UC Berkeley team doctor suspended while investigated
A University of California Berkeley team doctor has been on leave since December while a law firm hired by the school conducts an investigation into allegations of misconduct against the physician, the Southern California News Group has learned.
Dr. Kent Scheff, an associate team physician for Cal's athletic teams, was placed on “investigatory leave” on December 15, a spokesman for the school confirmed.
“As per policies that protect privacy, personnel issues and due process, all we are able to say is that Dr. Scheff remains on investigatory leave,” Cal said in a statement to SCNG.
The revelation of Scheff's leave comes against the backdrop of three investigations into allegations of bullying by Cal women's swimming head coach Teri Mckeever recounted to the SCNG by 36 current or former Golden Bears Cal swimmers and divers, 17 parents, a former member of the Cal men's swimming and diving squad, two former coaches and two former Cal athletic department employees.
The investigation into Scheff was prompted by complaints last year by Cal female athletes who alleged misconduct by the doctor, according to a UC Berkeley athlete who has been interviewed by attorneys hired by the university.
Female Cal athletes were contacted by Jamie Luguri, an attorney for the Los Angeles office of the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson in February, according to emails and the woman interviewed for the investigation.
“We are investigating a confidential matter on behalf of UC Berkeley regarding allegations of misconduct involving a UC Berkeley medical provider,” Luguri wrote in an email to a Cal athlete. “We believe you may have relevant information.”
The documents did not detail the nature and extent of the alleged misconduct.
Attempts to reach Scheff were unsuccessful.
Munger, Tolles & Olson was also retained by Cal last month to investigate the allegations against Mckeever in a series of reports by SCNG. The swimmers and their supporters recounted how Mckeever allegedly routinely bullied swimmers, often in deeply personal terms, or used embarrassing or traumatic experiences from their past against them, used racial epithets, body-shamed and pressured athletes to compete or train while injured or dealing with chronic illnesses or eating disorders, even accusing some women of lying about their conditions despite being provided medical records by them.