TAMPA, Fla. — The University of South Florida men’s basketball team is making headlines on the opening night of the March Madness tournament, but not for the right reasons.
ABC Action News has confirmed an independent review is now underway into alleged racially charged comments made by associate head coach Tom Herrion.
The allegations surfaced on Twitter Thursday by Collin Sherwin of Draft Kings Live.
USF is investigating multiple incidents of racially charged comments from men’s basketball associate head coach Tom Herrion. They are also investigating head coach Brian Gregory for failing to discipline said coach, or report the matter to USF Athletics.
— Collin Sherwin (@CollinSherwin) March 18, 2021
“We are aware of troubling concerns that have been reported involving a member of our men’s basketball coaching staff,” said Brian Siegrist with USF Athletics. “We take these matters very seriously. An independent review is ongoing and the involved staff member has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of that review.”
“Who is doing the independent investigation,” asked Yvette Lewis with NAACP of Hillsborough County. “Why weren’t we given a call to have a conversation and so we can assist with the independent investigation.”
ABC Action News has learned a handful of USF players have already opted to transfer out of the program ahead of next season.
It is not clear if those moves are a result of the ongoing investigation.
