Eastern Kentucky Coach Jane Worthington to be Retained Following Investigation

On Thursday, Eastern Kentucky released a 110-page report detailing the recent investigation into the Colonels’ softball program.

The most notable resolution following the report was that head coach Jane Worthington will retain her position, as will assistant coach Hayley Sims. Both had been focal points of the investigation.

A 14-page detailing of the investigation’s findings was accompanied by more than 90 pages of exhibits of varying types, primarily email correspondences and social media screenshots.

The investigation stemmed from a set of July 4th tweets by now-former EKU softball player Kaitlyn Young. In a seven-part tweet, Young levied a number of allegations against the coaches, including disregard for mental health issues; deprivation of meals; and mental and verbal abuse.

In a press release announcing the investigation’s findings, the school said “The investigation, which began immediately after allegations were made in a July 4^th Twitter post by a former softball student-athlete, featured interviews with over 30 current and former players, staff members, and administrators, as well as a review of records. The investigation found no EKU policy violations, criminal conduct by EKU coaches, or previous filings of formal complaints. In addition, no NCAA concerns were identified.”

EKU’s press release noted that, on June 14th – which would be prior to Young’s initial social media post – the school’s Board of Regents had approved an athletic budget that included a full-time sports psychologist and a full-time softball director of operations, as well as an increase in sports medicine and performances personnel, to include a dietitian.

Per the report released on Thursday, 31 individuals were interviewed as part of the investigation. That group included Worthington, Sims, Young, athletic director Matt Roan, three former EKU assistant softball coaches, four current EKU administrators, eleven additional former EKU softball players, three current EKU softball players, and six former staffers and administrators.

According to EKU’s release following the report on Thursday, the athletic department “will be adopting the following recommendations”:

• Educate coaching staffs on better ways to communicate with student-athletes
• Emphasize with student-athletes the proper channels to address concerns and bring forth grievances
• Clearly communicate the aspects of nutrition as a Division I student-athlete, as well as the use of performance analytical data in ensuring peak performance and student-athlete safety
• Provide leadership development for student-athletes and coaches
• Ensure all athletic strength and conditioning activities are reviewed by Sports Performance staff