On November 12, 2023, Utah head coach Tom Farden was positioned on paid administrative depart after being on the middle of abuse allegations and an exterior evaluation. On November 21 – 9 days later – Farden and Utah “mutually agreed to half methods,” with affiliate head coach Carly Dockendorf in the end taking his place. Within the 12 months since, Farden has been largely faraway from public life, though he has returned to teaching.
Tom Farden joins Twin Metropolis Twisters
In early July, information dropped that Farden can be becoming a member of the teaching workers of Minnesota-based Twin Metropolis Twisters (TCT) – the gymnasium that produced 2020 Olympic silver medalist Grace McCallum and world champion Maggie Nichols – as group director and ladies coach. This got here after Farden, a Minnesota native, left Utah amid controversy surrounding abuse allegations from dad and mom and gymnasts.
In August 2023, Salt Lake Metropolis-based Deseret Information revealed that the College of Utah had engaged an out of doors company to open an investigation in response to alleged verbal and emotional abuse by Farden. This investigation, which price the college greater than $150,000, cleared Farden, no less than administratively, of wrongdoing, noting that Farden’s teaching ways didn’t attain the extent outlined as abusive by NCAA and SafeSport.
A little bit over a month after the findings of the investigation have been made public, former Purple Rock and 2020 Olympic alternate Kara Eaker launched a assertion additional alleging verbal and emotional abuse carried out by Farden throughout her time at Utah. Within the assertion, Eaker detailed the deterioration of her psychological, bodily, and emotional well being throughout her two years with this system and the way it ultimately led to her early retirement (she has since un-retired and transferred to Georgia, the place she is going to compete this upcoming season).
Eaker’s assertion additionally condemned the unbiased investigation, characterizing it as “incomplete as finest.”
Regardless of the findings of the unique investigation, Farden was positioned on administrative depart in November, weeks after Eaker’s assertion dropped. 9 days later, it was introduced that Farden and the College had “mutually agreed to half methods, efficient instantly.”
Previous to the information of Farden’s transfer to TCT, Utah introduced the addition of Mike Starvation – former TCT proprietor and head coach – to its teaching workers. As proprietor of the membership, Starvation labored with many former and present Utah gymnasts, together with McCallum, Abby Paulson, and Abby Brenner.
The announcement of Farden’s return to teaching at TCT, which leaked by an electronic mail despatched to folks on the gymnasium, was met with disappointment from many followers. TCT coaches have beforehand been beneath fireplace, particularly at-the-time elite head coach Sarah Jantzi, who supported coach Maggie Haney when she was accused of abuse.
Haney, very like Farden, was accused of verbal and emotional abuse again in 2020, ultimately resulting in an eight-year suspension (later diminished to 5), administered by the U.S. Heart for SafeSport. Within the aftermath of this choice, Haney sued USA Gymnastics, alleging unfair therapy throughout her listening to. In the course of the ensuing trial, Jantzi was listed as a personality reference for Haney, with courtroom paperwork noting that Jantzi wrote a letter in help of the disgraced coach.
Although SafeSport’s jurisdiction doesn’t prolong to school athletics, leaving Farden’s case in a grey space, precedent means that an investigation and even suspension could not have been a lot of a deterrent to Farden’s teaching profession. In the same scenario to Farden, although one during which SafeSport did have jurisdiction, Scott Touzinsky, a former assistant volleyball coach at Lengthy Seaside State, was permitted to proceed teaching on the school stage regardless of a suspension from USA Volleyball and an ongoing investigation from the U.S. Heart for SafeSport concerning misconduct whereas he was a member of the US nationwide group.
Whereas Touzinsky’s teaching profession ended together with his eventual SafeSport sanction, the identical cannot be stated for Haney, who was reported to nonetheless be privately teaching athletes whereas suspended in late 2020.
In early October, Jantzi introduced that she was leaving TCT to educate at Pacific Reign Gymnastics in Washington, residence of present elite standouts Jayla Hold and Simone Rose, probably opening the door to Farden having a bigger position within the reimagined TCT panorama.
Earlier than his premature exit from this system, Farden’s Purple Rocks skilled widespread success, not ending a season ranked outdoors of the highest 10 in his four-year tenure as sole head coach. Over the identical interval, the Purple Rocks completed third thrice on the NCAA ultimate and gained 5 particular person NCAA titles.
The Utah-Twin Metropolis Twisters pipeline runs deep, with no indicators of breakage within the close to future. As Farden returns to teaching, most of the questions requested by each followers and gymnasts concerning the therapy of his athletes stay unanswered.
