The University of South Florida has placed a member of the men's basketball coaching staff on administrative leave while he's investigated for what they called "troubling concerns."
Associate head coach Tom Herrion is reportedly being investigated for at least one, and possibly multiple incidents of what's being termed as "racially charged" comments.
USF Athletics put out a statement that did not name Herrion, but said they're aware of the reports.
“We take these matters very seriously," the statement read. "An independent review is ongoing and the involved staff member has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of that review. We will have no further comment until that process is complete.”
School administrators reportedly met with the team Thursday.
The story was first reported by USF alumnus and former school employee Collin Sherwin from the website DraftKings Nation.
While Sherwin reported that head coach Brian Gregory was also being investigated for failing to discipline Herrion or report the matter to his superiors, Joey Knight of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Gregory is not being investigated at this point.
Seven players on the team have entered the NCAA transfer portal since the Bulls' season ended last week.
Six — Madut Akec, Justin Brown, Xavier Castaneda, David Collins, Rashun Williams, and Alexis Yetna — are black.
Backup forward Luke Anderson, who is white, has already transferred to a junior college in Idaho.
Herrion joined USF with Gregory in 2017. He had previously served as head coach at the College of Charleston from 2002-2006 and Marshall from 2010-2014.
Gregory is 48-66 with one postseason appearance — a College Basketball Invitational title in 2019 — in his four years at USF.
