Another former Iowa Hawkeyes football player spoke about his negative experiences with head coach Kirk Ferentz and his staff.
Akrum Wadley, a Hawkeyes who ran from 2014 to 17, described numerous incidents from his tenure in Iowa in a long Facebook post on Monday.
“I felt like playing football for Iowa was a nightmare,” wrote Wadley. “I never drank alcohol before college, but based on my experience there, it was apparently the only thing I could rely on and it was what I did to deal with it.”
Wadley is the fourth largest player in school history, but he wrote that he and other black players found they were being unfairly attacked regardless of their field performance.
“I remember that those in my group who were all black were transferred. When this happened when I tried my best to deal with it to help my teammates, Kirk Ferentz threatened that my meal card would be taken away and I will neither eat nor be able to sit with my teammates during the meal sessions. “
Wadley said Ferentz followed up on the threat; His meal card was later declined when he tried to use it.
“I had to call my mother from New Jersey from 10pm or 11pm because I was hungry to order Domino’s Pizza. Or I had to go to a fan’s house earlier that night to eat because I couldn’t do it . ” will be able to survive vomiting the next day, be weak and make it through school and practice that day. “
Wadley also remembered a case in which offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, who was the running backs coach at the time, made racist comments when Wadley put on a team-issued wool hat after training. He wrote that Ferentz roared, “Hey Akrum, are you going to rob a gas station?” and “Akrum, are you going to rob a liquor store?”
Wadley wrote that he saw a therapist because no one on the soccer program was willing to help or listen. But after meeting the therapist, he was unable to find or contact her. Nobody told him where she was going and no replacement was brought.
“I wish I had never played for the Iowa Hawkeyes,” wrote Wadley.
He added: “My hope is my story, and that of my teammates saves others from the experiences, truths, and mistakes of playing under and for a coaching staff in Iowa who did nothing to prevent us from being bullied and racist Chris Doyle, Brian Ferentz and Kirk Ferentz. “
Wadley’s testimony comes after several other former and current players said they experienced unfair treatment and racism while playing in Iowa.
The school put strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle on administrative leave in early June after dozens of former players accused him of making degrading and racist statements. Doyle was then released. Ferentz, the longest acting trainer at the FBS, has since asked questions about culture in his program.
