Report: Iowa Knew Of Racial Disparities In Football Program Last Year

A report from the Iowa athletic department's Diversity Task Force in early 2019 showed racial disparities within the Hawkeyes' football program, as well as the athletic department.

The task force interviewed 24 current and former student-athletes, as well as staff members and coaches within the athletic department.

The story was first reported on Monday by HawkeyeNation writer Rob Howe.

The football program is currently facing an independent review from Kansas City law firm Husch Blackwell into allegations made in June by former players of racial disparities within the program. The results of the review are expected to be released soon.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said in a press conference last Thursday that he had read the entire report, which came after interviews were conducted in 2018, and had met with his team's leadership group last season to discuss making changes within the program's culture.

Among the changes made were players could wear hats and earrings, along with hooded sweatshirts, in Iowa's football facility.

Ferentz said he had planned to meet with the leadership group later in the 2019 season, but failed to do so.

"They appeared in my mind to be significant, and I think the players were happy with the changes we made," Ferentz said. "I think what we did was good."

Ferentz said he had promised additional meetings, but failed to follow through. He said he "dropped the ball."

“I felt we had a pretty healthy environment, a pretty healthy culture, last December coming off the field in California (after Iowa's win over USC in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego)," Ferentz said. "When we left here on March 13 (for spring break), I felt pretty good about our positioning heading into spring practice.

“A lot of things in the world have changed since then.”

The study, released in March, 2019, found within the athletic department:

Perceived power differentials between students and coaches/leadership prohibiting effective communication.
Perceived differential in disciplinary measures.
Team policies limiting personal authenticity.
A perception shown during the recruiting process suggesting a more inclusive environment.
Lack of connection with the support system (team and community) that recruited them.

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta said during his June 15 press conference that even though the report focused on the entire athletic department, "many of these comments were coming from football.”

In the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May, numerous former Iowa players took to social media to complain about the treatment of Black players within the program, compared to the treatment of White players.

Many of the allegations were focused on comments and actions of strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle. Doyle is no longer with the program, having reached a separation agreement with the university on June 15 after the allegations were made.

The Athletics Diversity Task Force was created in 2018 to address the graduation rates of Black student-athletes within the program. At the time, Iowa ranked last in the Big Ten with a 42% graduation rate of Black male student-athletes.

Among the findings in the full report:

• Black student-athletes "do not feel comfortable being their authentic selves."

• Another student-athlete said, "the White student-athletes are viewed as the standard that African American student-athletes should mold themselves after."

• Nearly all of the student-athletes interviewed reported that their experiences on campus and with the general student body had been positive. But "a few African American student-athletes alluded to the fact that their coaches discouraged involvement in some campus organizations."

• A number of Black student-athletes felt "a sense of isolation."

• One White student-athlete said Black student-athletes are "tested more for drugs" than White student-athletes.

Iowa's football players returned to campus for voluntary workouts on June 8, and spent that first day in a team meeting that was described as "super-raw" by linebacker Djimon Colbert.

Colbert said on Thursday since that meeting, and one the following day, conditions within the program have improved.

Players who normally wouldn’t speak to each other because of different backgrounds, he said, are now talking in the weight room and locker room.

“It’s a very open space,” Colbert said. “Very open discussion.”