Apparently former Illinois OL Simon Cvijanovic, who ranted on Twitter in May about Tim Beckman’s mistreatment of players, is not alone in his feelings.
A CNN investigative report of the Illinois football and women’s basketball teams reveal further allegations of Beckman abusing his players, physically and otherwise. Recently graduated TE Kenny Knight said Beckman once grabbed him and threw him to the ground after another player hit him illegally, which he also did on separate occasions.
“I immediately got in his face about it,” Knight said of the player who hit him. “Before I had the chance to lift a finger, in a matter of seconds, I was grabbed by my shoulder and thrown on the ground. I was livid, I thought I was going to look up and see one of my teammates had thrown me down, but I looked up and saw Tim Beckman staring in my face. I was shocked. I don’t think I uttered a word.”
When Knight and his father tried looking at tape of the practice to really see what happened — the university said Beckman believed he was breaking up a fight — Knight “could see the dial was moving to let me know that it was still playing, but there was no film to be seen. It wouldn’t play for me or anybody else.”
Former player Nick North also echoed Cvijanovic’s sentiments about being forced to play through injury, telling CNN, “They kept saying, ‘You need to go back out there,’ even though they knew I wasn’t 100 percent. I’d literally be limping while running, and you could see it. … They were like, if you can’t do this, you’re going to have to leave. You can’t play here. We’re going to take your scholarship.”
The players who spoke to CNN said more stories like this are out there, but current players are afraid to speak up, which if any of the above is true, is a shame.
[CNN]
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