Amid Northwestern hazing, former CFB coach P.J. Fleck accused of a "toxic culture" inside the Minnesota locker room 

Minnesota's P.J. Fleck has becomes the latest college football head coach engulfed in an intra-team scandal this offseason. While Pat Fitzgerald's hazing allegation at Northwestern remains fresh in memory, it appears we are proceeding into another series.

On Wednesday, Front Office Sports released an investigative report detailing a toxic culture under P.J. Fleck. Many former players and staff that have worked with Fleck at Minnesota described the environment at the program as "fraught with intimidation and toxicity."

They mentioned the existence of a concept known as the "Fleck Bank" within the Golden Gophers team. This is a system where players with a sufficient number of "coins" can avoid facing consequences for positive drug tests and other violations of team rules.

The anonymous players also referred to Fleck's "Row the Boat" culture as a "cult," drawing parallels to how it was implemented during Fleck's tenure at Western Michigan. The Minnesota head coach published a book with the same title, delving into the details of his philosophy in 2021.

One of the peculiar practices that players pointed out was that they were expected to give a collective round of applause every time Fleck entered a room. It was also noted that the coach exerted pressure on the team's medical staff to clear injured players to return to play before they were fully ready.

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P.J. Fleck calls the allegation "baseless"

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl - Minnesota vs. Syracuse

Speaking at the 2023 Big Ten Media Days on Thursday, P.J. Fleck defended himself and the Minnesota football program in the wake of the recent allegations. He dismissed the accusations of mistreatment by former players and staff of the Golden Gophers, describing it as baseless.

"These allegations are baseless. We have the full support of our athletic director, Mark Coyle, and our university leadership. This is a similar story that gets peddled every single year, and the majority of the players have been dismissed or removed from our football team.

"Our program culture is proven to work on and off the field, and it's always done in a first-class manner. There are tons of testimonials from past, current and future Gophers," Fleck told the assembled media.

Fleck clarified during the Big Ten Media Days that the term "Fleck Bank" was primarily used as an analogy during the 2017 and 2018 seasons to emphasize player investment in the program. He explained that those who contributed more to the team would have more positive and rewarding experiences as a result.

"There was no currency ever exchanged. There was no coins that ever existed. 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," Fleck said.

P.J. Fleck will enter his seventh season in charge of the Golden Gophers in the upcoming season. With back-to-back nine-win seasons and two bowl victories, expectations are high as Minnesota enters the 2023 college football season.