Illinois fires coach week before opener

Coach Tim Beckman (left) was fired by Illinois on Friday, one week before the start of the season. The firing came after Illinois received preliminary results of an investigation into allegations of player mistreatment and inappropriate behavior.
Coach Tim Beckman (left) was fired by Illinois on Friday, one week before the start of the season. The firing came after Illinois received preliminary results of an investigation into allegations of player mistreatment and inappropriate behavior.

The University of Illinois fired Coach Tim Beckman on Friday for mishandling athlete injuries, including instances when he encouraged hurt football players to avoid medical treatment in order to keep playing.

In an unusually frank statement, the university said it dismissed Beckman after receiving the preliminary results of an investigation that showed efforts to deter injury reporting. The early findings also suggest student-athletes were treated inappropriately with respect to whether they could remain on scholarship during the spring semester of their senior year, according to the university.

"The preliminary information external reviewers shared with me does not reflect our values or our commitment to the welfare of our student-athletes, and I've chosen to act accordingly," Athletic Director Mike Thomas said in a statement. "During the review, we have asked people not to rush to judgment, but I now have enough information to make this decision in assessing the status and direction of the football program."

The decision comes at an unfortunate time for the program. The Illini are set to open their season next week.

Bill Cubit, who joined the Illini coaching staff as offensive coordinator in 2013, has been named interim head coach for the 2015 season.

Beckman leaves the Urbana-Champaign campus with a 12-25 record. He will not receive the $3.1 million remaining on the last two years of his original five-year contract or the $743,000 called for if his contract had been bought out, the university said.

The preliminary findings are in keeping with a recent Chicago Tribune investigation that found Beckman discouraged players from resting if injured. The Tribune reached out to nearly 50 players Beckman has coached at the university, many of whom painted a portrait of him as a gruff, confrontational and verbally abusive leader.

The university did not release the investigative report, which officials say has not been finalized. The outside law firm tapped to handle the investigation has interviewed more than 90 people so far and reviewed more than 200,000 documents. It has examined a significant amount of practice and game video from Beckman's three seasons as head coach, according to a release from the university.

Thomas called the findings "unsettling" and said they do not reflect the athletic department's culture.

"I expect my coaches to protect players and foster their success on and off the field," he said.

Thomas' harsh rhetoric, however, stands in stark contrast to his impassioned defense of Beckman earlier this spring after former Illini offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic accused the coach of mistreating players. Cvijanovic lashed out at Beckman on Twitter and in an interview with the Tribune, alleging that Beckman forced him to play and practice through injuries and essentially bullied him off the team.

Dismissing Cvijanovic's claims at the time as "a personal attack," Beckman said the allegations were not substantiated by his own review of school records.

"The feedback I get from players and our players' families is that our coaches genuinely care for them and treat them like their own children," Thomas said May 11.

Cvijanovic said Friday that Beckman's firing was a "step in the right direction."

"I felt like it was definitely right," he told the Tribune. "But I feel like it's more than just Beckman. I feel like it's a systemic issue."

Sports on 08/29/2015

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