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

Actually, I have no thoughts on you, personally. I know nothing about you that you haven't shared in this thread.

In a statement to Runner’s World, Huntington University Director of Communication, Lynette Fager said: “University leadership has been made aware that a civil suit was filed that names the University, as well as individuals formerly and currently associated with the University. Huntington University is doing its due diligence but cannot comment further at this time.”

runnersworld.com

What We Know About the Huntington University Track and Field Scandal

Former coach Nick Johnson is accused of sexual abuse and doping by two former runners at the NAIA school in a recently-filed federal lawsuit.

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That's the truth. It's almost as if he's finding titillation in this thread.

Pretty good post, Hunter. I do evidently sound out of touch because I'd like to take a more judicious approach and make sure things were, in fact, as they are being presented. I understand that employing a slower roll and not being quick enough to be outragey-outraged is not popular. Oh well.

The part about the cult-like environment is interesting. Is it really the case that collegiate students are so NOT ready that they're so easily taken in and brainwashed? Is this a midwest student trait or something? I find this a touch incredulous because the collegiates I know would NEVER submit to a cult or cult-like environment. 12 years and younger... maybe... 18-21?!?! No way.

What's more likely... a husband/wife combo who can fool and manipulate everyone, or disgruntled students who were savvy enough to leverage false accusations against a guy they knew is/was a proven slime ball. I think both are rather unlikely, but I am sure things will be made clearer in time (probably like within a week).

I posited that the girls were brave. But to be found more acceptable, I shall take your advice and revise that to be "incredibly brave".

In short, if everything turns out as things appear now, I will be with you and all the downvoters (lol) at the forefront of the lynch mob. I literally would be for the lynching, if not worse. But before that, I would like to make sure that I would be correct in doing so. Is that so bad? So far, the only "evidence" or retorts I've received are essentially 1) Read the lawyered up document - it's bad! and 2) This is serious so you better be fully onboard right now right now right now!!!! The accusations have been made already.... eeee!!!!! Please forgive me for not finding either to be super convincing.

All that said, I really wish there were something stronger that someone could articulate because this is a serious thing, and I wish that my desire to make sure it is correct before condemning did not make it look like I was apathetic. If true, I feel awful for all involved. Horrible stuff, for sure.

The amount of athletes posting the same statement supporting their coaches and University is making me SICK.

WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with everything in this post. This is actually constructive thinking that some of you (who think that crying is effective) would be well to emulate. Thank you, PHJ.

At minimum they groomed a high schooler to be their slam piece and shot her full of PEDs as well as kidnapped her while pretending to be someone else. All the while having sex with collegiate athletes that are suppose to be in your care and he also touch them sexually while giving massages. All of that is 100% verified at the moment

I doubt it.

HU had actually suspended Nick Johnson early in the fall cross country season due to his relationships with student athletes. Nick and Lauren lied to the team and told them it was because Nick had filed some paperwork incorrectly for a hotel the team had stayed in during a trip. He was allowed to return to coaching until he was arrested. The administration knew exactly what was going on and did nothing. They should not allow Lauren to continue coaching and they should not allow students to continue visiting Nick Johnson at his home!! The student athletes will not be safe until the coaching staff and the administration has been gutted.

Overall, agree with Hewhoextrapolates and letsgoforarun. No doubt that Nick is a POS.

Agree that it is extremely tenuous (at best) that the school decided on Lauren to coach and also that high schooler was allowed to attend. Not good decisions.

Is a little more difficult to ascertain who knew what and when, and who all should be gutted.

Finally, to add to Portland's post about establishing protocols moving forward, I think the same should be done at the high school level with all children being zoned for a particular offending school being allowed to go to any other school of their choosing.

I just finished reading the 58 page report, I agree that it really helped in understanding the full scope of what took place. Nick was clearly downplaying and outright lying in most of his interview but the interrogator did a great job cutting through the bs.

As if the grooming, kidnapping scheme and sex abuse weren't bad enough, the PED side of this story has barely scratched the surface yet. What exactly where they fired from in 2015? The Oregon coach hinted it was PED related. Then you have the latest allegations about injections while it is painfully clear there are no moral boundaries this coach would not cross. What is Lauren's involvement in doping?

Yup agreed. Also, in terms of the PED stuff, we know there was a closed door meeting with athletes and coaches. We don't know specifically what athletes were involved. I'm very interested to see if any men come forward, or if the PED use was isolated to just the women's team. As a former crossroads league runner I can tell you rumors regarding PED use and HU started circulating back around 2018.

Nick clearly has some sort of cluster b personality disorder and the people around him are unable to come to terms with it and see it for what it is, so they have enabled him and continue to enable him.

What I don't get is how Lauren Johnson could be okay with housing her husband's side piece(s). Even if she's bi-polar and does beat up on him, that doesn't extend to her going along with this. She has to be severely co-dependent and spineless to even just tolerate it, let alone be complicit in the selection and grooming.

He’s lucky a father of an athlete hasn’t put him in a wheelchair at his point, then again Nick mostly preyed on young girls without father figures like Epstein

I honestly have no idea about Lauren. She seems to be half victim, half enabler. I don’t really care if she’s a good person or didn’t want any of this or was blindsided by this. Don’t care. Bottom line is that she’s unfit to be a coach for this team or any team so long as she’s associated with Nick. She was powerless to stop him from committing all of these atrocities and even tried to cover for him. If she’s incapable of seeing Nick for what he is, she’s incapable of stopping future abuse from occurring.

And that’s giving her the benefit of the doubt. She could be way worse.

I'm not a Christian, but I'm shocked how someone so deeply religious could continue to enable someone who goes against all of the principles of Christianity. Anyone with a modicum of common sense and independent thinking would disown Nick as soon as the allegations against him were proven true.

100% agreed with your proposal in the event of institutional issues - cover up, etc. - and the proposed penalty.

I'm not sure I'm on board with program-level probation if the institution does all the right things (self-reporting, cooperation, etc.), and the issue is really limited to the one person who was the bad actor. That's assuming it's a true one-off and there weren't other program-level conditions enabling the scenario... if that's even possible, I don't know.

Maybe screening/auditing more broadly would useful, too.