Nick Piccone
A few weeks ago, reports surfaced that Rutgers University was investigating their head football coach, Kyle Flood, for rules violations stemming from an email he sent to another university faculty member regarding the academic status of one of his players. Today, the university threw down the hammer and suspended Flood for three games for inappropriately contacting a faculty member who was the instructor of one of his players.
According to the university’s policy, Flood should have went through the Academic Support Staff instead of sending the email himself.
As per the terms of his contract, Rutgers “may suspend Flood without pay pending the outcome of a compliance investigation.”
University policy dictates: “All contact with faculty members or instructional staff, if necessary, should be handled by the Academic Support staff” and doesn’t permit “coach-initiated contact of any type (e.g., oral, written, etc.) … between any member of the coaching staff and any Rutgers faculty member or associated instructional staff (teaching assistant, co-adjutant, part-time lecturer, etc.) with respect to any student-athlete.”
The document — labeled on the school’s website under the heading: “Contacting Faculty and Academic Officials” — dictates that staff members, including coaches, “must strictly abide” by the policy and “must make prudent judgments regarding their level of involvement in a student-athlete’s academic life so as to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.”
Here’s the alleged email that got Flood in trouble, via The Big Lead:
I hope you are having a great summer. I am forwarding a letter I wanted [the student] to compose to you. I am sending it from my personal e-mail to your personal e-mail to ensure there will be no public vetting of the correspondence. I want you to know that I have read the e-mail you sent on 5/18 and if that is the final decision I am in full support of that decision. If there was any work that could be done to earn a grade change I would be willing to have it done during football hours [redacted]. I believe [the student] has owned this situation and I have advised him to expect no further opportunities in this class.
Sounds like a guy that just wants what’s best for his player on the surface. Apparently down the road, Flood and the professor met and ultimately the professor allowed the player to make up the grade – something that Flood helped with. Moral of this story, it seems, is beg and plead and try to do good, when it’s ultimately only in your best interest. More:
Flood’s program also has been besieged by off-field problems recently.
Six players have been kicked off the team in the past two weeks as the result of arrests. Two players, cornerback Dre Boggs and fullback Lloyd Terry, have been charged in home invasions. The other four players — Barnwell, cornerback Ruhann Peele, safety Delon Stephenson and fullback Razohnn Gross — face assault charges.
On Sunday, Flood suspended star wide receiver Leonte Carroo indefinitely as a result of an incident that took place following Saturday night’s loss to Washington State outside the team’s football headquarters. Carroo was arrested by Rutgers University police and charged with simple assault in a domestic violence incident.Carroo pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
Flood, who apparently doesn’t know the policy of the university, or just doesn’t care, says he talks to faculty members all the time about his players, for better or worse.
Flood has said that he has relationships with university professors, saying “our faculty are part of our program” and adding that he welcomes “interactions” with faculty members.
“I have a lot of communication with teachers,” Flood said on Aug. 25 after NJ Advance Media broke the news that he was being investigated by the university. “We’re all part of the same university. We all want the same things for our student-athletes.”
In high school, it’s absolutely permissible to speak with another faculty member about a student-athlete because 99% of the time, the head coach is a teacher at that same school, and in some cases, has that student-athlete in class, as well. In college, sports coaches are not usually involved in the teaching aspect of the school, so contacting any teacher or professor of a student-athlete is prohibited. At least at Rutgers.
Penn State vs. Rutgers. Which school has a more ridiculously embarrassing football program?