The University of Minnesota Athletic Department allegedly allowed coaches to interfere with athletes’ medical treatment and retaliated against medical and training staff who raised concerns, according to a 2018 letter from the university’s former director of athletic medicine, Moira Novak. Novak, who oversaw athletic trainers and team physicians for nearly two decades, repeatedly reported her concerns to administrators and the medical director. Her concerns included two coaches handpicking head athletic trainers, bypassing her authority and violating rules regarding medical staff independence. In college sports, medical staff should maintain independence from coaches, prioritizing athlete well-being over team performance.
Novak’s letter to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, first reported by Bloomberg, detailed additional issues. Some trainers and strength coaches used dangerous techniques outside their scope of practice, such as invasive massages, and provided inaccurate medical and nutritional advice. After months of escalating her concerns, Novak’s employment contract was not renewed. She believed her dismissal was due to her advocacy for student-athlete health and safety. Her dismissal occurred under Athletic Director Mark Coyle, and some of the staff she criticized remain employed by the university.
University spokesman Jake Ricker stated that the university investigated the claims, finding some “demonstrably false,” and that claims related to student-athlete well-being were untrue. He cited privacy laws as preventing further information release. Novak’s letter emerged as the athletic department recovered from 2016 scandals involving sexual harassment accusations against Norwood Teague, the dismissal of wrestling coach J Robinson for failing to report illegal drug use, and sexual assault allegations against football and basketball players.
Novak’s letter specifically named former basketball coach Richard Pitino and football coach P.J. Fleck as coaches who handpicked athletic trainers, violating NCAA best practices. She also alleged that coaches pressured medical staff for confidential information and interfered with medical decisions, including one instance where a medically disqualified player was allowed to compete.
Following Novak’s letter, the university hired an outside law firm which, in turn, commissioned the U.S. Council for Athletes’ Health to conduct a review. The resulting report, based on focus group interviews, concluded that independent medical care was provided to student athletes. However, former University of Minnesota professor Jason Stahl criticized the report as a “performance of an investigation,” not a genuine one, citing a potential conflict of interest due to the council president’s role as the Big Ten’s chief medical officer.
Further allegations of a toxic culture within the football program emerged in 2021 and 2023. Reports detailed unnecessarily tough practices resulting in injuries and a system where players could avoid consequences for rule violations by participating in community service. Coach Fleck dismissed these allegations as baseless. The university maintains that internal audits found strong controls and compliance.
The article concludes by noting the changing landscape of college athletics, with athletes now having more power and earning potential through name, image, and likeness deals. However, this new model benefits men’s basketball and football disproportionately, while women’s and Olympic sports receive significantly less sponsorship money. A pending legal settlement could further shift the balance of power by creating revenue-sharing agreements between schools and athletes.