Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden is reportedly accused of multiple counts of sexual harassment and stalking.
According to Florida’s student newspaper The Alligator, a formal Title IX complaint was filed against Golden on September 27 for alleged violations of the school’s gender equity policy.
According to the complaint, Golden is accused of making unwanted advances on women on social media and of stalking. Among those women are students from Florida.
From the alligator:
The sexual harassment claims, which could also include sexual exploitation, alleged making unwanted sexual advances on Instagram, soliciting sexual favors, sending photos and videos of his genitals while traveling for UF and several cases of stalking.
There was allegedly more than one occasion when Golden took photos of women walking or driving and sent those photos to the subjects involved. In several stalking incidents, Golden also showed up at locations where he knew the women would be.
The report quotes two women who allegedly experienced Golden’s behavior. One said she had been stalked by Golden “more than ten times” and that he had sent her photos of his genitals.
Golden, 39, is in his third season as Florida’s head coach and his wife is listed in his biography on the school’s website. Florida hired Golden after the 2021-2022 season to replace Mike White.
Golden was hired at Florida not long after The Alligator detailed allegations of misconduct against former women’s basketball coach Cameron Newbauer. Newbauer resigned in July 2021 after players repeatedly accused him of abuse. After Newbauer resigned, the school said it asked Newbauer for “corrective action” and that it “did not see the required improvements.” Athletic director Scott Stricklin also said he ultimately took responsibility for the culture of the women’s basketball program.
Newbauer was the first coach hired by Stricklin after coming out of Mississippi State. Stricklin hired Golden and said Thursday he would retain football coach Billy Napier as the Gators are 4-4 with four games left in the season.
Golden took over the men’s basketball program after the team went 20-14 in 2021-22. The Gators were just 16-17 in Golden’s first season. Last season, Florida improved with eight wins to go 24-12 after losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 7 seed. This season, the Gators are up 2-0 heading into Monday night’s game against Grambling.
Before coming to Florida, Golden was head coach at San Francisco for three seasons. The Dons had two winning seasons during his tenure there and made the NCAA tournament in his final season. Before beginning his coaching career, Golden played basketball at Saint Mary’s.
