BERKELEY (KRON) – Officials at the University of California, Berkeley have begun the process to fire their assistant men’s basketball coach Yann Hufnagel Monday for alleged sexual harassment.
After the university found that coach Hufnagel violated the CAL’s sexual harassment policy, head coach Cuonzo Martin initiated the terminations proceedings.
Hufnagel has been relieved of his duties effectively immediately and will not be traveling with the team in the upcoming NCAA tournament game on Friday against University of Hawaii.
Hufnagel tweeted Monday morning after his firing went public “Right now, the only focus should be on our basketball team! My time to exonerate myself of a fruitless claim by a reporter will come.”
Right now, the only focus should be on our basketball team! My time to exonerate myself of a fruitless claim by a reporter will come.
– Yann Hufnagel (@yhufnagel) March 14, 2016
Hufnagel is in his second year as an assistant coach at UC Berkeley. He previously served as an assistant at Vanderbilt University, Harvard University and the University of Oklahoma.
UC Berkeley officials said they will distribute a redacted version of the investigation of Hufnagel later Monday after the complainant against him has been provided with a copy and has had an opportunity to review the findings.
Hufnagel is the latest in a string of UC Berkeley officials to come under fire for alleged sexual misconduct.
On Friday, UC Berkeley law school dean Sujit Choudry resigned from his post following allegations that he had sexually harassed his executive assistant for months in 2014 and 2015.
Astronomy professor Geoffrey Marcy resigned in October amid allegations that he had sexually harassed students for a decade.
California’s head men’s basketball coach, Cuonzo Martin, has initiated termination proceedings under University of California policy against assistant coach, Yann Hufnagel, Cal’s Intercollegiate Athletics Department announced today. Effective immediately, Hufnagel has been relieved of his duties pending the outcome of the termination process and will not be traveling with the team during its NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament run. The actions follow a finding, issued today by UC Berkeley’s Office of the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) that Hufnagel violated the University’s sexual harassment policy.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report