New Mexico has suspended Bob Davie in the wake of an outside investigation. It is currently only a 30-day suspension, but it is worth noting there is a lot going on.
A Chicago law firm, one hired by the school to investigate several allegations concerning Davie, is recommending leadership (via the Albuquerque Journal):
"take strong action to ensure that the University does not and will not — in any aspect of the University's program, including athletics —tolerate sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical abuse or other prohibited misconduct against its students." It is also urging greater oversight of the athletic department and other units "with respect to their handling of incidents of alleged misconduct" following its recent probe, according to the report it filed with UNM last month.
At the start of the season, the nation learned Davie was being investigated.
The following is NSFW and is a bit graphic:
In regards to a rape allegation from a female student about one of the players, witnesses told Bruce Black, a retired federal judge who was part of an earlier investigation, that Davie had "held an all team meeting in which he told the players to 'get some dirt on this whore.'" The current investigators could not confirm that part of the story.
Here is where things get even more iffy.
The report states Davie met with a campus police officer to help undermine the credibility of a female student accusing one of his players of wrongdoing by way of a video.
"Coach Davie argued that the video, which showed the student making comments about breaking up with someone but did not mention (the accused player) undermined the female student's credibility by showing she was seeking revenge and continued to advocate on the (accused player's) behalf with the officer," the report states.
New Mexico has released the following statement:
"Both (investigations) identified blind-spots as well as instances where UNM policies have been violated and outdated practices persist regarding University reporting processes. Although UNM has clear policies, procedures and options for reporting misconduct and has made important progress in simplifying these options, gaps still exist. We will close the gaps and will not accept confusion or ignorance of policies as an excuse. Behavior that violates our policies will not be tolerated. We will intensify our efforts to educate our campus community and change the culture of accountability within the University.
New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas — who had already begun an investigation into athletics department issues — announced Thursday he would expand it.
"We will never tolerate a university culture that denies students their basic rights through illegal discrimination or retaliation against those who report sexual misconduct. Our criminal and civil investigation into the University of New Mexico includes the handling of these issues and we are reviewing the actions of officials from top to bottom and any other organizations involved."
Davie is primarily known for his tenure as the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and, after that, he spent considerable time as an on-air personality in the college football world over at ESPN. Since then, Davie was hired as the head coach at New Mexico prior to the 2012 season.
