John Henry Johnson out as coach of UCLA

You troll. JHJ has been put in charge of UCLA's part of this year's 2015 Special Olympics World Games, 2021 IAAF world's bid, and will help organize the IAAF Official World Athletic Spring Training Destination.

The previous poster was just responding to a post on the UCLA track message board. Some of us think its strange that a head women's coach loses that title in his bio, and becomes director of ops. Don't shoot the messenger.

Today, I put a phone call into the UCLA athletic department asking for the women's head track and field coach. Some lady got on the line and directed me to Associate head coach Jack Hoyt's phone. When I asked what happened to John Henry Johnson, the woman told me that his title has changed, and he is now in an administrative position within the athletic department. What do UCLA Bruin alums think of this merry-go-round track and field program over in Westwood?

SoCal USATF & UCLA are demoralized, suicidal, and shocked that LA2024 lost to Boston.

This opened up the UCLA for 2019 IAAF WC.

Mt Sac already has a huge jump on UCLA with a new stadium Phase I being built, and committed dollars for 65,000 seat Phase II venue.

It's good to have competition for the majors. JHJ is the man for the job.

Go get em, JHJ! wrote:

SoCal USATF & UCLA are demoralized, suicidal, and shocked that LA2024 lost to Boston.

This opened up the UCLA for 2019 IAAF WC.

Mt Sac already has a huge jump on UCLA with a new stadium Phase I being built, and committed dollars for 65,000 seat Phase II venue.

It's good to have competition for the majors. JHJ is the man for the job.

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Your flippant comments are just a cover up for UCLA Director of Track and Field Mike Maynard's inept job of running the UCLA track and field program. Maynard has made many changes in the first few years of his tenure. But the results have been a disaster so far. No Pac-12 Championships. No top 10 finishes at the NCAA. Since Maynard has been at UCLA, he has made the following moves:

1. Fire long time women's head coach Jeanette Bolden.

2. Fire UCLA's competent distance coach Eric Peterson

3. Force coach Johnny Gray to leave UCLA.

4. Fire coach Chris Asher, after demoting him to Director of Ops.

5. Try unsuccessfully to get rid of PV coach Anthony Curran.

6. Replace himself as throws coach, and bring in another throws coach.

7. Refuse to let UCLA legend John Smith use the track facility.

8. Force John Henry Johnson out of the role as UCLS sprint coach and top

recruiter. Maynard made him director of ops until he is fired in June.

UCLA is a train wreck under Mike Maynard. He is a buffoon. All alumni support is gone from program and its a joke considering the talent that normally flocks to UCLA. USC will destroy UCLA in sprints, relays, hurdles and jumps this year and certainly the UCLA administration has to look to send Maynard packing if for no other reason than he has had a revolving door of coaches he hires be busts.

As a supporter of USC track and field, I have to weigh in with my expert opinion. Lay off UCLA director of track and field Mike Maynard and let him do his thing! I think coach Mike Maynard should get an extension because he is doing everything I want him to do. I think Maynard should keep firing people left and right. I think Mike Maynard should keep pulling the wool over AD Dan Guererro's eyes by replacing staff and blaming others. And I think we all should overlook Maynard's results on the track. Dual meet losses to Washington State and USC! No problem! Reputation of UCLA track program down to be gutty little Bruins! No big deal! No top 10 finishes for UCLA track and field in the last several years! Who cares? Just keep coach Maynard doing exactly what he is doing. Sincerely, SUC fan!

Bottom line the program is nothing like it used to be, No sprinters, distance is questionable, Really UCLA?

I don't know UCLA Director of Track and Field, Mike Maynard. And I do not know demoted UCLA women's coach John Johnson.

But I have read about Maynard's troubles at Boise State. And people that I know say that he was ruthless with former coach Amy Christoffersen. There seems to be a not so pleasant pattern when it comes to Mike Maynard and coaches that work for him. I guess there were a series of violations and harassments that went on at Boise State under coach Mike Maynard. I don't know who is right and who is wrong. But trouble seems to always follow Mike Maynard. Here is some of it:

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"I have been unjustly called a liar, instructed to lie or remain silent, lied to and lied about, unfairly ridiculed and humiliated in public, instructed to tell my athletes what to write and not to write in their private evaluations and ordered to make one of my athletes lie and apologize or have her dismissed from the team. I am continually put in the position of having to remain silent or call the head coach a liar, which I can’t do without immediate and reliable proof.”

This statement is another claim from court documents filed by former Boise State University assistant track and field coach Amy Christoffersen, in a lawsuit against Boise State, Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier and head track and field coach Mike Maynard for gender discrimination.

In part of Christoffersen’s complaint, she claims she was put in a situation to make one of her athletes lie.

According to court documents, Christoffersen and her sprinters witnessed Maynard attack a man named Rick Bergensenon at the indoor track in Nampa, Jan. 11, 2007.

“When the man came around . Mike yelled, ‘grab him and don’t let him go,'” Christoffersen said in lawsuit. “Mike walked up to him yelling and poking his finger into his chest. He yelled to the man, ‘This is my track you have no . right to be here.'”

Bergeson, who runs for an Idaho track club, verified Christoffersen’s story.

“I was running on the track … I was the only one on the track . all the sudden I come around the corner and Mike Maynard grabbed me by the arm and basically full on tackled me,” Bergensen said. “I tried to explain to him that I had authorization to be on [the track]. I’m trying to walk away and his thrower, who was sort of acting like a bouncer at a bar was blocking me . and literally wouldn’t let me walk. Maynard was screaming and yelling at me, it was a dramatic experience.”

Bergensen said Maynard never apologized to him for the incident that occurred, but said Bleymaier did apologize to him and on behalf of the university. He also said he never heard of any repercussions for Maynard.

The alleged attack, according to Bleymaier, was addressed three months after the incident.

“We did look into it,” Bleymaier said. “We could not substantiate the claims that were made.”

In the same document, Christoffersen states that on July 12, 2007, Maynard told her to make one of her athletes [who witnessed the incident] apologize and explain why she [the student] lied regarding the situation. Christoffersen said she could not do that, and she wanted her athletes to document what they witnessed.

Christoffersen asserts in her suit that an additional reason she was removed from her position at BSU was because she reported acts of discrimination and rule violations.

According to court documents, one such incident involved an athlete who reported seeing a male assistant coach go into a women’s corridor of the Chaffee residence hall.

Christoffersen and a male coach reported their concern about the alleged incident to Maynard. She claims Maynard did not investigate the incident and, instead, became angry. She said Maynard told her he discussed the matter with Bleymaier, and Bleymaier advised him that BSU did not have a policy against coach/student-athlete relationships as long as they were consensual.

Christoffersen said that after reporting the incident, the working rapport between Maynard and her was different, and that many athletes did not feel comfortable with the situation between the assistant coach and the athlete.

Christoffersen’s actual suit is for gender discrimination, but the above-mentioned incidents are among many that she claims demonstrate forms of discrimination within the Athletic Department.

“Maynard singled me out and publicly humiliated me in front of athletes and officials .” she asserts in her suit. “He has never publically treated any of the male track coaches in such an unseemly manner.”

Christoffersen’s suit was still pending at press time.

MARY ALBL

Sports Editor

I used to live in the Treasure Valley and was close to the program and I can only say that because of the litigation and the settlement with she who shall not be named, the full story(the Universities and Maynard's) never came out, and yes I do know it.