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

I know HU has made insane choices so far, but I will be dumbstruck if they try to reinstate Lauren after this. At some point even the dumbest of fools has to realize this isn't worth the trouble anymore.

You'd think that, but honestly anything could happen.. we've already seen essentially cult like behavior and most of the major players are still in the game.
Why anyone would want this job, I have no idea, here's what I'd be thinking in the back of my mind..

1. Possibility of reinstatement of Lauren.

2. You best runner almost surely won't have her loyalties toward you.

3. Confirmed doping this past season.

4. Possibility the NAIA sanctions your program.

All I can say is Good luck bro.

Though not a good decision making process, when has HU exhibited the ability to make wise decisions? In light of that, the above makes all kinds of sense. Nothing against Neideck, but PaperBoy08's assessment is correct as a best case scenario.

For those clutching your pearls, as incompetent as Huntington may be, isn't it safe to assume that they really do not want further issues with the XC program, particularly any scandalous ones (even if they are bad actors)? It would be reasonable for them to want complete assurance that nothing untoward will happen under the new coach's watch. Because it has been thoroughly established that the most prevalent offenders of sexual assault are young men (though anyone could be a perpetrator, obviously), I didn't think anyone would find that surprising or offensive. I'm not accusing the new coach of anything, but someone would have to be in denial to not recognize the situation he's stepping into. There were a number of disgraceful contributors to the cultural rot and all the moral depravity at Huntington - led by NJohnson, first and foremost - all engaging in atrocious behaviors. Best of luck to Coach Neideck.

I think if you knew Josh his decision would make more sense. He's a really passionate and caring person. Also he is really strong in his Christian faith. It would not surprise me if he felt "convicted" or "compelled" to return to his home area to help a struggling program he used to run/coach against. Add a nice pay increase on top of that and you start understanding his (possible) train of thought.

I know I'm placing words into his mouth and assuming I understand his thought process, but if you knew the guy you would understand what I mean.

Do I think it's a smart decision, no absolutely not, but I guess I admire his courage. I have no doubt he has really genuine intentions, I just hope HU doesn't use him as a "pawn" in their game.

Side note: If I'm Josh and on day 1 I find out Lauren or Nick are still communicating with the team, I'm not even unpacking my bags. I am out of there.

The vast majority of young men know that it’s wrong to seduce a minor. Not worried about Josh on that front unless there’s some pheromones in the testosterone cream. Maybe you guys could use that as your defense? Not a lawyer but I’m full of ideas

Yes, ForFusion, you are correct that I know nothing at all about Josh, and it sounds like he (and people like him) is exactly what the school and program needs. I also am with you that I hope he isn't used as a pawn, but I really don't trust anyone there. It also sounds like there are a lot of longstanding familial relationships in that small town (that the Johnsons are a part of) that may be difficult to fit into.

hwtb, the stats bore out that you are indeed correct that the vast majority of young men know it's wrong to seduce a minor. The statistics also say that an even greater majority of older men know it's wrong. Then, wayyy beyond both of those, women know it's wrong even moreso. If I am Huntington's leadership, being named in the suit for negligence, from a liability standpoint alone, I would want the odds of anything like what's happened to be as close to 0% as possible. It wouldn't be surprising for an institution to want the best hire while also placing a heavy emphasis on doing what they can to fix the recent problems as best they can.

In other news, I’ve heard that Haile did not test positive at nationals for anything testosterone or EPO related. He popped for something, but it doesn’t seem linked to the other drug accusations.

The term I heard was “stimulant”. Take that for what it’s worth.

@mods Can JEH be permanently banned from this thread? I don't want to be the one to feed the troll, but he clearly has no interest in adding anything of substance here and isn't going to leave quietly.

Agreed. To be honest I'm not sure why he wasn't banned months ago. His comment yesterday was disgusting.

excuse my ignorance, but what really does the university have to lose from just cutting track and cross country and getting itself away from this controversy? does anyone actually give 2 shats about Huntington University Cross Country and Track? it's not like we're talking about a major D1 program; i'd venture to say the majority of running fans have only heard of this program because of this controversy. the fact that it's at a second-tier (at best) university also probably puts the broader institution at higher risk in an already tight academic marketplace - what's the point in sustaining this trainwreck?

Because track brings in desperately needed students (aka money) to the school--it's probably about 5% of their student body. Pretty much the case at a lot of small colleges.

Correct. It brings in tons of students and is relatively low cost to actually run. Also I think the optics of just cutting a major athletic program looks terrible. No chance HU has the balls to do that.

This is a really good question, imo - not ignorant at all. At some point, it could become too burdensome or risky to sustain this trainwreck, but the institutional leaders (at least so far) believe the program is "worth it". If a person adopted a cynical view, you touched on one aspect - that the controversy has brought awareness of Huntington's existence. I hadn't heard of it before. Further, in a perverse way, should either Johnson return in any facet, this episode has been an advertisement of sorts to those overly attracted to results at all costs (which I, of course, do not condone). Or, perhaps Huntington is figuring that the negative exposure here is insignificant because distance running, which is important to us, but obviously not to most sports fans. Further, they may be banking on that even if it were to get worse (say, national exposure), the program may be axe'd and few administration people may lose their jobs, but the reputation of the school itself may be shielded somewhat. There have been MUCH bigger scandals than even the worst case here, and people don't hold the entire institution responsible (I don't really think less of Mich State, for example, and I bet most people don't, but maybe we all should since there does seem to be Midwest problems).

Another possibility for why it wants the program to remain is that it believes its overall sports program (if better than nearby competitor schools) positively differentiates itself from the others. Maybe the higher-ups believe that there is not a serious problem. Obviously, Nick has very significant personal moral failings, but I believe it was bobfromIndy5309 (or something like that) who said months ago (and I believe was correct) that after Stoffle and Wilson suit was brought (and assuming it's credible - which is in the process of ascertaining the extent), then past victims would come out of the woodwork because the Johnsons didn't just start the abuse with these two. Despite what appears to be very thorough efforts to find these victims, one person did join the suit (but apparently was treated more like Wilson's allegations and not Stoffel's), and the other person who smashed with Nick says it was consensual (when she had EVERY reason to join the suit). If the school actually believes that Johnson is guilty of some things, but that the worst accusations are untrue, it may actually feel it has the duty to not fold in that scenario.

Finally, the school is in a small "city" where people kow each other and see each other often. Ending the program could be seen as an admission of guilt, etc.

Those are some possibilities of why that haven't pulled the plug on XC track yet, but maybe it will later.

Because I don't subscribe to the popular binary group think that most do on this thread, and because a number probably have some personal involvement with this mess, the only way to achieve the singularity desired is to "silence" me and request deletions. It's unfortunate that a little diversity of thought is unable to be coped with. I have discussed various aspects of this in good faith throughout.

The quickest, most cost effective, and face-saving move for HU is to settle with Nick's victims, and to implement an independent reporting system for any future transgressions within the athletic department. Some university leaders probably need to be offered early retirement as well.

Huntington should also very publicly and forcefully repudiate the Johnsons and their cronies stating very clearly that they are no longer welcome on university property and events nor may they have any contact with current student/athletes. The institution will seek and secure no-contact and restraining orders if necessary. Any tampering with Huntington athletes will be immediately reported to the NAIA and to state authorities. The university will also fully cooperate with any SafeSport or government probe into the Johnsons and any coaches hired by them. For a period of no less than five years, Huntington will allow annual independent audits of athletic department operations (including hiring, recruiting, expenditures, contacts, etc.) and Title IX compliance by a third party.

By dragging this out, Huntington may find itself out-of-business before too long. And for what? Loyalty to a disgraced alumnus and his circle of enablers? That's a very stupid hill to die on.

Totally this ^ . It's astonishing that they haven't done this already. Maybe a Johnson crony has extraordinarily deep pockets that HU benefits from? Maybe they stubbornly refuse to be (what they feel is) extorted.

Unless the plaintiffs accept a low offer to settle it will probably largely depend on how the pretrial discovery process goes. At the end of the day the plaintiffs bear the burden of convincing a jury that they were wronged by the university.

Is there actual hard evidence of a doping program (blood test results, discarded needles, etc) in which the plaintiffs were unwittingly subjected, or is it "she said, he said?" Same with the other allegations.

Based on what the plaintiffs have said I absolutely believe that horrific stuff happened within the program and the university let its students down in a huge way. They're apparently even willing to hand back their championships because they believe they were tainted. However, if there's limited or no physical evidence produced during discovery I could see the university zealously defending itself through a trail in an effort to save face and be "vindicated."