Clinton Uttley
McGill University's football coach has stepped down, saying he disagrees with the school's reaction to the latest legal problems of the team's star running back.
Luis-Andres Guimont-Mota, a 22-year-old management student, is facing domestic assault charges. He previously had served a sentence for assault in an unrelated incident.
Redmen coach Clinton Uttley announced his resignation when he met his team at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
He accused McGill of turning its back on Mr. Guimont-Mota, noting that the player's past criminal conviction was a public matter at the time he joined the team.
"I believe in rehabilitation. The student athlete accepted his conviction and did his punishment, a fact that was not hidden from the University. At the time of his arrival, the University tolerated and accepted his presence and then proceeded to celebrate his accomplishments thereafter," Mr. Uttley said in his resignation letter.
Mr. Guimont-Mota's lawyer, Steve Hanafi, said he is evaluating whether to seek a court injunction allowing the suspended player to re-join the team for its next game in a couple of weeks.
The university needs to meet and talk with the player, he added, arguing that the resignation letter shows that the university knew that Mr. Guimont-Mota was serving a conviction. "It was all over the Quebec media and everybody wanted him on their team," Mr. Hanafi said.
McGill issued a statement following Mr. Uttley's resignation, thanking him for his service.
"The University maintains that the pedagogical mission of our institution takes precedence. We wish Mr. Uttley well in his future endeavours," said the statement by McGill's deputy provost for student life, Ollivier Dyens.
Mr. Uttley said he made his decision after Mr. Dyens had sent a campus-wide message last Friday to announce a review of its rules governing participation in varsity sports.
The message, which alluded to past incidents involving the football team, said Mr. Guimont-Mota shouldn't have been allowed to play for the Redmen.
"This individual should not have been invited to join our team. That was not in accordance with the values of our community."
Mr. Uttley said he could not "in good conscience" work for a school that didn't want to give a second chance to someone who had already served his sentence.
Mr. Guimont-Mota is facing charges of assault and uttering threats, for which he intends to plead not guilty. His 21-year-old wife alleges he pushed her.
When Mr. Guimont-Mota joined the team, he had been sentenced to a 90-day term for the 2010 beating of a man outside a bar in Quebec City.
In his letter of resignation, Mr. Uttley said that, "for McGill University to say now that this individual should not have been allowed on our team in the first place because of his past, deeply troubles me and in good conscience I cannot work for an organization that does not embrace equity and inclusiveness."
Mr. Uttley became head coach at McGill in November 2011.
Last Friday's message by Mr. Dyens alluded to past frictions between the coach and the administration.
In April, 2012, three players were charged with sexually assaulting a female Concordia student. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this fall. The charges became public a year after they were laid and university officials at the time said they were not aware of the incident.
"There have been a few incidents in recent years where relevant information concerning football players was not dealt with appropriately at McGill. We take responsibility for those errors and are committed to preventing them in the future," the message said.
The message suggested that the latest troubles involving Mr. Guimont-Mota were part of a broader pattern.
"The recurrence of these incidents demands an in-depth review of our rules and regulations governing participation in varsity sports."
A 40-year-old native of Orillia, Ont., Mr. Uttley previously worked in various coaching posts at the University of British Columbia, Acadia University and with the Huronia Stallions.
"Postsecondary education should be accessible for all, not just the ones who have no known incidences," he wrote in his letter. "How can someone aspire to rehabilitation when the leading institutions of Quebec and Canada shun those who have made an error in judgment?"
With a file from Simona Chiose
Tu Thanh Ha