IOWA CITY (KMTV) — Iowa football head strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle has been placed on administrative leave pending a review after multiple African-American former Hawkeye players expressed their concern with Doyle on social media.
Head coach Kirk Ferentz released a video statement Saturday evening:
This is a defining moment for the Iowa Hawkeye Football program: pic.twitter.com/ckEH39QVki
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) June 6, 2020
Here's a portion of the statement:
"This is a defining moment for the Iowa Hawkeye football program. Over the past 24 hours I have seen some difficult and heartbreaking posts on social media...Many of the discussions have centered around our Strength and Conditioning program and Coach Chris Doyle. I have spoken with him about the allegations on social media. They are troubling and have created a lasting impact on those players. Therefore, Coach Doyle has been placed on administrative leave immediately while there is an independent review."
Former Hawkeye Emmanuel Rugamba wrote a detailed message on Twitter late Friday night describing a few of his experiences with Doyle.
— Emmanuel Rugamba (@BooRadd_) June 6, 2020
Doyle released a response through his Twitter account on Sunday afternoon.
Doyle is reportedly the highest paid strength and conditioning coach in the country making $800,000 per year. The Hawkeyes are scheduled to begin team summer workouts on Monday. Ferentz also lifted the Twitter ban he had in place for current players. The 64-year-old Ferentz is Iowa's winningest coach racking up 162 victories during his 21 seasons with the Hawkeyes.
