First and foremost, I want to acknowledge that I could have handled this situation better.听I feel particularly bad that I did not personally reach out to the woman involved.听I realize it would have been helpful for her to hear from me directly, letting her know the steps we would take and just checking in with her to offer personal help and support.
I also should have engaged our Office of Equity and Compliance right away.听As the Chancellor stated last Friday, we will err on the side of caution by reporting when in doubt moving forward and should have done so here.
Additionally, I take responsibility for not being aware that a temporary restraining order had been filed prior to the day we received a copy, Jan. 6. Immediately after reviewing the report, we called Joe in and suspended him the same day.听I understand this may appear to some that we were trying to hide the allegation. We were not.听We hesitated to put Joe immediately on leave after听we first learned of the allegation without any police investigation being brought to us or filings in a court.听This does not change the situation, but gives you an idea of our conundrum. In the future, we will do better involving our experts around the campus immediately.
People need to know that I am committed to doing things the right way here. I am as thrilled by our football success as anyone, but I don鈥檛 ever want to compromise our values. I want us to be a model program in all ways and at all times.听I am fully supportive of the changes the Chancellor is implementing and I am committed to upholding CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 values in all our words and in actions.
Respectfully,
Rick George,
Athletics Director, University of Colorado听
Athletic Director Rick George
