P.J. Fleck Says Allegations of Toxic Culture in Minnesota CFB Program Are 'Baseless'

Minnesota head football coach P.J. Fleck defended his team on Thursday following a report that detailed allegations of mistreatment within the program.

Speaking with ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, Fleck said the "baseless allegations" have "been looked into multiple times since 2017" and no wrongdoing has been found. He added that the claims come from a former Minnesota faculty member who "clearly has a personal vendetta against myself and our football program."

A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports released a report Wednesday detailing allegations made by former players who "described an environment fraught with intimidation and toxicity" under Fleck.

The head coach allegedly created a concept dubbed the "Fleck Bank," which allowed players to earn "coins" for completing community service, getting good grades or reporting on other players.

If a player had accumulated enough "coins," Fleck would allegedly allow players "to get away with positive drug tests, and other violations of team rules," according to Perez.

Fleck acknowledged the "Fleck Bank" during a news conference at Big Ten media day. However, he said it was an analogy and that no coins ever existed or were exchanged, according to Rittenberg.

"There was no currency ever exchanged. There was no coins that ever existed," Fleck said. "It was an analogy simply to explain investment for life, a life lesson of investment, simply that. No one ever got out of any type of punishment for that."

Players also described a cult-like atmosphere within Fleck's program that included intimidation and punishments that included extreme workouts, according to Perez.

Minnesota is the second Big Ten football program to face allegations of mistreatment this offseason, joining Northwestern, who fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald because, as Northwestern president Michael Schill said, he failed "to know and prevent significant hazing in the football program."

Northwestern is now facing numerous lawsuits stemming from alleged hazing incidents.