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BREAKING: Independent Review of USF Men’s Basketball Complete, Assistant Head Coach Tom Herrion No Longer with program

The report also found that head coach Brian Gregory and the other members of the staff are cleared of any failures to address these problems.

By Robert Steeg
I’m all-in on this guy too: he’s the one that can fix USF basketball. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

After close to three months of silence by the University of South Florida athletics in regards to a report that assistant head coach Tom Herrion made racially insensitive comments towards student athletes and head coach Brian Gregory failed to report these incidents, the investigation finally came to a close with an announcement from the school.

The school announced early Tuesday afternoon after an independent review of the USF men’s basketball program that assistant head coach Tom Herrion “committed misconduct in violation of university policy stemming from inappropriate comments made to student-athletes”. As a result of this investigation, Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly has not renewed Tom Herrion’s contract, and Herrion is no longer with the program.

Nine players—all Black—transferred from the program after the end of the season.

Furthermore, the investigation also brought into light that the USF men’s basketball program is “proactive in addressing racial issues” and does not have a culture of hostility or problems towards race. They continued to add that head coach Brian Gregory, nor his staff, failed to address a known racial problem and that “the leadership of the MBB program was proactive and effective in addressing racial and social justice issues”.

[Ed.Note: We’ve removed a portion of this paragraph due to its inaccuracy..]

The independent review stating that only one of the allegations was brought to Gregory’s attention the day after one of the incidents occurred. Gregory then reported it to his administrators that day, and a course of action was agreed upon between Gregory and the members of the administration.

VP of Athletics Michael Kelly added in the announcement that ‘“the review reaffirms my belief in Coach Gregory’s leadership of our program. Moving forward, our entire athletic department will continue to be dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment that allows every student-athlete to thrive.”