Former Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Jerry Kill is the latest person to join the choir of cries against the recent firing of Tracy Claeys.
The Gophers fired Claeys on Tuesday, after a season-and-a-half at the university. Claeys’ departure likely had something to do with his bizarre defense on Twitter of 10 of his players accused of sexual assault. After that tweet, hundreds of people signed a petition requesting he be fired.
Have never been more proud of our kids. I respect their rights & support their effort to make a better world! 〽️🏈
— Tracy Claeys (@t_claeys) December 16, 2016
Players reportedly aren’t happy with the decision and neither is Kill, the man who coached the Gophers from 2011-2015 before health problems forced him to resign. Kill told ESPN he’ll never step in the Gophers home stadium again.
“I will never step foot in TCF Bank Stadium or the football facility ever again,” Kill said on 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, according to Phil Mackey, a host on the station.
Kill is was recently hired as Rutgers’ offensive coordinator, meaning he’s back in the Big Ten, alongside his former school.
I’m trying my best to understand the point of view from both Kill and the players. They lost their coach and that sucks. But Claeys supporting his players through a sexual assault scandal isn’t a good look. Administrators took offense with it, and surely that was a reason for his firing. It’s not a rash decision but a perfectly reasonable one.
Enjoy never stepping in TCF Bank Stadium Mr. Kill. You’re really making quite the courageous stand.
[Landof10]
