Another investigation is taking aim at the University of Minnesota’s Athletic Department, and this one is involves one of Minnesota’s most successful programs and a legendary Gopher coach.
Multiple reports indicate that four Gopher wrestlers are being investigated for selling and abusing the prescription sedative Xanax and that coach J Robinson knew about it and tried to quietly put a stop to it.
U of M officials confirmed that campus police are investigating alleged drug use by members of the wrestling team. The university said in a statement released to media, including the Pioneer Press that:
“The University takes allegations of this nature seriously, and upon receiving information the University provided it to the UMPD. In consultation with UMPD, the University is allowing for the legal investigation to conclude before conducting its own internal investigation. As it remains part of an active investigation, we do not have anything in addition to share at this time.”
But officials haven’t offered any additional comment.
According to FOX 9, an informant told U of M police in March that some wrestlers were selling the drug for $5 a pill, and using it with a caffeinated sports energy drink to get high.
The FOX 9 report also notes that police are looking into a series of post-season meetings in March, in which Robinson allegedly ordered mandatory urine testing and told team members if they wrote a one-page essay about what they had done, they’d be “granted amnesty.”
The Star Tribune reports that one wrestler, who has chosen to remain anonymous, told the newspaper Robinson even collected about 1,400 pills that team members were ready to sell, but that he did not report the drug issue to police.
The Star Tribune says Robinson, who just finished his 30th season at the U of M, has not responded to voicemail messages left for him and other U of M officials were also unavailable.
The investigation is the latest in a string of bad headlines for U of M athletes. The Gopher basketball program recently suspended forward Reggie Lynch after he was arrested then released over an alleged sexual assault.
Three Gopher basketball players were also suspended near the end of the season after a sex video of one of them was posted on a social media account.
Those investigations came on the heels of an entire athletic department investigation following a sexual harassment scandal involving former U of M Athletics Director Norwood Teague.
