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.
|
