Documents Detail Clemson NCAA Violations

The Republic

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/90579c50e31d42bdbb4d1279ae5afbba/ATH–Clemson-NCAA

A Clemson’s men track athlete ran in five indoor meets after his eligibility was complete and a women’s track team member received impermissible school expenses from former program director Lawrence Johnson while training for a foreign Olympic team.

The violations were outlined in the school’s report sent to the NCAA last month. The report was obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act Request. Other violations include a Clemson runner receiving shoes from a volunteer assistant and a prospect getting bottled water on a recruiting visit last fall. Names of the athletes were redacted in the documents.

The school’s letter to the NCAA said Johnson did not promote “an atmosphere of compliance” in the men’s and women’s track programs. He was resigned as director on Jan. 8. Johnson did not return emails left by the AP.

School spokeswoman Libby Kehn said athletic director Dan Radakovich and other school representatives would not comment on the violations until the NCAA completes its investigation.

Clemson blacked-out the names of those athletes involved in the report released to the AP. Clemson classified the violations as secondary in nature, the less serious category of NCAA transgressions.

The school told the NCAA it received an anonymous letter last September about track and field violations and hired an outside law firm, Bond, Schnoeneck & King, to conduct an independent review of the program.