GREENSBORO, N.C. — Miami Coach Al Golden on Monday wouldn’t discuss details of new accusations of violations within the Hurricanes program.
Speaking at the Atlantic Coast Conference’s media days last week, Golden said he hadn’t acted unethically. He said Monday that he remains committed to Miami and following NCAA rules.
“We’re just moving forward,” Golden said. “I’m not going to operate any differently than we have. I’m always going to be respectful of people and we’re going to operate with integrity and do things the right way.”
The new allegations surfaced Friday when Yahoo!Sports reported that a former football employee assisted members of Golden’s staff with recruiting. The employee, Sean Allen, has been linked to one-time booster Nevin Shapiro through the improper benefits scandal that broke last year.
The Associated Press reported that NCAA investigators visited Miami for several days earlier this month.
Golden, preparing for his second season with the Hurricanes, wouldn’t discuss specifics of the NCAA investigation. He referred several times to his statement Friday night saying he hadn’t acted unethically, then said Monday he hasn’t had any NCAA violations in his 18-year coaching career.
“What we do need is that we need to get everybody away from our program and let us go to work because we don’t need help,” Golden said. “Let the coaches and the players sell the program and everybody else stay away. We don’t need help.”
Golden said that since Friday, he has received messages of support from about 25 coaches outside the ACC.
Yahoo! Sports first reported Shapiro’s claims last August that he provided dozens of Miami athletes and recruits with extra benefits over an eight-year span. That came eight months after Golden left Temple to replace Randy Shannon at Miami.
Shapiro said he gave Allen - an assistant football equipment manager who left the program last year - more than $200,000, most allegedly spent on players and recruits, as well as a luxury car. Allen denied those claims last year and has not responded to interview requests from the AP.
Yahoo! Sports then reported Friday that Allen tried to aid current assistant Micheal Barrow and former assistant Aubrey Hill, who left shortly after Golden’s arrival and is a Florida assistant. Allen’s phone records showed he made calls to recruits, often moments before or after calling Barrow or Hill, according to the report.
The report listed other alleged violations, such as Allen giving rides to recruits for meetings with coaches.
“There will be a day when I can refute that [article] or discuss that and I look forward to that day,” Golden said Monday. “Now is not the time to do that. But I also don’t want to lose sight of that the person in that whole deal hasn’t been with us for over a year. So we’re not talking about something that happened yesterday. This is behind us. We are moving forward.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 07/24/2012