Former coaches accused of discrimination
Complaint filed by two football players names Fran, Parks

By Victor Drabicky
Senior Sports Editor

Despite head coach Dennis Franchione’s departure from TCU more than six weeks ago, the impact of his tenure is more evident than ever. Two weeks before Franchione and part of his coaching staff left for Alabama, he and ex-TCU linebackers coach Mark Parks were formally accused of racial discrimination and harassment by two TCU football players.

Both coaches deny the allegations.

According to the Houston Chronicle, juniors Adrian and Allen Lewis filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education claiming the coaches used “racial slurs and stereotypical comments.”

The Lewises refused to comment Tuesday under advice from their counsel.

According to the Associated Press, the Lewis’ complaint describes three years of mistreatment and racist comments by Parks, including his alleged comments: “I am glad we finally have some white players on the team instead of the team being all black,” and “All you people care about is chasing (women), fine clothes, fancy cars and good times.”

Parks denied the accusations and would not comment further on the matter.

The Lewis’ complaint was received by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on Nov. 15.

The complaint states Franchione suspended Adrian from the team following a half-time incident during the team’s season opener at Nevada, in which Adrian “made eye contact with a white woman when she gave him a high-five.” TCU has no record of the suspension but did conduct an internal investigation into the matter.

The investigation found no evidence of racism but did find instances of “inappropriate language.”

TCU investigation officials could not be reached for comment.

In a statement released through the University of Alabama, Franchione said, “the investigations have uncovered no evidence of harassment or discrimination of any sort, and I am confident this situation will be resolved soon.

“I have coached 28 years with a mission of developing people first and players second,” Franchione said. “In that spirit, I could not live with myself if I mistreated a person due to race or for any other reason. I do not understand how the two players at TCU came to feel as they did, and I feel badly that they believe they have been mistreated.”

In a statement released by TCU, Athletics Director Eric Hyman agreed with Franchione.

“TCU will cooperate fully with the (investigation) and will take whatever steps necessary to ensure that our football program continues to respect every human being,” Hyman said. “Until the Department of Education’s review is complete, there will be no further comment from me or other university officials.”

Both Adrian and Allen reported to practice Monday.

Adrian began last season as a second-string linebacker, but he played mostly on special teams. Allen, a third-string fullback, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in the third game of the season, and he missed the rest of the season.