P.J. Fleck calls report of player mistreatment within Gophers program 'baseless'

INDIANAPOLIS — Gophers coach P.J. Fleck pushed back on a report of player mistreatment on his team, saying his program does not use physical activity to discipline players.

"These allegations are baseless,'' Fleck said Thursday morning at Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The media outlet Front Office Sports published a report Wednesday critical of Fleck's program. Unnamed former players spoke of Fleck creating a "cult"-like culture with non-compliers subjected to punishable workouts and inequitable drug testing procedures. The report described "an environment fraught with intimidation and toxicity.''

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle refuted the report and defended Fleck in a statement Wednesday.

Fleck added that allegations like the ones reported by Front Office Sports aren't uncommon.

"This is a similar story that gets peddled every single year, and the majority of the players had been dismissed or removed from our football team,'' he said.

The report mentioned a "Fleck Bank" — in which players could earn "coins" to offset positive drug tests and other violations of team rules. Fleck denied that allegation, saying no one ever got out of punishment for that.

"First of all, the Fleck Bank, mostly used in 2017 and '18, was an analogy in a team meeting, talking about the more you invest in a program, the better experience you're going to get out of it,'' Fleck said. "There was no currency ever exchanged, and there were no coins that ever existed.''

Fleck reiterated that the athletic department has taken over the disciplinary actions for all sports.

"We do not use physical activity to discipline our players at the University of Minnesota, and we have never done that,'' he said. "Our players do things like they wake up early and clean the weight room. Whatever you did, you watch a video on that. If you were late to class, you watch a video on tardiness. You then write your professor a letter.''

Gophers players, past and present, came to Fleck's defense on Twitter. "This has to be satire,'' former Gophers offensive lineman Axel Ruschmeyer tweeted, in one example.

Junior defensive end Jah Joyner called the report "fake news," adding, "The program literally changes your life on and especially off the field.''

Injury updates

Fleck said his team is mostly healthy entering training camp next week. Two players who missed spring practice, wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell (knee) and defensive end Chris Collins (foot), are expected to be ready to practice when camp begins. Defensive lineman Luke Finnessy (undisclosed) won't be ready when camp starts.