External review of Iowa football program details racial bias, finds support for Kirk Ferentz to fix issues

IOWA CITY, Iowa — An investigation of Iowa's football culture revealed that Black players often felt they were treated harshly but largely exonerated head coach Kirk Ferentz of being the root of the problem.

The report by the Husch Blackwell law firm was released by the school Thursday and was consistent with the complaints raised in the past two months by many Black former Hawkeyes — namely that they felt the need to conform to an "Iowa way" of doing things that "was built around the stereotype of a clean-cut, White athlete from a midwestern background."

"In sum, the program’s rules perpetuated racial or cultural biases and diminished the value of cultural diversity," the report reads. "The program over-monitored players to the point that they experienced heightened anxiety and maintained a culture that allowed a small group of coaches to demean players."

In addition to what was included in the 28-page report, the law firm also provided the university with four "personnel reports" about unspecified current and former employees of the department that will remain confidential. That means that only former strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle will be removed from his position, which occurred June 14 with a $1.1 million settlement that included no admission of wrongdoing. Offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, Kirk Ferentz's son, and linebackers coach Seth Wallace both had allegations of abusive language made about them last month, but Doyle was most often singled out by former players for abusive treatment.

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"Players and coaches uniformly agreed that the Iowa football program is based on a foundation of discipline and accountability," the report reads. "Several current and former players shared the view that some coaches have used those values to create and perpetuate an environment that bullies and demeans athletes, especially Black athletes."

The report asks athletic director Gary Barta and Kirk Ferentz "to create action steps aimed at improving the culture of the program, eliminating biases, encouraging student-athletes to report concerns of mistreatment, and amplifying the University’s policy statement against retaliation within the football program."

"While many players shared criticisms about the program generally or their personal experiences with certain coaches, most players commented positively about Head Coach Kirk Ferentz and his leadership of the program," the report read. 

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In a university news release Thursday, Iowa President Bruce Harreld said:

“It is clear that the climate and culture must and will change within our football program. Our student-athletes must have the ability to be true to themselves, and we cannot and will not tolerate a systemic process that inhibits authenticity.”

Kirk Ferentz issued a statement on through Iowa football's Twitter account.

"This is an important time for me as a leader and for our program. This Review brings us face-to-face with allegations of uneven treatment, where our culture that mandated uniformity caused many Black players to feel they were unable to show up as their authentic selves. 

"I want to apologize for the pain and frustration they felt at a time when I was trusted to help each of them become a better player, and a better person."

Barta and Ferentz are scheduled to meet with the media at 1 p.m. Thursday.

The law firm conducted 111 interviews, primarily of current Hawkeye players, coaches and staff members. Fifty-two percent of those interviewed are Black. Lawyers spoke to 74 current and former Hawkeye football players, and concluded that most of them were supportive of Ferentz, who has been head coach since 1999, the longest-tenured in FBS. The bulk of the players interviewed — 45 of them — are on the current roster. The report said those players "were uniform in their belief that the environment in the football program has improved significantly since the inception of this review."

Those interviewed included 27 current coaches or staff members, nine former staffers and one parent of a former player. No coach other than Kirk Ferentz and Doyle are mentioned by name in the report.

"Many current and former players told investigators that three members of the coaching staff abused their power and verbally abused and bullied players," the report reads, meaning that at least two of those coaches remain employed at Iowa.

The report adds: "According to several players, issues within the culture were 'not just a Chris Doyle problem.' Those players said the culture problems are systemic and cannot be fixed simply by getting rid of one coach. Several former players commented that Coach Doyle should not be a 'scapegoat' for the systemic issues in the program."

The investigation revealed a disconnect between what players saw as the meaning of the "Iowa way" and what coaches considered it. Many players saw it as pure conformity and as a way for coaches to arbitrarily single out some for punishment. There was a pervasive fear of ending up on a coach's "list."

"The general sense among those players was that once a player was labelled or placed on a list, their playing time was negatively affected, and the player was treated like a 'bad kid.' Almost every player who mentioned the 'lists' said it was very hard, if not impossible, to come off the list," the investigators concluded.

Black players at Iowa outlined ways in which they felt they were treated differently than their white peers, including things like their style of hair, clothing and jewelry and even what music was playing in the football facility. They believe that even extended to politics.

"One former player asserted that the coaches previously told them not to take a knee during the national anthem because they should 'keep politics and football separate,' yet White players were allowed to wear MAGA hats and present an Iowa jersey to President Trump during his presidential campaign," the report said.

Ferentz claimed that the players did that without his knowledge and said he is changing his way of thinking on that topic.

"He wants the players to support and respect one another, even if they have different political views," the report said of Ferentz, who was among those interviewed.

Ferentz has said he's now open to the idea of his players staging some sort of demonstration during the national anthem, but that he wants them to be unanimous in that undertaking.

There are other indications in the report that Ferentz is changing his policies based on what he has learned, including:

Not being so stringent on weight requirements for each player, a point of contention by many who said a prior obsession about this led to unhealthy eating habits.

Relaxing the use of sleep bands that track the amount of rest each player is getting at night. Doyle had touted the benefits of these, but players claimed they were the cause of stress and that they would be singled out in front of the team if they were deemed to be not getting enough sleep. They saw them as another way for coaches to control their behavior. Ferentz said in the report he now wants them to be purely an educational tool, that only he will view the data, and that any discussions will be held privately with individual players.

Moving the drug-testing apparatus outside of the football facility to ensure more privacy for those being tested. Ferentz denied, however, that Black players were more likely to be subject to the tests, which some claimed.

These are in addition to changes Ferentz has already implemented, like allowing players to wear earrings, caps and hoodies in the football facility, letting them be active on Twitter, and forming an advisory group of 10 former Hawkeyes to help him improve the experiences of his Black athletes.

Iowa announced the investigation June 15, the day after it parted ways with Doyle. He had been at Iowa for 21 years and was the highest-paid college strength coach in the country at $800,000 annually. His million-dollar payout came at a time when the university athletic department was absorbing $15 million in cutbacks because of the financial toll the COVID-19 pandemic is taking on sports.

Husch Blackwell assigned three lawyers to the Iowa probe — Hayley Hanson, Demetrius Peterson and Kristine Zayko. Barta said at the time that the interviews and subsequent report would be done in weeks, not months. The law firm was chosen by Iowa's general counsel office, which also oversaw the work and will keep the full contents of the report confidential. The university only released a summary of the findings.

The outpouring of former Hawkeye football players who questioned their treatment while on the team began June 5 after coach Kirk Ferentz went on national TV to discuss the team's response to the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police. Faith Ekakitie and James Daniels were among recent Black players at Iowa who said they were treated differently because of their race. Others, like Jaleel Johnson and Amani Hooker, soon offered their own criticisms.

In response, Ferentz admitted that he had "blind spots" with regard to the experiences of his Black athletes during his 21 seasons leading the Hawkeyes. He now gets to continue his efforts to try to change the way his athletes are treated, and the outside perception of his program, which has been damaged by what has been revealed in recent weeks.