TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) -
The University of Toledo's (UT) former track and field coach has come under
scrutiny due to an investigation prompted by his possible relationship with a
student athlete.
Kevin Hadsell resigned January 24, just after UT human resources
representatives confronted him with text messages and other information brought
to their attention.
Last fall, UT said their senior women's administrator received an anonymous
call, and the caller's information was forwarded to human resources for an
investigation.
Hadsell denied a relationship with a student more than once, but in
December, a current student athlete came forward with more information.
Text messages were discovered between Hadsell and a female athlete, some
containing sexual content and vulgarities. The messages indicated that Hadsell
had some kind of relationship with the student athlete.
Some of the texts said, "I'm down for drinks, laughs,
sex," and, "Don't mention a word of this to anyone."
Although no NCAA violations were committed, UT Athletic Director Mike
O'Brien said Hadsell's 15 years of successful coaching did not excuse his
behavior.
"We expect our coaches to behave in a manner that's appropriate,"
O'Brien said. "And this was inappropriate, clearly…I can't tell you how
many times I talked with coaches and staff about, ‘When you have that logo on
your shirt, you are representing not only yourself, but that institution, your
team, more than just one person."
An interim coach is currently in place, and the university is searching for
a permanent replacement.
The identity of the student has been protected, but other students felt the
university had every right to confront Hadsell.
"A coach should be like a mentor, someone to look up to, not trying to get
with the track runners," said UT Freshman Treven Flynn. "That's completely
inappropriate."
"I didn't expect it to
happen at UT," Zach Farley, another freshman, added. "But it's definitely
uncalled for."
Copyright 2013 Toledo News Now. All rights reserved.
Kevin Hadsell
