People are wondering why the University of Minnesota hired former athletic director Norwood Teague after allegations that he acted inappropriately while working at multiple schools.
The committee that hired Teague in 2012 says they are “shocked” by the allegations and were unaware of Teague’s past transgressions until after the hiring process, according to twincities.com.
Teague resigned August 7 after allegations surfaced that he had groped two UNM colleagues and sent inappropriate messages to one. Since then other UNM employees have alleged that Teague sexually harassed them. A former female senior athletics director also claimed she was unjustly terminated by Teague in June of 2012.
Perhaps most troubling is the revelation that Teague behaved similarly in his previous job as athletic director of Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU reportedly settled a gender discrimination lawsuit with a woman who coached the women’s basketball team under Teague just months after his hire at UNM. UNM officials say they were unaware of the VCU lawsuit until after Teague’s hire.
The Department of Education is now investigating UNM’s Title IX compliance after allegations that the university’s Athlete Village project disproportionately benefited the school’s male athletes.
UNM Vice President of Internal Audits Gail Klatt is conducting an audit on the athletics department and the university has hired an attorney to investigate Teague’s time with the school.
