Kyle Flood‘s off-field chickens have apparently come home to roost for the Rutgers head coach, and it could end up being his football team that suffers the most because of it.
While the school has yet to announce it, nj.com is reporting that Flood has been suspended for three games in the wake of a university investigation into his alleged actions. The probe centered on an email that Flood sent from a private email account to an RU faculty member regarding the eligibility of one of his former football players.
In actuality, the contact between Flood and the faculty member may go deeper than just one email.
The details are coming now. Flood not only emailed the professor, but had an in-person meeting -- and this was after he was told not to.
— Steve Politi (@StevePoliti) September 16, 2015
Good grief. Flood even "provided grammatical and minor editorial suggestions" to a paper in hopes of getting Nadir Barnwell eligible.
— Steve Politi (@StevePoliti) September 16, 2015
If the suspension starts immediately, Flood would be shelved for a road game against Penn State (Sept. 19) and home games against Kansas (Sept. 26) and Michigan State (Oct. 10). He would then be eligible to return for the Oct. 17 road trip to Indiana. It’s unclear how much interaction with his team Flood will be permitted to have between games during the suspension.
In addition to the suspension, Flood was reportedly fined $50,000. It’s believed associate head coach Norries Wilson will take over as interim head coach during Flood’s absence.
Just last Friday, the school’s board met in a private session to discuss what was only described as “athletic matters.” The suspension also comes as the Scarlet Knights have dismissed six football players who had all been arrested either in connection to an on-campus assault or a string of home invasion robberies. Additionally, star wide receiver Leonte Carroo was charged with simple assault after he allegedly slammed a woman into a concrete surface.
UPDATED 4:22 p.m. ET: In a lengthy letter to university personnel and boosters, RU president Robert Barchi both confirmed the punitive measures being taken against Flood and explained the reasoning behind it. You can read the entire text of the missive by clicking HERE and the findings of the report HERE.
The suspension also begins immediately. The sanctions only cover game-day activities, meaning Flood will still be permitted to take part in all of his normal game-week duties, including practices and team meetings.
The university is also consulting with the NCAA to determine if Flood’s actions constituted a violation of any NCAA bylaw.