Suspension an uncommon penalty

By NATHAN HATHAWAY

In recent NCAA history, administrative leave has been a disciplinary action reserved for serious or extreme offenses.

The Fresno State athletic department, which last week placed women’s basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein on paid administrative leave, has not given specifics as to why Johnson-Klein was suspended and when — or if — she will return to the sidelines.

An official statement released last week said only that Johnson-Klein was being suspended pending an investigation into allegations she violated university policy and committed two secondary NCAA violations.

Channel 30 news reported Thursday night that Johnson-Klein’s suspension was in response to what university officials deemed was “inappropriate attire” Johnson-Klein wore in a photo for the winter issue of HiS Magazine, a local men’s magazine.

In the photo, which ran with the transcript of a question-and-answer session with Johnson-Klein in a feature called “The Hot Sheet,” the coach is wearing a low-cut top with lace trim.

Contacted Thursday night on his cell phone, assistant athletic director Steve Weakland said he could not comment on the situation.

HiS Magazine released an official statement Thursday night saying “The (Hot Sheet) feature was certainly not intended to create controversy for either party (Johnson-Klein or the athletic department), and it is the sincere desire of this publication to see a mutually beneficial conclusion between them.”

In the past 10 years, NCAA Division-I programs have placed just six coaches and one athletic director on paid administrative leave, and in each case, the investigation covered serious NCAA violations, serious ethical violations, or crimes.

In 2004, four Division-I coaches were placed on paid leave for offenses ranging from major recruiting violations to hindering rape investigations to soliciting a prostitute.

No Fresno State coach had ever been placed on administrative leave before Johnson-Klein. Former men’s basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian oversaw a program that was found to have committed numerous NCAA violations, and current men’s coach Ray Lopes admitted to committing secondary violations two years ago, but neither coach was ever suspended.

The last time a coach was suspended at a California State University was in October 1998, when Cal State, Northridge women’s basketball coach Michael Abraham was placed on paid administrative leave after the FBI announced Abraham was being arrested on drug charges.

The most recent case of a Division-I coach being placed on paid administrative leave was in November, when a University of Missouri associate head coach committed at least 20 NCAA violations and spent almost $5,500 in impermissible benefits for recruits.

In July, LaSalle University in Philadelphia placed both its men’s and women’s basketball coaches on paid leave after they allegedly discouraged a women’s basketball player from reporting being raped by a member of the men’s team.

In April, Utah State athletic director Rance Pugmire resigned after he was placed on paid leave following his arrest for drunken driving.