Minnesota's Fleck calls allegations baseless

INDIANAPOLIS -- Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck defended his program against what he called "baseless allegations" of mistreatment by former players and others in a recent report.

Fleck told ESPN that the claims in a Wednesday report from Front Office Sports have "been looked into multiple times since 2017" with no wrongdoing found.

Several former Minnesota players told Front Office Sports that Fleck would overlook positive drug tests and other team rules violations for players who had accumulated enough goodwill through a points system called "Fleck Bank." The former players and others also claimed that excessive workouts were used as punishment, and they described a cult-like culture that contained significant intimidation.

Fleck said Minnesota has set up six channels where players can report mistreatment, including directly to athletic director Mark Coyle, who told Front Office Sports that he had never heard such claims from any Gophers players. Fleck noted that Minnesota's athletic department followed the football program's lead in not permitting physical exercise to be used as punishment for athletes.

"Our programming culture is proven to work on and off the field, and it's always done in a first-class manner," Fleck told ESPN. "There are tons of testimonials from past, current and future Gophers."

Fleck said the claims stem from a former Minnesota faculty member who he said "clearly has a personal vendetta against myself and our football program." He added that he believes the majority of players who speak to the former faculty member have been dismissed or removed from Minnesota's program.

"You are who you are, and you're running a very, very open, transparent program," Fleck said. "Our university knows that, our athletic department, our athletic director know that, and they experience it every single day."

Fleck is entering his seventh year at Minnesota and has a record of 44-27 at the school with four bowl appearances and a top 10 finish in 2019.