Big Ten Roundup (July 27): P.J. Fleck Responds to Allegations of Toxic Culture at Minnesota

Minnesota football coach P.J. Fleck responded to allegations from anonymous former players published in an article from Front Office Sports that he created a toxic environment within the Minnesota program.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – An article published by Front Office Sports on Wednesday alleged an environment of intimidation and toxicity within the Minnesota football program.

Former Minnesota players, speaking anonymously, referenced the “Fleck Bank” — a system that allowed players with enough “coins” to get away with positive drug tests, and other violations of team rules.

At Big Ten Media Days on Thursday in Indianapolis, Fleck responded to these allegations. To read the full Front Office Sports article, click here. 

Fleck was asked, "A story that ran yesterday, there was some allegations that you probably found troubling regarding your program made by some former players. There was a reference to a Fleck Bank and Fleck Coins that could be used in some cases. There's allegations of violating team rules with those Fleck Coins. Could you kind of describe what a Fleck Bank is, those Fleck Coins, and maybe respond to some of the allegations made?"

Here is Fleck's full response:

"First of all, the Fleck Bank, mostly used in 2017 and '18, was an analogy used in a team meeting talking about the more you invest into a program, the better experience you're going to get out of it.

As a head football coach when you come in and you don't know anybody, the guys that do really good things are going to have a really good experience. If you're not doing all the right things, you're probably not going to have a great experience.

There was no currency ever exchanged. There was no coins that ever existed. It was an analogy simply to explain investment for life, a life lesson of investment. Simply that.

No one ever got out of any type of punishment for that. And just so everybody knows, in punishing our football team, that word "punishing," in fact, our athletic department has taken over our disciplinary-type actions. We do not use physical activity to discipline our players at the University of Minnesota. And we have never done that.

Our players do things like they wake up early and clean the weight room. Whatever you did, you watch a video on that. If you were late to class, you watch a video on tardiness, you write your professor a letter.

Those are the disciplines we actually have within our program; that our athletic department changed their policies and made sure that no physical activity of any sport could be used as punishment based on what we created as a football team.

These allegations are baseless. We have full support of our athletic director, Mark Coyle, and our university leadership. This is a similar story that gets peddled every single year, and the majority of the players have been dismissed or removed from our football team. We also have around a half-dozen anonymous reporting avenues within our football program that players can go to if they have an issue.

Protection for all, EEOA office, mental health support, SAC, leadership council. And our athletic director, Mark Coyle, gives his cell phone number to every single football player to call him if they have any issue. To this date, there have been zero claims on this issue. Zero.

Our program and culture is proven to work on and off the field, and it's always done in a first-class manner. We're one of the most transparent programs in the country. There are tons of testimonials from past, present, and even future Gophers to support and prove that.

My energy needs to be on the 2023 football team, and that only, and not the baseless allegations.

So that's what the Fleck Bank was, was strictly an analogy. And with all the other things that were reported, we have explanations on that as well."

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