Following a three-month investigation into hazing allegations, the University of Kentucky has fired the entire coaching staff and the adviser of its cheerleading program.
After speaking with more than 60 students, coaches and administrators within the 24-time national champion program, investigators found that coaches knew or should have known about inappropriate conduct by cheerleaders and failed to take sufficient steps to address the problem.
As a result, head coach Jomo Thompson, assistants Ben Head, Spencer Clan and Kelsey LaCroix, and adviser T. Lynn Williamson have all been fired.
“The University of Kentucky has built the nation’s premier collegiate cheerleading program,” UK President Eli Capilouto said in a release. “But regrettably, the integrity of the program has been compromised by inappropriate behavior by some squad members on off-campus trips and by lax oversight by the program’s coaches and advisor.”
Much of the inappropriate conduct occurred at a retreat in Lake Cumberland in Kentucky. During the retreat, cheerleaders drank alcohol and got nude in public, according to the report. During an activity called “basket tosses,” members of the team were thrown from a dock while not fully clothed.
“The advisor and the coaches failed to stop a culture of hazing, alcohol use and public nudity at off-campus activities where they were present,” said UK’s executive VP for finance and administration Eric N. Monday. “Our students deserve more responsible leadership and the University of Kentucky demands it.”
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