An Arizona State committee has found that 'Errors of judgment' were made by Coach Koetter and former AD Gene Smith in the Loren Wade case.
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'Errors of judgment'
ASU probe into handling of Wade finds no violations
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- An Arizona State University committee's investigation into events prior to the killing of a former player found "errors in judgment" by football coach Dirk Koetter and then-athletic director Gene Smith but no violations of university policies or procedures.
The committee, chaired by law professor Myles Lynk, also concluded in a report made public Monday that no faculty or staff members had any cause to believe Loren Wade, then an ASU player, was capable of shooting another person.
Wade was a sophomore running back on the Arizona State football team at the time former player Brandon Falkner was shot to death outside a Scottsdale nightclub on March 26. Wade was arrested at the scene and is awaiting trial on a charge of first-degree murder.
The 21-year-old Wade, from Los Angeles, had been in trouble several times, and the report's criticism of Koetter and Smith stemmed from their handling of those cases.
"We did not find that coaches and staff in the university's athletics department failed to try and help Loren Wade or other students," Lynk said. "Rather, we found that they tried to do too much, taking it on themselves to provide services that can be better provided by other university components."
Koetter, in a statement released through the university, supported the committee's recommendations.
"My main goal as a coach is to develop student-athletes into men of character," he said, "and this will assist me to that end. Any resources that I can use to accomplish this are more than welcome."
Among the recommendations:
- Revising the state Board of Regents' student code of conduct to cover off-campus incidents involving weapons, the sale or distribution of illegal drugs, and acts of violence.
- Changing policies and procedures to address concerns about violence or the threat of violence by a student.
- Establishing a hot line to the university's police department for anonymous reporting of threats or incidents involving violence or possession of prohibited weapons.
- Requesting that the university police chief see whether he can receive notification from local police departments when students are charged with misconduct, especially when it involves the threat or use of violence.
- Establishing a database for reporting and tracking issues involving violence, with faculty and staff required to report all acts or threats of violence and disruptive behavior.
"Many of the procedural improvements outlined in the Lynk committee report came to light after the Wade incident and have already been addressed," university president Michael Crow said in a statement released by the university. "And we will begin immediately to act upon other recommendations."
At a news conference shortly after the shooting, Koetter said he had been concerned about Wade's behavior since last fall, but never thought it would lead to such a violent act.
The red flags included verbal threats against two female athletes -- one of them Wade's girlfriend.
In an unrelated issue, the Pac-10 has placed the university's athletic program on probation for two years for improper benefits given to Wade.
Wade missed all of last season after allegations that he received help from an employee, including use of a car and her name on his utility bill so he could avoid a deposit. The employee was later fired.
Smith was in his final days at Arizona State when the shooting occurred. He already had accepted the AD post at Ohio State.
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