Barta Says He Hasn't Seen Anything At Practices That Has 'Crossed The Line'
Numerous former Iowa football players alleged racial disparities and mistreatment within the program in allegations on social media two weeks ago.
The allegations have led to an independent review of the program that will be conducted in the next few weeks, and the university coming to a separation agreement with strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle, who was mentioned in many of the allegations.
Iowa athletics director Gary Barta, who travels with the football team during the season and attends practices, said he has not seen anything that has "crossed the line" when he has been at those practices.
Iowa AD Gary Barta pauses during an emotional press conference on Monday. (Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen for USA Today Sports)
"To answer your question directly — did I ever see anything that raised a flag as it pertains to this? The answer is no," Barta said during his press conference on Monday. "Do I see coaches yelling and screaming? Yes. Yelling and screaming is going to occur in coaching.
"The way I always differentiate it, if someone uses a bad word, that doesn’t cross a line. If someone yells really loud, that doesn’t cross a line. Where I see crossing a line is when it becomes personal and not about whatever it is that is trying to be corrected. To answer your question, no, I didn’t see anything that crossed a line in the time that I’ve been here."
Barta said he tries to attend at least one practice per week during the regular season, and "one or two" practices during spring workouts.
Barta said he has been in the strength and conditioning room of Iowa's football building many times, but hasn't been in there when workouts were being conducted.
Barta said the allegations made in recent days caught him off-guard, "because I've not heard it from specifics like that."
