P.J. Fleck’s arrival at the University of Minnesota drew national media attention to Golden Gophers football, fueled by the young head coach’s seemingly boundless energy, love of mantras, and success at Western Michigan.
“We have a certain culture, and people want to know about that culture just like any successful business out there — people want to know, how did you do that? What’s your story?” Fleck said in the first episode of a four-part ESPNU series chronicling his first season at Minnesota in 2017.
Over the last month, Front Office Sports interviewed several former players and staff members about Fleck’s six seasons as the Gophers’ head coach. They described an environment fraught with intimidation and toxicity and referenced the “Fleck Bank” — a system that allowed players with enough “coins” to get away with positive drug tests, and other violations of team rules.
The Fleck Bank tracked community service — including visiting patients at the University of Minnesota Medical Center with Fleck — and was a way to keep tabs on players’ studying habits, multiple former players said. Two former players said those who provided information on other players were given Fleck Bank credits.
Unprompted, the term “cult” was used by multiple former players and former staff members to describe Fleck’s “Row the Boat” culture spelled out in the so-called “Fleck Book” that players are given when they join the team. Fleck said he developed the “Row the Boat” philosophy — one he laid out in a 2021 book of the same name — that was an approach he also used at Western Michigan.
The former players and staff members were granted anonymity by FOS over fears of retaliation since they remain in the sport in some form. The players — some of whom were starters — were all under scholarship, and they played for Fleck from 2017 through 2021.
Athletic director Mark Coyle defended Fleck in a statement to FOS.
“P.J. and our program are unique,” Coyle said. “They put themselves out there in new and different ways — but always in a first-class manner — and after nearly seven years, it is clear to me, that is what makes P.J. and our program so successful.
“I always encourage all of our student-athletes, including every member of our football team, to reach out to me directly if they encounter any issues. To date, I have not heard from a single football student-athlete about the allegations raised.”
Through FOS’ interviews, “Row the Boat” was more than just another way to say “never give up” as they described it as the underpinnings of the program’s troubled culture.
“You almost wondered who was a rat and who wasn’t a rat,” the first player told FOS. “You always felt like you had to keep [your] guard up. They told us we could seek help with a mental health counselor, and get some therapy sessions. But our schedules were so busy that it was like, when would you do that?”
“Some of Fleck’s recruits tested positive, but he looked past it because they had coins in the Fleck Bank from doing community service or staying around to pray with him,” said the second player. “He wanted you to be family, and he wanted you to do whatever he wanted you to do.”
A first strike for a street drug doesn’t trigger an automatic suspension, although a player is required to undergo a medical evaluation, and a review panel would convene a meeting with the player and a member of the coaching staff. Coaches, however, “may enforce a more restrictive team policy or team rule,” according to the University of Minnesota athletic department’s drug policy.
A statement to FOS by the University of Minnesota athletic department stated the school’s “drug testing policy is applied equitable and universally across all programs and any implication otherwise is false.”
But two other players confirmed that some players faced no repercussions for positive tests while they were at the school.
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