INDIANAPOLIS — Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck brushed off allegations that he runs a toxic program on Thursday, saying they mostly come from players and employees who have been dismissed or departed on their own.
“These allegations are baseless,” Fleck said during Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium. “We have full support of our athletic director, Mark Coyle, and our university leadership. This is a similar story that gets peddled every single year, and the majority of the players have been dismissed or removed from our football team.”
Multiple former players and employees have been quoted anonymously in reports, including by Front Office Sports, examining the program’s culture, including an accusation that Fleck has interfered with medical protocols to get injured players to return earlier than anticipated.
“We also have around a half-dozen anonymous reporting avenues within our football program that players can go to if they have an issue,” Fleck said. “And our athletic director, Mark Coyle, gives his cellphone number to every single football player to call him if they have any issue. To this date, there have been zero claims on this issue. Zero.”
Fleck said he knows where most of the complaints have originated.
“Oh absolutely, players talk,” he said. “Players have a lot of pride in what and how we do it. Sometimes, the negative voices are the loudest voices.
“Look at our team’s response, that’s going through that culture and that program right now. ... You’ve got to make some really hard decisions. You stand firm on what you believe in. You’re as transparent as you can possibly be. Our administration, they know what we do and how we do it. They’re there all the time.”
Fleck is entering his seventh season with the Gophers. He is 44-27 with four bowl victories.
“My energy needs to be on the 2023 football team, and that only, and not the baseless allegations,” he said.
