UNM officials announced on Thursday that Bob Davie has been suspended for 30 days without pay in response to a new report from an outside investigator hired by the school to investigate alleged interference by Davie in regards to criminal investigations of misconduct cases involving Lobo players.
The outside law firm of Hogan, Marren, Babbo, & Rose was also tasked with investigating alleged physical abuse of Davie and his staff. According to a report released by the school, the law firm investigated allegations that “football coaches overruled the judgment of the team’s medical staff as to an injured player’s readiness and ability to play in practice or in a game and pressure or force injured football players to play in games and practices.”
The initial complaint against Davie and the football program centered around an alleged rape of a female student by a UNM football player. Through confidential interviews conducted by a retired federal judge, a few former players told players in an all-team meeting to “get some dirt” on the alleged victim.
After interviewing certain current and former players, along with University staff (not Davie), the law firm failed to find conclusive evidence of wrongdoing by Davie and his staff with regards to obstructing the police investigation of the alleged rape.
The law firm was also unable to find conclusive evidence of wrongdoing with regards to the allegations of physical abuse of players.
According to the report:
“Although there was evidence that certain players who had been cleared by the medical staff to play after an injury, but who did not personally feel ready to play, felt pressured by the coaching staff to play, there was no evidence to show that any member of the coaching staff forced a player to play before the medical staff had cleared the player to return to action.”
Despite any clear evidence of wrongdoing, the firm had strong recommendations for school officials on recommended changes going forward. Per the report: “Leadership must take stronger action to ensure that the University does not and will not – in any aspect o the University’s program, including athletics – tolerate sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical abuse or other prohibited misconduct against its students.”