|Sentinel Staff Writers are reporting:
The University of Central Florida fired baseball coach Jay Bergman because he was accused of sexually harassing a team equipment manager, a university source has confirmed.
Bergman used a bat to simulate raping equipment manager Chris Rhyce in early March, said the university source and two other sources with knowledge of the allegation. The university source asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to speak for UCF.
The three sources said Rhyce told the university in a written complaint that he was held down on the field, fully clothed, by a baseball staff member before a March 7 game while the players watched. Bergman was said to have grabbed a bat and shoved it toward Rhyce’s buttocks.
Bergman coached for almost 26 years at UCF.
“I was completely shocked by these allegations,” Bergman said. “Anyone who has worked with me throughout my 40-year career knows that I am not capable of any behavior that is intentionally disrespectful to my players or staff.”
Bergman was told of his firing Thursday and has vehemently denied the allegations, said Jill Schwartz, Bergman’s attorney.
“Coach Bergman hasn’t done anything that would warrant termination,” Schwartz told the Sentinel on Friday afternoon. “The coach has for 40 years [of coaching] conducted himself in a very professional manner. If he had a problem that was in any way inappropriate, it would have surfaced during 40 years of coaching young men. He is shocked by this.”
UCF Athletics Director Keith Tribble declined comment on why Bergman was fired.
Tribble said the university doesn’t have to pay Bergman for the remaining two years of his $82,036-per-season contract.
Rhyce, in an exclusive interview with the Sentinel, referred all questions to his attorney but did say: “I can certainly understand the admiration from the community toward Coach Bergman. It’s regrettable that his actions led to this.”
Rhyce’s attorney, Thomas Pilacek, has not returned phone calls. The three sources said Rhyce claimed to have been dealing with other forms of harassment from Bergman for several months and finally was fed up and reported the incident to his supervisor in March.
Rhyce had been a paid intern with the team since August of last year. According to the UCF media guide, he spent the 2003 and 2006 spring-training seasons working in baseball operations for the New York Yankees. He also worked in the marketing department at Florida State University, where he graduated in 2005. After he informed the university of the incident, Rhyce was transferred to another position at the university.
In a statement issued Friday, Schwartz said: “When confronted with the University’s concern, he simplyrequested an opportunity to address the issues in a professional manner. Instead, while Coach Bergman was traveling to Tampa for a night game, he was ambushed with a demand that he resign in less than a 48-hour period if he wished to avoid being fired.”
Schwartz categorized the allegations as “grossly exaggerated” and said the university needed a reason to get rid of the coach because the team’s record has declined in recent years. UCF was 27-19 this season when Bergman was dismissed.
Schwartz said, “Is it a locker room? Sure. But he’s a coach who has been routinely complimented for the polite behavior of his team. You have to look at the credibility [of the equipment manager and the coach] here.”
Bergman’s tenure at UCF has had its ups and downs. His teams have won six conference championships; the baseball stadium is named after him. He finished with a 994-594-3 record at UCF and 1,210-707-3 overall in 36 Division I seasons. But the team has struggled since moving from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the more competitive Conference USA in 2005.
This weekend the UCF team is playing at Tulane; players have been unavailable for comment. The team will be coached by associate head coach Craig Cozart for the rest of the season.
Bergman hasn’t been without incident at the school. In 2006, he was suspended for a baseball game for putting his hands on the neck of a freshman pitcher in the dugout.
“Jay’s record speaks for itself over the years,” said Tribble, the athletic director. “I don’t know many people who have accomplished what he did. He’s one that’s been highly regarded over many years.”
-sun-sentinel.com
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