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Utah Tech is investigating women’s head coach JD Gustin after both current and former members of the team accused him of “bullying, physical intimidation and retaliation,” according to Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Per that report, “11 women alleged Gustin used obscenities while insulting them, humiliated them in front of teammates, gave the silent treatment to some, and threatened to revoke scholarships.”
He additionally has been accused of giving “unsolicited back rubs and shoulder massages” and making inappropriate comments about his players’ sex lives and bodies, along with angry conduct that included throwing markers and breaking clipboards or flipping over chairs. In one alleged incident, he kicked a chair that then struck one of Utah State’s players, and in another he kicked a ball that nearly hit several players.
The university has said it takes the “reported allegations seriously” and is “working decisively to address and resolve these matters.”
“Utah Tech University is committed to the safety and well-being of our students, staff and university community,” spokesperson Jyl Hall said to Walden in a statement. “Harassment or inappropriate conduct of any kind is unacceptable … As this is a personnel matter, we cannot comment further.”
Parents of the athletes and former athletes in question hired a private investigator, former FBI special agent Greg Rice, to look into the situation. He put together a 55-page report on the allegations, which included testimonials from “more than 20 players and assistant coaches, past and present.”
In May, that report was submitted to Utah Tech’s Title IX office. In July, however, Utah Tech’s director of equity compliance and Title IX coordinator Hazel Sainsbury said in an email that the evidence “would not rise to the level of a policy violation,” per Walden.
The report was then submitted to Utah State’s human resources department in July. Utah State has hired consulting firm BestDayHR to further look into the allegations.
“It was a lot of trauma and a lot of emotional and mental issues that came from that treatment,” former player Brooke Vance told Walden. “And so my hope is to get him out of that job, so that no other freshman who’s just excited to go to college and excited for the basketball experience [has] to go through that as well.”
“I hope he’s fired,” former Utah State player Ashley Greenwood added, “and that he never steps foot in coaching women’s basketball ever again.”
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