One thing I learned very quickly : Matt is going to find out, within 24 hours, who his friends/supporters are and who they are not. These two groups will be viciously polarized and nobody will change anyone's mind one way or the other. These stories are going to be filled with truth, half-truth, partial-truth, perception and lies. It will be impossible to differentiate between any of these.
The best thing he can do is to say nothing. There is nothing he can say that will change anyone's mind on either side of the coin. Anything he says will be twisted and scrutinized. He is in a position where his adversaries will pick him apart no matter what he says. He can say he is sorry and their response will be, "...fk you". If he defends himself, the response is "fk you." The student-athletes in these situations have all the power and he has to accept that. The HR files and investigations are private and absolutely nobody can comment on them because it involves a student. Even if he were to be cleared of the accusations, the school will NOT comment on them. They would be violating privacy laws for the student.
I don't know what is the truth and what is not. None of us know. I know that nobody wins in these cases.
Clearly, coaches have to be aware of what they say and what they do and how things will be perceived. The facts do not matter anymore. The only thing that matters is the perception. Perception is life now. Wrong or right.
I have the luxury of being on the outside looking in now. I used to run my program under the philosophy that it is the job of the athletes to adapt to me and my personality. Now, it really is that you need to adapt to the athletes and you may have to have a variety of different approaches to each student individually. We used to coach everyone the same (not workouts, but overall philosophy) and now, you have to spend more time learning what each student-athlete needs and requires emotionally. Like it. Don't like it. It is how it is now and that is what younger coaches are trying to say, IMHO.
Anyway, if the behavior is true that is written about Matt, clearly these things are wrong. I am certain he is in a tough place right now and will come out of it and be even better for having gone through it.
I stress that I also understand the pain and struggle for those that have spoken up. It is hard. They feel the way they feel and they deserve to be heard. They deserve our attention and support because you cannot dictate how someone feels.
Anyways...I have been there and I hate seeing so many other people in the same position. And, when I say that, I also mean the student-athletes. I feel terrible, and always have, for anyone I have wronged in my own deviant behavior. There are lessons to be learned here for all of us.
Formally from the bottom of the pool,
~Kevin