Six former Utah players have gone on record in the Salt Lake Tribune to accuse the coaching staff of pressuring them to play through or return from injuries before it was in their medical best interest to do so, in a story that published on Friday.
Not only did the players put their names to their accusations, they also named former Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham as being behind the effort to rush them back to the field before they were ready.
The Trib story opens with Van Fillinger, a Ute from 2020-24, claiming a doctor had told him to rest an injured ankle for six weeks during the 2023 season. Fillinger said his position coach, Lewis Powell, agreed he should take a medical redshirt, but then informed Fillinger the redshirt would be revoked following another player at his position suffering a season-ending ACL tear.
“Coach (Lewis Powell) came into rehab one day and he said, ‘Hey, Van, coach [Kyle] Whittingham is not going to let you redshirt,’” Fillinger told the paper. “I’m thinking, ‘What the hell? I’ve already been out three games.’”
The Utah program, ex-head coach Whittingham, and current head coach Morgan Scalley have all denied the accusations through spokespeople.
“The University of Utah Department of Athletics follows all University and national guidelines to ensure student success and safety,” Utah said, which Scalley referred to when contacted by the paper. “We routinely evaluate our processes and welcome the opportunity to make adjustments if we determine our policies are not meeting expectations.”
“Coach Whittingham or his coaching staff did not make medical decisions [at Utah]. He followed the lead of the medical team,” a Michigan spokesperson told the Trib.
The story goes on to recount testimony from more ex-Utes, as well as former NFL receiver Michael Pittman, whose son Mycah played for Utah and described a similar experience after suffering an ankle injury.
“I don’t think they handled it the best way possible for my son to have the best outcome,” Pittman said. “I feel that they did what they thought was better for the team’s outcome instead of my son’s long-term health.” An MRI later revealed Mycah Pittman played for more than a month on a partially torn Achilles and a high ankle sprain, according to the Tribune.
To state the obvious: these are serious accusations, underscored by the fact that multiple players attached their names to their version of events on the record. Though Whittingham and Scalley responded to the Tribune through spokespeople, these on-record accusations demand on-record, on-camera responses from both men, and soon.
And in the meantime, both Utah and Michigan have seasons to prepare for, and soon.
Stay tuned.