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Illinois fires coach Tim Beckman after it confirms allegations of player abuse

Illinois head coach Tim Beckman walks the sidelines during the first quarter of an NCAA football game against Penn State Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Bradley Leeb)
Illinois head coach Tim Beckman walks the sidelines during the first quarter of an NCAA football game against Penn State Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Bradley Leeb)

llinois announced Friday that it has fired head coach Tim Beckman, "citing preliminary results of an external review into allegations involving the program."

The move comes one week before Illinois is slated to open its season against Kent State. Offensive coordinator Bill Cubit, former coach at Western Michigan, will be the interim head coach.

Throughout the offseason, former football players alleged Beckman was mentally, verbally and physically abusive to them. Former offensive lineman Simon Cvijanovic took to Twitter to vent his concerns about abuse he suffered because of Beckman.

According to Cvijanovic, Beckman "uninvited" him from the team's end-of-the-year banquet after the starting left tackle missed the final four games of the year after suffering the labrum tear. Beckman wanted Cvijanovic to play through the season-ending injury.

Illinois hired a law firm to investigate the claims.

Kerry Knight, a tight end, and three other players alleged in a CNN report that Beckman was physical and angry with players.

Recently graduated football player Kenny Knight and three other former players who spoke to CNN say they witnessed two incidents in the past two years in which head coach Tim Beckman was physically rough with players. One player is still on the team and declined through his teammates to talk about what happened. But witnesses said that at the start of one practice, the player ran onto the field with his helmet unbuckled, and Beckman ran over to him, grabbed his face mask and jerked his head back and forth, yelling at him.

In 2013, Knight says, a similar thing happened to him. He says Beckman grabbed and tackled him from behind, throwing him to the ground during a practice. Two former teammates who witnessed the incident backed him up.

Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas had issued support to Beckman saying that feedback he had received from players and players’ families was that Beckman treated his player ‘like his own children.”

Thomas’ tone changed Friday following the release of preliminary findings from the investigation.

“The preliminary information external reviewers shared with me does not reflect our values or our commitment to the welfare of our student-athletes, and I’ve chosen to act accordingly,” Thomas said. “During the review, we have asked people not to rush to judgment, but I now have enough information to make this decision in assessing the status and direction of the football program.”

From the Illinois release:

During a preliminary briefing from the external reviewers, Thomas said he learned of efforts to deter injury reporting and influence medical decisions that pressured players to avoid or postpone medical treatment and continue playing despite injuries. He also said in some instances student-athletes were treated inappropriately with respect to whether they could remain on scholarship during the spring semester of their senior year if they weren’t on the team.

“Both of those findings are unsettling violations of University policy and practice and do not reflect the culture that we wish to create in athletic programs for our young people,” Thomas said. “I expect my coaches to protect players and foster their success on and off the field.”

He said the review continues and a final report has not yet been issued. To date, more than 90 individuals have been interviewed by the Franczek Radelet law firm and 200,000 documents have been reviewed, along with a large volume of practice and game video from Beckman’s three years as head coach.

Beckman came to Illinois from Toledo after the 2011 season. Beckman was reportedly sued in 2013 by a former Toledo player for negligence and violation of Ohio's hazing law. In three seasons at Illinois, Beckman is 12-25.

According to the school, "Beckman will not receive the $3.1 million remaining on the last two years of his original five-year contract or the $743,000 called for if his contract had been bought out."

For more Illinois news, visit OrangeandBlueNews.com.

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