Joke Of The Day: Rutgers Coach Kyle Flood Being Investigated For Contacting A Professor About Grades

CFT- The 2015 season may not start off with a bit of controversy off the field for Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood. NJ.com reports today Flood is being investigated for impermissible contact with a university faculty member over the status of one of his players. The report suggests Flood could ultimately face a suspension, or perhaps even be fired, although that is purely speculation at this point in time. Either way, it sure makes it sound serious.

Per NJ.com‘s Keith Sargeant, the investigation at Rutgers is centered on an email from Flood’s personal email account to a faculty member of Rutgers’ arts school. The player in question is reportedly cornerback Nadir Barnwell, a junior. Barnwell reportedly faces academic ineligibility for the upcoming season. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the punishment Flood could face ranges from a public reprimand to a termination of his contract with the university. If the worst-case scenario plays out, Flood could potentially be out of a job before the start of the season, as the investigation is expected to be wrapped up in short order.

Rutgers prohibits coaches from having direct contact with instructors of student-athletes, which is why Rutgers is investigating this manner. At this point there is no word on whether the NCAA or Big Ten have taken a look to see what is happening, although it would be wise to assume each will monitor the situation closely and weigh in if needed.



​I swear, only at Rutgers could something this trivial become a full blown investigation. A Head Coach of a football team emails a professor about the academic status of one of his players, and all the sudden everyone is ready to call for his firing and public stoning. Are we fucking kidding here? We are just going to act like this is something that doesn't happen, probably to a much worse extent, at every other major athletic University in the country? Is it against the rules for a coach to contact a professor? Apparently it is. So yeah, he's technically in violation of a rule. However, it's a rule that is broken so often that it's hardly ever enforced. This would be like if you ran across the street 20 feet to the left of a crosswalk. Sure, it's technically jaywalking, but if a cop gave you a ticket for it you would have the right to laugh directly in his face. 

There are schools out there that ran full blown rings of fake classes for athletes (looking at you UNC). All the sudden we are going to act like college athletes have earned every passing grade they ever received? Isn't it public information that student athletes sometimes receive preferential treatment in the classroom as well? I thought that was a long standing joke? If anything, Rutgers has been known for it's academic legitimacy throughout the years. So no, I refuse to sit here and think it's big fucking deal that a Head Coach, especially one as respected as Kyle Flood, asked if there were any extra credit opportunities for one of his players. Anything short of going full Tony Soprano and threatening the life of professor in question, and this whole fucking thing is a disgrace to everyone that's making it out to be more than it is. The only person that deserves criticism in this situation is Nadir Barnwell for being so goddamn stupid that he can't make the grade in an Art School summer class. I recognize that Kyle Flood sent that email with his the well being of his football team in mind, but if you think he's the type to be strong arming teachers than clearly you haven't been paying attention the last 4 years. I'll get into this in the next blog, but this is a guy that just sat his star WR and one of the potential starting quarterbacks for a half for breaking curfew. Yeah, that's right. He's sitting college kids, who are imperative to the success of his team, for coming home late. He is clearly a guy that runs a tight ship, and is just as concerned as turning these players into respectable men as he is winning football games. Any hatchet job on his integrity only takes away from the integrity of it's author. 

A look into his statement regarding the matter really shows everything you need to know...

"Let me start by saying I'm disappointed at the tone of the article that (associate athletic director for media relations) Hasim (Phillips) showed me this morning," Flood said. "I've been the head coach now, this is going into my fourth season, and I've had a lot of interaction with the teachers on our campus. I think that that article not only insults my integrity, but insults the integrity of our faculty. I've come to realize that our faculty here at Rutgers is beyond reproach and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them."

"Our faculty are part of our program," Flood said. "Just as recently as the other day, we had two faculty members at our practice. Now, any correspondence that I had with a professor in regard to a student-athlete would really be of this nature: One, to be in support of whatever decision that faculty member made, and two, to inquire as to whether or not there would be an opportunity to earn a better grade. Now, this practice is not unusual at Rutgers. Many students all over campus receive what are called 'T grades' (temporary grades) doing work outside of when the class ends that semester to earn a better grade."