UM football coach Al Golden spoke for the first time Tuesday about an NCAA investigation into allegations of improper benefits from a former booster.
Golden said some of his players may have made mistakes that prompted the investigation into convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro's role with the program. He said he just became aware of the investigation into allegations that Shapiro gave more than a dozen former or current players gifts and services.
Shapiro's attorney, Maria Elena Perez, says NCAA investigators visited the campus Monday in the wake of allegations by Shapiro that he provided players with the use of a yacht and other favors. Shapiro and Perez have been talking with the NCAA about the matter for a couple of months and provided documentation, she said.
"We're not going to let this knock us backward," Golden said Tuesday before a morning practice. "We have great kids on this team to the extent that they may have made a mistake. OK, that's fine. But that's also part of growing up. What we have to teach them now is if something did occur, let's be honest and move forward."
"This is tough for me to discuss," Golden added, "because this happened all before I got here." Golden is not involved in the investigation, and he is not permitted to discuss it with his players under NCAA rules.
"We take this stuff seriously," he stressed, mentioning that he had been emailing his players throughout the summer as stories of NCAA investigations at the University of North Carolina and Ohio State University, among others have popped up. "We've made so much progress in the last eight months that we don't want to go backwards."
"It's hard for me to stand up here and defend something that occurred three, four, five, six years ago," Golden said. "I don't know the extent of it. We're going to look at it. We're disappointed, but we're not discouraged.
In a statement released Tuesday morning, UM said, "When Nevin Shapiro made his allegations nearly a year ago, he and his attorneys refused to provide any facts to the University of Miami. The University notified the NCAA Enforcement officials of these allegations. We are fully cooperating with the NCAA and are conducting a joint investigation. The University of Miami takes these matters very seriously."
