Mike Bobo speaks out about allegations of racial insensitivity while at Colorado State
South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Bobo spoke publicly for the first time Thursday, addressing allegations of abusive treatment and “racially insensitive” comments during his time as head coach at Colorado State.
Bobo opened his first press conference of the Gamecocks’ preseason camp by saying he had waited nearly two weeks to speak on the accusations, raised by players and staff members at CSU in an article published by the Fort Collins Coloradoan, because he wanted to respect USC athletic director Ray Tanner and an internal inquiry the department has opened.
“As far as me and my family, it’s been a difficult time,” Bobo said, “because I know who I am and how I treat people. But at the same time, I’ve been very, very grateful of the support that I’ve received from obviously family, friends, former players, former teammates, guys that I’ve coached, parents, guardians. It’s really been overwhelming, and I just want to say thanks to those people. I’ve touched base with most of them personally.
“But one thing that it has made me realize, it’s made me want to be, you know, a better coach, a better person, a better father, a better husband, a better brother, a better teammate to my former teammates and a better friend. When you read those things, it makes you realize that, you know, you’ve done some good things, but you can do better.”
Bobo did not address any of the specific allegations raised in the article — including that he called Black players “boy,” made other demeaning remarks and an accusation that he belittled an overweight member of the support staff.
Bobo — while he didn’t explicitly say any of the allegations were false — did push back on the general claims that he was racially insensitive or bullying.
“I take offense that anybody, as a member of my team or coaching staff or support staff, that they were treated racially insensitive or there might have been abuse,” Bobo said. “One thing I can say is that, you know, we’re family. We were a family there, we loved each other. And I can honestly say I treated people like I would like to be treated, like I would want them to treat my child: Hold them to be accountable, hold them to a high standard and love them.”
At the same time, Bobo said he “never claimed to be perfect ... to be the guy that has the answers to everything.” He added that while he loved his time at Colorado State, he wishes he could go back and change some things to improve on-field results.
Shortly after the Coloradoan article was published, the South Carolina athletic department issued a statement saying it would be investigating the allegations, and Tanner later said he planned to deliver a report to university president Bob Caslen. Bobo said Thursday he is cooperating fully with the inquiry.
“I’ve met with coach Tanner and part of his administrative staff about this when it came up, shortly after the article came up. I was completely transparent and honest about every question that came my way, I have nothing to hide,” Bobo said. “I understand that (Tanner) talked with several players on our football team, talked to some people at Colorado State, but again I was completely transparent, and I have nothing to hide, in the ongoing investigation that (Tanner) has put forth.”
Colorado State has also said it is investigating the allegations in the article, which also included accusations of misconduct by new coach Steve Addazio. Bobo declined to answer a question Thursday about CSU’s investigation.
Since the Coloradoan article was published, more than a dozen former players, coaches, staff members and parents of players under Bobo have taken to social media to defend the former Georgia offensive coordinator, saying they never witnessed any racial insensitivity on his part. South Carolina coach Will Muschamp retweeted many of those messages and called the accusations “absurd” during a press conference Monday.
“I’ve known Mike since 1993. He doesn’t have a racist bone in his body. That’s really all I’ll comment at this time. I look forward to commenting further, but I don’t want to give the article any more credibility because it doesn’t deserve any,” Muschamp added.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 3:06 PM.
