicely put!
Don’t blame the bloggers, blame the messenger who chose to open himself up for feedback.
Mike Barz sexually harassed Robin Robinson? I find it very difficult to believe that Mike Barz sexually harassed of the oldest and most unattractive woman on the Fox news team. She looks like a man! Even if Barz is a sleazeball, I have to believe that he would harass a woman who is a little better looking than Robin Robinson.
Why doesn’t anyone call out Robin on This? She really needs to give us the whole story. If she is going to ruin careers and lives she needs to explain. Mike Barz was good on TV-people did like him especially when he did sports on WGN. This whole thing is fishy.
sorry, barz. you’re a sleeze – and at some point, one of the multiple accusations out there was going to stick. this is actually number two or three. stop drinking.
That dude is right, who in there right mind would molest that dried up hag RR. She must be dreaming or in real trouble of losing her gig to say that. She must be around 60 years old now and was never pretty. I thought Barz was a blast and serious when he should have been and funny when everybody else was trying.AND he knew SPORTS. What I saw was… the TEN was ridiculously low on ratings. The ultimate fake latino yes man Navarro needed his spot back. BOOM out of nowhere Barz was expendable because everyone else was jealous of his anti-suck up ways. Navarro and Robin did the dirty dance not him.