Christian college coach created a culture of doping and sex, star runners allege

[Muda69]

Not a college or pro football story I know, but nonetheless a disturbing and important one:

https://www.indystar.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2022/10/04/women-say-huntington-university-running-program-marred-by-sex-drugs/69520439007/

(Note: Story is behind a paywall)

Quote

Huntington University has experienced a meteoric rise in its women’s running program.

The northeastern Indiana school featured two national champions in cross-country, won a national team title in indoor track in 2020, was NAIA program of the year in 2021, and landed the fastest high school miler in U.S. history in 2022.

Yet behind all that success at the small Christian college, where the motto is “the truth will make you free," former runners said there was a dark side: a cult-like atmosphere centered around former coach Nick Johnson and filled with allegations of emotional and physical abuse, sex between Johnson and two of his student-athletes, and pressure to take pills and injections — sometimes forcibly — containing unidentified substances.

The claims come from interviews with four former Huntington runners and 20 other sources familiar with the athletes and program; a probable cause affidavit in a 2020 criminal case filed against Nick Johnson; a related 48-page police report obtained through a public records request; and a 40,000-word document written by runner Hannah Stoffel (part of which was submitted to police in 2021).

More details about the allegations surfaced in a 33-page federal lawsuit filed Friday by attorney Jon Little. The lawsuit alleges criminal battery by Johnson and negligence by his wife, Lauren Johnson, as well as assistant coach Curtis Hines, Huntington University and other school officials.

....

And yet one of the best Indiana high school female runners in years, Addy Wiley from Huntington North H.S.,  decommits from cross-country powerhouse Colorado to run for Huntington U. instead:  https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/08/21/indiana-track-running-addy-wiley-decommits-from-colorado-stays-home-at-huntington-addison-wiley/65412784007/

Sounds kind of strange to me...........

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by Muda69

[Impartial_Observer]

7 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Not a college or pro football story I know, but nonetheless a disturbing and important one:

https://www.indystar.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2022/10/04/women-say-huntington-university-running-program-marred-by-sex-drugs/69520439007/

(Note: Story is behind a paywall)

And yet one of the best Indiana high school female runners in years, Addy Wiley from Huntington North H.S.,  decommits from cross-country powerhouse Colorado to run for Huntington U. instead:  https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/08/21/indiana-track-running-addy-wiley-decommits-from-colorado-stays-home-at-huntington-addison-wiley/65412784007/

Sounds kind of strange to me...........

 

Having been somewhat familiar with Huntington and their conference, I never knew Huntington to be really successful at anything.