Al Golden: Miami Had ‘Responsibility To Tell Me’ About Nevin Shapiro Situation If It Knew

Since this massive Miami Hurricanes scandal broke, involving both the football and basketball team, the public has been waiting for some quotes from newly hired football coach Al Golden. Since booster Nevin Shapiro has been in jail since before Golden was hired, it seemed highly likely that Golden not only had nothing to do with the scandal, but that he was probably ignorant to the whole mess.

In a press conference before practice on Wednesday, Golden claimed exactly that and said that the university had a responsibility to tell him what was going on if they knew about it.

Question: Yesterday you said you had no idea this situation was an issue when you were hired in December. Did the university have a responsibility to tell you that this was going on?

Golden: “Only if they knew. If they knew that this was percolating, I believe they did have a responsibility to tell me. I believe they had a responsibility to tell Shawn [Eichorst]. But look, I’m happy here. My wife’s happy here. We got great kids on this team. We have commitments from 24 young men and their families that appreciate and share our core values moving forward. Again, from what I’m understanding, many of these allegations go back three years at the minimum all the way back to the early 2000s....I’m just trying to move forward.”

On the outside, Golden is being extremely professional, but it’s hard to believe that he isn’t holding something back. Miami football is going to face serious sanctions from the NCAA, and Golden’s ability to do his job will almost certainly be seriously affected by whatever punishments are handed down.

For fan reaction on the ongoing Miami Hurricanes mega-scandal, visit Seventh Floor Blog.