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Iowa football head strength coach Chris Doyle placed on administrative leave

Chris Doyle
Posted at 6:41 PM, Jun 06, 2020
and last updated 2020-06-07 19:47:53-04

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:

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.

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.