Coach-athlete sex, rape and PEDs at Huntington University? Nick Johnson scandal gets grimmer thanks to David Woods expose

I could likely see Lauren voluntarily stepping down for the time being, unless more comes out that the removal is definitely permanent. Even if it is permanent I could see it - it's somewhat indicated by both her and Nick's statements shared in the original police report that one of their biggest motivations is "protecting" Huntington University. It isn't a noble action then or now, but I think it is possible that she would be willing to completely fall on the sword.

All that said, the administration (or large portions of it) that hired her in the first place are still employed and/or in positions for decision making at the school. Primarily President Sherilyn Emberton, Athletic Director Lori Culler, and the board of trustees member who employs Nick Johnson in his landscaping business (I believe Tom Clounie, who does own a landscaping business in Huntington, IN).

They didn't do nothing. They did fire Nick. I don't think we need hyperbole here. Let the facts stand for themselves.

I wonder if they will claim they didn't know who victim 1 was (although if I know who is it here in Baltimore, they should have known at some point) or that Lauren knew Nick had slept with / injected athletes. They do know that now though and haven't done anything.

Firing Nick and hiring his spouse (who was complicit in Nick's crimes) is borderline worse than doing nothing. It implicates the institution overall in allowing and perpetuating the grooming and abuse.

Besides, I think the original commentator was referring to these new allegations and HU's actions since then (basically nothing until ~1 hour ago?).

They may have fired him, but they literally did their best to keep him included in the program. Allegedly encouraging athletes to go to their house. It’s almost worse than doing nothing.

Are you referring to Robertson & Wappes? I could see that, being that they were likely brought in as assistants at the recommendation of Lauren Johnson. Even if not, they have been working alongside her and Hines, so the connection could be uneasy for athletes caught up in this. All things considered, the athletes who didn't or don't condone the actions thus far from the university still deserve an opportunity to finish this season at the least. Roark likely wasn't hired with input from Johnson beyond a general hiring committee role.

rojo, how has JEH's account not been banned yet? He's made a mockery of SA victims for over two days now.

Sorry, I meant nothing since the Indy Star article came out (at the time I made that comment).

Do they? My college coach certainly didn’t think I was entitled to being on a team. I get why you would feel the way you do, but there are bigger things going on than running.

If you look at the track coaches, a number of them are new that came in this season with Coach Roark. The prior coach was either fired or resigned after last season, but he had to have had knowledge of all this. All the coaches listed on the track page who are not new this year need to be gone as well. They were around for all of this and had to have had some knowledge of it all.

Keep in mind the men's assistant graduated in 2019 before a lot of the allegations really ramped up. someone double check their website for accuracy.

I believe he was in florida for 3 years

and he was brought back in the past year.

Wappes spent all of college at Manchester and came for a 5th year at Huntington.

they have ties to Huntington's past to a degree. but it's not like the rest of staff and organziation.

it is reasonable for the school to ask them to lead while the others directly tied to the issues are put on leave/fired.

I think you probably just need to burn the whole city down.

I'll remind you that victim 1's mother told investigators in September of 2020

"She has never seen any red flags with Mr. Johnsons and knows appropriate boundaries are in place due to prior coaches in the Huntington community that found themselves in trouble in the past due to lack of boundaries"

She says in the same interview her daughter and the HU team spend the night at the coaches' house regularly. If she considers that boundaries makes you wonder WTF the other coaches were doing and how many of them found themselves in trouble. I only see the Cotton incident when I search Google which makes me think the most incidents get swept under the rug...

Rankings just came out. Both Men's and Women's team improved upon their previous ranking.

Just to clarify as well, Lauren and Curtis have not been fired. They are currently suspended pending investigation.

Probably to be expected, but just wanted to make sure everyone is aware they have not been "officially" fired.

Thank you to those that shared all the contacts for the Crossroads League AD’s. I wonder if USTFCCCA/Sam Seemes would be able to take any action on the program? Not sure if they have the power to hold them out of meets or not. Thoughts? Just trying to brainstorm on how actions can be taken against them if the University is going to continue on the path they have gone.

It is not my personal belief, or any of my past coaches beliefs, that a person is "entitled to being on a team". I'm not at all saying bigger things aren't going on here, but I think it's important to remember the current members of the team at HU are at the very least collateral damage, if not outright victims (one of which we know of is). Huntington U can still be punished to the most severe degree allowed, while not coming directly after athletes.

from my understanding the rankings are done through a coaching poll. huntington did just have a big meet at louisville last weekend where they did very well against other ranked teams. I figure too many balls were already in motion. hopefully something happens soon to limit their ability to compete, the NAIA should look to suspend the program indefinitely. I do feel bad for any athletes who might not have been involved in these scandals, but I don't think it'd be appropriate to allow them to continue competing.

Do you have any proof of this or is that just what you’re hearing? I haven’t seen a statement anywhere, just the changes to the website