UF basketball coach Todd Golden cleared of Title IX allegations

Florida coach Todd Golden has been cleared of Title IX allegations (Photo by Chris Spears)

The University of Florida has dropped its Title IX investigation of basketball coach Todd Golden. A statement released Monday morning said, “After a thorough investigation that included dozens of interviews over the past months, the University of Florida has found no evidence that Todd Golden violated Title IX. The Title IX office has closed its investigation.”

The Independent Florida Alligator reported that women including University of Florida students accused Golden of stalking, cyberstalking, sexual harassment and exploitation. According to the student newspaper, Golden’s accusers claimed he made uninvited sexual advances on Instagram and sent photos and videos of his genetalia. Allegedly, Golden stalked the women, taking photos of them walking or driving their cars as well as showing up at locations where he knew the women would be.

A formal complaint was filed through the Title IX office on September 27. The University of Florida used Grand River Solutions of California to conduct its investigation, but no evidence was found to support the allegations.

Golden was never suspended by UF but the coach did hire Ken Turkel, a well known Tampa attorney who takes on defamation cases. Turkel won a judgment of $140 million for Hulk Hogan in a high profile case against the website publication Gawker.

Despite the allegations against him, Golden stayed fully focused on basketball. The Gators are off to an 18-2 start (5-2 in the Southeastern Conference) and ranked No. 5 nationally.

I consider Todd Golden a friend. After the Gators wiped the O-Dome floor with then No. 1 Tennessee back on January 7, I was walking to my car when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Todd and for the next three or four minutes we had a conversation, mostly about basketball.

During the course of the conversation, while promising that everything said was confidential, I asked him point blank “Did you do it?”

Without hesitation, Golden replied, “No, I did not.”

I believed him then, just as I believed there was something strange about these allegations when they were first reported. First off, if there were actual photos, Golden would have already been fired. Second, there is a digital footprint for everything we do. Emails don’t disappear. There is a record for phone calls and phones leave a verifiable trace on where you have been. Third, if Golden had met or showed up where these women were, then it’s almost a certainty that there would be video evidence. It’s hard to find parking lots in Gainesville that don’t have cameras rolling 24 hours a day.

Also, the moment Ken Turkel was hired, I was confident that Todd was being falsely accused. Mr. Turkel is one of if not the best defamation attorney in the United States. His reputation is that he doesn’t take on a case until he has done some investigation and is satisfied the client is telling the truth when he/she claims innocence. That Mr. Turkel took on Todd as a client told me that the evidence or lack of would prove him innocent.

So, without the Title IX allegations hanging over his head, then Todd Golden can focus on leading the Gators, already off to the best start at UF in years.