Todd Golden Comments on Accusations Against Assistant

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- A day after a report by ESPN named Florida Gators basketball assistant coach Taurean Green in a sexual assault investigation, head coach Todd Golden expressed support for his assistant during a media availability on Friday.

"I simply want to say I support my staff and would implore people not to rush to judgment based off headlines," Golden said, according to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun. "I think for me I'm really just frustrated and disappointed that a Title IX mechanism that is created is protect both sides during a situation like this with confidentiality and privacy continues to be abused."

Green, who was also Florida's starting point guard during the 2006 and 2007 national championship seasons, will continue his duties as an assistant coach and will be present on the bench when the team hosts Texas on Saturday, Golden said.

In the report, Green is accused of kissing and attempting to put his hand down the pants of a University of Florida athletics employee, who asked to remain anonymous over fears of retaliation. The alleged incident happened in March of 2024 but wasn't reported to UF until this past December after the employee was asked to be interviewed regarding Golden's own interactions with female student athletes.

Golden is currently under a Title IX investigation in which he is accused of sexual misconduct including harassment, stalking and exploitation. Golden has since released a statement admitting to participating in the ongoing investigation while also explaining he has met with a lawyer to advise him on possible defamation claims.

On Friday, Golden said there's nothing that's been done by him or his staff that he's been ashamed of since taking over the program. Golden was hired in the spring of 2022 after taking over the position from Mike White, who left to take the head coaching job at Georgia. Green, meanwhile, joined Golden shortly after as the director of player development before being promoted to an assistant coach the following year.

"Obviously I don't like it, but perception, perception it's not reality and I'm in this program every single day," he said. "I see how our staff acts, I see how our players act. I'm proud of what we've done since I've been here and that's all I can do, keep my head down and keep working."

The No. 5 Gators, fresh off a one-point loss to Missouri to drop to 15-2 on the season, host Texas on Saturday with tipoff at 4 p.m. and television coverage on ESPN2.