West Virginia football coach Neal Brown has had his defensive coordinator, Vic Koenning, placed on administrative leave over allegations of insensitive remarks.
David Kent
AP photo
Five things of interest, to me anyway.
Neal Brown faces a crisis at West Virginia
The former University of Kentucky player and offensive coordinator, heading into his second year as the head coach at West Virginia, had his defensive coordinator, Vic Koenning, placed on administrative leave after a player alleged that Koenning made insensitive remarks.
Safety Kerry Martin posted the allegations on Twitter.
— Kerry “KJ” Martin Jr. (@KMartinJr11) June 23, 2020
West Virginia Athletic Director Shane Lyons announced the move Tuesday. Koenning came to West Virginia with Brown from Troy, where Brown went 35-16 as head coach from 2015-18. Before that, Brown was offensive coordinator at UK (2013-14), Texas Tech (2010-12) and Troy (2008-09). He went 5-7 in his first season as WVU’s head coach last year.
Koenning was defensive coordinator at Clemson (2005-08), Kansas State (2009) and Illinois (2010-11). He was assistant head coach at North Carolina (2012-14) before joining Brown at Troy in 2015.
“I come to you tonight sick about today’s events. Earlier today, Kerry Martin expressed his voice and he had every right to do so. I first learned about Kerry’s stated concerns via Twitter. I care deeply about everyone involved and have waited to speak publicly so that I could first speak with Kerry, Vic, the team, and our administration.
“After speaking with Kerry, I took immediate action. Along with Shane and his team, we launched an independent investigation. I spoke with all parties involved, the defense as a unit and the team as a whole. I again emphasized to our team that our program culture will be one of acceptance, respect, tolerance, and positive relationships. I stressed to our team and staff that we will be open and transparent throughout the University process.
“I will refrain from further conversation or comment about these issues until the University process is complete. I ask everyone to be patient as we work through this process as quickly as possible. We will listen, learn and grow from this together, as a family, to become even more united.”
Maybe. Yes, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred has instituted a 60-game season and the MLB Players Association has all but agreed. There is one more hoop to jump through before spring training starts on July 1 with the season opening on July 24.
But can baseball make it to that point without COVID-19 interruptions or an out-and-out delay. In his baseball newsletter, Joe Sheehan isn’t so sure.
“I doubt that baseball will be able to complete its season,” he writes. “I cannot say for sure what will bring it to a halt, nor do I even think it will be a single factor. It’s all that accumulated risk, against a backdrop of a nation not doing enough to protect itself, that convinces me this will not succeed. Moreover, I don’t think baseball is important enough to put that risk on the players or the people around the game. As I see it, we don’t have enough control over the virus or COVID-19 to safely put on even a fractured baseball season. I hope I’m wrong; my sense is that baseball will struggle to get to an Opening Day, which is also how I feel about the return of the NHL and NBA.”
I hope he’s wrong, but I’m with Joe.
Mitch Barnhart gets a C+
At least that’s the opinion of Jeff Goodman and Brett McMurphy, who combined to do a ranking of SEC athletic directors for Stadium. The rankings were based on the ADs’ hirings of football and basketball coaches and was not restricted to just the current schools.
For example, Barnhart received a B- for football, thanks in part to his hirings of Dennis Erickson at Oregon State and Rich Brooks at Kentucky. He got a C+ for basketball because of the hirings of Ritchie McKay and Jay John at Oregon State and Billy Gillispie at UK.
At the top of the SEC list: LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward.
The University of Cincinnati is removing Marge Schott’s name from its baseball stadium and a library archive in light of her racist comments while owner of the Cincinnati Reds. The school’s board of trustees unanimously approved the move Tuesday, a dozen days after a Catholic high school also decided to remove references to Schott from its facilities. Over the years, UC students, faculty and alumni have objected to Schott’s name on school facilities, but no changes were made. John Goff AP
No more Marge Schott for UC baseball
The University of Cincinnati voted Tuesday to remove Schott’s name from the school’s baseball stadium. It had been named Marge Schott Stadium since 2006, two years after her death, and following a $2 million donation her foundation made to the school.
“Schott’s record of racism and bigotry stands at stark odds with our University’s core commitment to dignity, equity and inclusion,” a statement from UC President Neville Pinto said.
Of course Major League Baseball forced Schott to sell her majority ownership in the Cincinnati Reds in 1998 for racist comments. The seminal piece on Schott was written by Rick Reilly back in 1996.
Andrew Nembhard picks Gonzaga
The former Florida guard is casting his lot with the Zags. Nembhard will have to sit out the 2020-21 season, but will have two years of remaining eligibility after that. He averaged 11.2 points and 5.6 assists per game for the Gators last season after averaging eight points and 5.4 assists as a freshman in 2018-19.
Meanwhile, Gonzaga’s Mark Few continues to load up on transfers. Kyle Wiltjer, Nigel Williams-Goss, Jonathan Williams and Brandon Clarke are just a few of the Zags who excelled after transferring to Gonzaga.
“There’s a history of having success with sit-out transfers,” said Nembhard in a release. “I feel that I will get a lot better as a player. I’m really looking to work on my body, getting it where it needs to be, getting as healthy as possible and then keep improving my shot.”
Like Wiltjer, who played at Kentucky before transferring to Gonzaga, Nembhard is from Canada, having grown up near Toronto. Kevin Pangos, Kelly Olynyk, Robert Sacre and Clarke are other Canadians who have played for Few.
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 7:48 AM.
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky, he covered UK football from 1987 until being named sports columnist in 2000. He has covered 20 Final Fours and 42 consecutive Kentucky Derbys.Support my work with a digital subscription
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