Re: the Sept. 13 article "12 former track athletes back up claims of harassment, emotional abuse at UA."
Regarding Caitlin Schmidt’s updated article on the abuse/neglected claims by former Track and Field athletes, I’m even more angered about what these athlete’s endured. Evidence in the hands of The Star appears to corroborate most of the athletes’ accusations. I trust the U of A is investigating the full extent of these claims by independent means and not utilizing AD Dave Heeke’s own group. This “rotten culture”, coined in the Star August story by an expert, doesn’t just happen by itself – it comes from the top of an organization, either from lack of oversight or through its own actions. And while Dave Heeke is making statements that the athletic dept. will continue to “build a foundation through intense focus on the values of integrity, compassion, support, teamwork, communication, sportsmanship and good citizenship”, these incidents happened right under his nose! A lot of heads should roll after the investigation is complete, starting right at the top of the athletic dept.
Don Wagstaff
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
