According to a report, Florida Gators head basketball coach Todd Golden has been accused of stalking and sexual harassment.
The report comes from The Alligator, which obtained Title IX documents revealing that the University of Florida received a formal complaint on September 27 about Golden’s alleged conduct.
These allegations include claims that Golden engaged in conduct that violates the school’s Gender Equity Policy and involved sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, and stalking over the course of a year and specifically targeted University of Florida students.
The documents reportedly cite instances of Golden sending pictures and videos of his genitalia while on the road in his capacity as the men’s basketball coach, making unwanted sexual advances via Instagram, and asking for sexual favors.
According to the report, Golden was alleged to have contacted women on Instagram by liking their photos until they read a direct message he had sent them, then he unliked the images to cover his tracks.
There are also alleged other instances of stalking in which Golden is accused of taking photos of women while walking or driving and then sending the photos to the person and showing up at locations where the subject was known to be.
Florida Gators men’s basketball gead coach Todd Golden is facing serious accusations of sexual harassment and stalking. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
The Alligator—a student newspaper independent of the university—spoke to two women who are both former University of Florida students and who backed up the allegations in the documents.
One of the women claimed that she had been stalked by Golden “more than 10 times” and sent unsolicited photos of his genitals. The other woman said that Golden had sent messages to her numerous times before Gators games, that they were “his drug” or “his good luck charm.”
This is not the first time in recent years that there have been allegations levied against a head basketball coach at the University of Florida.
According to SBNation, in 2021, then women’s head coach Cam Newbauer resigned amid allegations of abuse that included demeaning and throwing basketballs at players.
The Florida Gators men’s basketball team is currently the No. 21-ranked team in the nation and has a 2-0 record so far this season. Their next game will be on Monday evening against the Grambling State Tigers.
