Aug. 28--The University of Illinois fired football coach Tim Beckman on Friday for mishandling athlete injuries, including instances when he encouraged hurt players to avoid medical treatment in order to keep playing.
In an unusually frank statement, the university said it dismissed Beckman after receiving the preliminary results of an investigation that showed efforts to deter injury reporting. The early findings also suggest that student-athletes were treated inappropriately with respect to whether they could remain on scholarship during the spring semester of their senior year, according to the university.
"The preliminary information external reviewers shared with me does not reflect our values or our commitment to the welfare of our student-athletes, and I've chosen to act accordingly," athletic director Mike Thomas said in a statement. "During the review, we have asked people not to rush to judgment, but I now have enough information to make this decision in assessing the status and direction of the football program."
The decision comes at an unfortunate time for the program, as the Illini are set to open their season next week.
Bill Cubit, who joined the Illini coaching staff as offensive coordinator in 2013, has been named interim head coach for the 2015 season.
Thomas is scheduled to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. to discuss the firing. The Big Ten Network plans to air the event live on television and online.
Beckman leaves the Urbana-Champaign campus with a lackluster 12-25 record. He will not receive the $3.1 million remaining on the last two years of his original five-year contract or the $743,000 called for if his contract had been bought out, the university said.
The preliminary findings are in keeping with a recent Tribune investigation that found Beckman discouraged players from resting if injured. The Tribune reached out to nearly 50 players Beckman has coached at U. of I., many of whom painted a portrait of him as a gruff, confrontational and verbally abusive leader.
The university did not release the investigative report, which officials say has not been finalized. The outside law firm tapped to handle the investigation has interviewed more than 90 people so far and reviewed more than 200,000 documents. It has examined a significant amount of practice and game video from Beckman's three seasons as head coach, according to a release from the university.
Thomas called the findings "unsettling" and said they do not reflect the athletic department's culture.
"I expect my coaches to protect players and foster their success on and off the field," he said.
Thomas' harsh rhetoric, however, stands in stark contrast to his impassioned defense of Beckman earlier this spring after former Illini offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic accused the coach of mistreating players. Cvijanovic lashed out at Beckman on Twitter and in an interview with the Tribune, alleging that Beckman forced him to play and practice through injuries and essentially bullied him off the team.
Dismissing Cvijanovic's claims at the time as "a personal attack," Beckman said the allegations were not substantiated by his own review of school records.
"The feedback I get from players and our players' families is that our coaches genuinely care for them and treat them like their own children," Thomas said May 11.
Cvijanovic said Friday that Beckman's firing was a "step in the right direction."
"I felt like it was definitely right," he told the Tribune. "But I feel like it's more than just Beckman. I feel like it's a systemic issue."
Attorney Terry Ekl, who represents seven former Illini women's basketball players who filed a lawsuit against the university in July, also said the problems run deeper than one person or one program.
"This is yet another example of the chaos and turmoil which exists within the University of Illinois athletic department under the leadership of Mike Thomas," Ekl said. "The University of Illinois deserves a fresh start with new leadership."
The dismissal is the latest university headline after a summer of administrative departures, scandal and lawsuits over alleged student-athlete mistreatment.
Earlier this week, Provost Ilesanmi Adesida announced his resignation following the recent disclosure that private email accounts were used in an apparent attempt to circumvent state public records law. The emails showed that, beginning in 2014, Chancellor Phyllis Wise, Adesida and others used personal accounts to avoid public scrutiny concerning controversial university decisions.
Wise resigned Aug. 6, one day before about 1,100 pages of emails became public.
The university also is dealing with the $10 million federal lawsuit that alleges the women's basketball program discriminates against black players. The suit, filed last month, alleges that coaches deliberately wanted to decrease the number of African-American players on the team. In addition, the complaint states, coaches held segregated practices, prohibited white players from rooming with black players and described black players as "ghetto."
Outside investigators hired by the university found no wrongdoing on the part of the team's coaches or athletic director Thomas in regards to the basketball program.
A former women's soccer player also filed a lawsuit in June contending the school and its athletic department mishandled her concussion.
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