Iowa strength coach out . . . with $1.1M
Longtime University of Iowa football strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle won’t be returning to the field after multiple former players accused him of racism.
The athletic department announced Monday that it had reached a $1.1 million separation agreement with Doyle that entitles him to 15 months’ salary, or two payments of $556,249.50. He’ll also receive health and dental benefits through Sept. 1, 2021, or until he finds employment elsewhere.
Doyle, who was hired in 1999, was put on administrative leave on June 6 after a group of players shared stories of racism during their time in the program.
Former Iowa defensive back Diauntae Morrow claimed that Doyle threatened to send him “back to the ghetto,” while defensive back Manny Rugamba accused Doyle of telling a black player he’d “put you back on the streets.”
Cedric Boswell, who left in June 2018 and is now a defensive back at Miami University, claimed Doyle once forced him to “dig my hand in the trash can in front of the team” to retrieve a nearly empty water bottle, then “made a big scene about it.”
“Coach Doyle is the problem in that building,” tweeted Jaleel Johnson, who now plays defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings.
Doyle, the highest paid strength and conditioning coach in college football, denied all allegations.
“I have been asked to remain silent, but that is impossible for me to do,” he said in a statement earlier this month. “There have been statements made about my behavior that are not true. I do not claim to be perfect. I have made mistakes, learned lessons and like every American citizen, can do better. At no time have I ever crossed the line of unethical behavior or bias based upon race. I do not make racist comments and I don’t tolerate people who do.”
The athletics department also announced that it has hired a Kansas City law firm to investigate the allegations against Doyle.
In a statement Monday, Doyle said he is “grateful” to Iowa football and “confident that my record and character will be confirmed in the course of the independent review.”
The Big Ten has created a voter registration initiative to go along with its Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition, hoping its 14 schools and thousands of student-athletes can leverage their platform to spur social change.
“It all fits together,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said in a telephone interview. “I’m hopeful that what we do here will be able to lead the way for colleges around the world.”
Warren, the first black commissioner of a Power Five conference, said the announcement Monday of the voting initiative finalizes plans that have been in the works since February.
Warren hopes the nonpartisan program will encourage student-athletes to become part of the electoral process.