{"id":2301146,"date":"2024-07-19T16:12:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T20:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-utah-state-football-coach-fired-calls-investigation-a-sham\/"},"modified":"2024-07-19T16:13:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T20:13:42","slug":"ex-utah-state-football-coach-fired-denounces-investigation-as-sham-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-utah-state-football-coach-fired-denounces-investigation-as-sham-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Utah State Football Coach Fired, Denounces Investigation as &#8216;Sham"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fex-utah-state-football-coach-fired-denounces-investigation-as-sham-5%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2301146&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former Utah State coach Blake Anderson was fired for &#8220;convenience&#8221; and not for cause, according to his\u200d response to the school&#8217;s termination letter. The \u2063investigation that led to his dismissal was deemed a &#8220;sham&#8221; by Anderson&#8217;s attorney. Utah State notified him \u200bof its intent to \u200bdismiss for cause after an investigation\u2063 found he failed to comply with Title IX policies regarding the\u2062 reporting of sexual misconduct\u200d cases. Anderson&#8217;s response\u200d stated that the university failed to \u2064understand its policies and violated\u2064 standards for a professional \u200binvestigation. The response concluded that Utah State owes \u2064Anderson his full buyout and a public apology. University President Elizabeth Cantwell stated that the decision was made based on the facts. Anderson, who had a Mountain West title in three\u200b seasons at \u200dUtah State, is seeking his buyout of $4.5 million and a public apology.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section>\n<p>Former Utah State coach Blake Anderson&rsquo;s response to the school&rsquo;s termination letter says that he was fired for &ldquo;convenience,&rdquo; not for cause, and that the investigation that led to his dismissal was a &ldquo;sham.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Anderson&rsquo;s attorney, Tom Mars, posted excerpts from the 70-page response that was provided to the school earlier this week&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TomMarsLaw\/status\/1814339519245914370\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on social media<\/a> on Friday. Anderson&rsquo;s firing was made official Thursday. Utah State notified him of its intent to dismiss for cause July 2 after an investigation found he failed to comply with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/federal-judge-blocks-bidens-transgender-title-ix-changes-slams-admin-abuse-power\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Title IX<\/a> policies regarding the reporting of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/family-5-completely-shattered-discovering-dads-hidden-folder-horrifying-situation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sexual misconduct cases<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These reporting requirements include a prohibition on employees outside the USU Office of Equity from investigating issues of sexual misconduct, including domestic violence,&rdquo; the school said. &ldquo;Additionally, Anderson failed to manage the team in a manner that reflects USU&rsquo;s academic values.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The response said the university began its investigation last year following an incident that occurred in April 2023. The document referred to Kansas&rsquo; dismissal of then-football head coach David Beaty in 2018 as starting a trend in college sports where schools attempt to manufacture reasons to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-utah-state-football-coach-fired-denounces-investigation-as-sham-3\/\" title=\"Ex-Utah State Football Coach Fired, Denounces Investigation as &#039;Sham\">fire highly paid coaches<\/a> without paying the agreed upon buyout.<\/p>\n<p>Beaty won a $2.5 million settlement with Kansas. Anderson was under contract through 2027, and his contract called for a buyout.<\/p>\n<p>  <script> \t\t\t\tif( ! getCookie( 'ff_subbed' ) ) if( typeof FFADS.replace_ict !='undefined' ) if( FFADS.replace_ict ) eval( FFADS.replace_ict ); \t\t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The response said Utah State failed to understand the limitations of its policies and violated standards for a professional investigation while &ldquo;grasping at straws to find cause.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The result, the response said, was false allegations against Anderson.<\/p>\n<p>The response concluded that Utah State owes Anderson his full buyout &mdash; which stood at $4.5 million as of last December, according to USA Today&rsquo;s coaches&rsquo; salary database &mdash; and a public apology.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;While I recognize that today&rsquo;s decision has a significant impact, it is the only one that could be made based on the facts. We are committed to moving forward in building a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-utah-state-football-coach-fired-denounces-investigation-as-sham-2\/\" title=\"Ex-Utah State Football Coach Fired, Denounces Investigation as &#039;Sham\">winning athletics program grounded<\/a> in student success and integrity,&rdquo; university President Elizabeth Cantwell said in a statement Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Anderson, 55, was 23-17 with a Mountain West title in three seasons at Utah State. He went 6-7 in each of the last two seasons. He is 74-54 in 10 seasons as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-utah-state-football-coach-fired-denounces-investigation-as-sham\/\" title=\"Ex-Utah State Football Coach Fired, Denounces Investigation as &#039;Sham\">major college football coach<\/a>, including seven seasons at Arkansas State.<\/p>\n<p>The Aggies open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Robert Morris.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> <label>* Name<\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> <\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> <label>* <\/label> <br \/> <input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> <\/div>\n<p> <label>* Message<\/label> <br \/> <textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea>  <\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\">  <\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\">  <\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\">   <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Utah State coach Blake Anderson&#8217;s response to the termination letter from the school indicates that he believes he was fired for convenience rather than for a valid reason. He claims that the investigation leading to his dismissal was not conducted properly. Anderson&#8217;s attorney shared excerpts from the response on social media, stating that the university failed to understand its own policies and violated standards for a professional investigation. The response also mentioned a trend in college sports where schools try to find reasons to fire highly paid coaches without paying the agreed-upon buyout, citing a similar case with a coach from Kansas. Anderson is seeking his full buyout, which was $4.5 million as of last December, and a public apology from Utah State. The university&#8217;s president, Elizabeth Cantwell, stated that the decision to fire Anderson was based on facts and the commitment to building a successful athletics program. Anderson had a winning record at Utah State and previously coached at Arkansas State<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2301147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2b24276a86434b6ea27ea9541ba4c723-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[35612,4418,3976,6626,35611],"class_list":["post-2301146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-coach-fired","tag-denounces","tag-investigation","tag-sham","tag-utah-state-football"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2b24276a86434b6ea27ea9541ba4c723-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2301146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2301146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2301146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2301147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2301146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2301146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2301146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}