Colorado Basketball Faces Sexual Harassment Charges: Colorado officials are investigating another sexual harassment allegation. This time it is with the men’s basketball program.
The school is investigating an alleged incident involving a former employee of the basketball team. University officials did not release details but said the investigation includes an inquiry into whether there also was a failure to report the incident. Athletic director Mike Bohn told the Associated Press he could not comment. The investigation was being handled by the school’s Office of Discrimination and Harassment, which said it was also investigating a racial harassment allegation. The school also didn’t release details of the racial allegation, but Calvin Williams, who is transferring to another school, told the Daily Camera that coach Ricardo Patton once tried to motivate his team by implying that darker-skinned players were tougher.
The men’s basketball program is the second major sport at the school to be slapped with allegations involving players or staff. A federal lawsuit filed by two women who claimed they were sexually assaulted at an off-campus party in 2001 opened an investigation into the school’s football program that erupted into a football recruiting scandal, which eventually led to the resignations of several Buffalo officials over allegations that the football program used sex and alcohol to entice top recruits. Since early 2002, the school has seen the resignations of president Betsy Hoffman, Boulder campus chancellor Richard Byyny, athletic director Dick Tharp and football coach Gary Barnett. [6/20/06]
