A scandal might be brewing in Illinois.
I say “might” because the Chicago Tribune story leaves so many questions unanswered. The gist is that Jon Valdez, part of the men’s program that produced Justin Spring and other national team notables, resigned about 10 days ago, citing personal reasons.
But a university spokesperson indicated that Valdez, who was promoted to associate head coach at the end of last season, could be implicated in some sort of camera-found-in-locker-room incident.
Assistant athletic director Kent Brown confirmed Monday that Valdez left his job on Oct. 17 for “personal reasons” but Brown would not confirm that Valdez was being investigated.
Responding to Tribune inquiry, Robin Kaler, the university’s associate chancellor for public affairs, said, “There is an investigation into a camera found in a locker room on campus.”
The school would not confirm that the investigations are connected.
Oh, dear. So he might really have resigned just for personal reasons. Or something else.
Bigger picture is this leaves UIUC down a coach right before the season. The university has apparently already begun addressing that issue.
Ivan Ivankov of Belarus, the two-time world all-around champion, is among those whom the university has interviewed to replace Valdez.
Olympic all-around gold medalist Paul Hamm, whose name has been mentioned as a possible replacement, said Monday via telephone, “I heard the job was open and discussed it with Justin, but (seeking the job) is not an option I intend to pursue.”
On the team website, Yoshi Hayasaki is listed as head coach, with Spring as the only assistant. Hayasaki, a 32-year veteran at Illinois, announced last spring he would retire after this season. The fighting Illini were third behind Oklahoma and Stanford at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
Tags: Ivan Ivankov, Jon Valdez, Justin Spring, Kent Brown, Paul Hamm, Yoshi Hayasaki
October 28, 2008 at 6:00 am |
[...] (via Gymblog) [...]
October 28, 2008 at 6:21 am |
The Illini will be fine. Ivan is a notable gymnast and coach. If he joins the staff it would be a plus.
October 28, 2008 at 4:55 pm |
Scandalous. I know Paul said he wasn’t pursuing this, but that is an interesting idea…
October 29, 2008 at 4:22 am |
[...] Valdez’ September arrest for drunk driving in Waukesha, WI. A mysterious investigation of a "camera-in-the-locker-room" incident has so far not been factually connected to [...]
November 7, 2008 at 6:10 am |
I have read many of the comments/slanderous allegations posted about Jon Valdez and wonder if anyone ever considered investigating the person alleging this information? Everyday someone makes a poor decision and gets behind the wheel with an elevated blood alcohol. This is a fact of life and requires attention.
Interestingly enough the information related to the salacious video camera accusation is being reported as though it was a secretly installed “peep” camera when it was actually a hand held video camera issued by the University and used by the entire team to record routines. In addition, it wasn’t displayed in the locker room. The hand held video camera was stored in a locker within the locker room for safe keeping. Go figure, I thought this was America and you were innocent until proven guilty!