The Minnesota Golden Gophers football program is the latest D1 athletics outfit to be hit with abuse allegations. The accusations were made public in a report from Front Office Sports, in which former players and staff claimed there was a toxic culture under head coach P.J. Fleck. The team was described as having a "cult-like atmosphere" by several former players. Additionally, several bombshell claims, such as Fleck overlooking positive drug tests for certain players, were also made. Several players made reference to the "Fleck Bank", a system in which players earned goodwill with Fleck. This in turn allowed them to "cash in" favors such as overlooking violations of team rules.
Fleck, who has led the Golden Gophers since 2017, has vehemently denied the allegations made against his program. "Our programming culture is proven to work on and off the field, and it's always done in a first-class manner," Fleck told ESPN. "There are tons of testimonials from past, current and future Gophers." Furthermore, Fleck said that the claims made in the report have been investigated multiple times since 2017. However, it's just the latest example of abuse being alleged at the highest level of college sports.
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Minnesota Latest School To Be Accused Of Abuse
Minnesota is just the latest in a string of D1 colleges that have been implicated in an abuse scandal. New Mexico State suspended its men's basketball program midseason in February 2023 after several players alleged a culture of hazing and sexual abuse at the school. The resulting investigation led to a mass exodus from the program and the firing of the head coach. Furthermore, several players de-committed from the school and re-opened their recruiting. This all came as New Mexico transferred from the Mountain West to Conference USA.
More recently, a wave of allegations has hit multiple sports at Northwestern. Both the football and baseball head coaches have been fired after multiple reports of toxic atmospheres and rampant hazing. On July 24, former Northwestern wide receiver and quarterback Lloyd Yates filed suit against the school. Yates claimed that he was the victim of a "brainwashing culture" that "normalized" hazing. Despite having to fire two coaches across two sports, the school's athletic director has claimed that there is "no place" for hazing at Northwestern.
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