A day after the Colorado State football program was paused amid allegations of racism and verbal abuse, the Coloradoan released an investigation regarding the depth of problems in the athletic program.
Mentioned prominently are current AD Joe Parker, football coach Steve Addazio and the man he followed into the job, Mike Bobo.
Those interviewed by the Coloradoan said the erosion of that credibility started at the beginning of Parker’s tenure when he continued to employ Eustachy for four years after the coach was the subject of a scathing internal report regarding player abuse in 2014.
They said that loss of trust continued when Parker failed to address player and staff complaints involving Bobo, who they accused of making racially insensitive comments and verbally harassing assistant coaches, players and staff during his five years. Parker negotiated a $1.825 million buyout of Bobo, who went 28-35, after the 2019 season.
And they said a toxic culture was perpetuated when Parker hired Addazio in December, less than a month after Addazio was fired at Boston College.
Perhaps one of the most stunning allegations is levied at Addazio, who was hired in December.
A member of CSU’s football staff said Addazio has downplayed the COVID-19 health threat and Black Lives Matter movement, which have dominated public discussion in recent months, calling both a “distraction from football” to be managed.
“He’s smart enough not to come right out in public and say it, but he thinks BLM (Black Lives Matter) is a crock of s—, and that has come out in meetings,” said the football staff member who wished to remain anonymous. “When we had the incident with the player (a Black CSU football player was held at gunpoint by a white man while working in Loveland), the players wanted to march with shirts that had BLM on it, make posters and say chants. He told them if you are going to do that we aren’t marching.”
Players on the Rams’ team released a statement on Twitter supporting the coach:
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