Idaho AD placed on 60-day leave
MOSCOW — Idaho athletic director Rob Spear was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday for 60 days as school officials investigate concerns that he mishandled some past reports of sexual harassment involving student-athletes.
School President Chuck Staben said officials are trying to understand failures to act on sexual harassment complaints made in 2012 and 2013.
“We have a responsibility to provide our students, and our student-athletes, with the best college experience and the most support possible,” Staben said in a press release.
Spear did not immediately return a telephone call and an email seeking comment.
The university said it will continue its internal review and bring in an outside investigator.
Associate athletic director Pete Isakson will serve as acting athletic director.
According to published reports, the incidents involve two female athletes and a female student who reported several instances of harassment by a football player to athletic department staff and to the police.
The Idaho Statesman newspaper in early March reported missteps in the handling of a female diver’s April 2013 complaint against a football player, which included accusations of sexual assault, unwanted physical contact and verbal harassment. The newspaper said Spear did not report the incident to the office of the dean of students.
The newspaper also reported that the university missed two warning signs: a female distance runner telling football officials that the same football player had threatened her two weeks before; also, a third female student was hospitalized with extensive bruises and a very high blood alcohol content after drinking with the same football player in November 2012. The newspaper said the three incidents do not appear to have been connected until this year despite university notification in each case.
“Understanding how we’ve handled situations in the past and how we can improve is essential,” Staben said.
Brian Foisy, vice president for finance and administration, will work with the athletics business office to manage the finance functions of the department.
During the review period, the university will take several actions to address the importance of safety, improved responsiveness and accountability. These include:
- Continuing an internal review and engaging an external investigator regarding behaviors of concern.
- Engaging an external consultant to help leadership better understand what has happened and bolster the training and support of sexual assault prevention, reporting and response throughout the university, with the goal of creating and maintaining an inclusive community where students feel supported for as long as they are part of the local community.
- Hiring additional help to address the workload in the university’s Office of Civil Rights and Investigations. Another position may be hired in the coming months. In the interim, this office will receive any additional support it needs.
At the end of the 60 days, the university will have more information on next steps.
“The goal is to make sure we better understand this situation and how we can both learn from our mistakes and become a leader in responsiveness and transparency,” Staben said.