University of Utah gymnastics coach Tom Farden has been put on paid administrative leave effective immediately, the U’s Athletics Department announced in a statement Sunday night. This comes several weeks after allegations of abuse were made by former Utah gymnasts Kara Eaker and Kim Tessen.
Farden was the subject of an investigation concerning his treatment of his athletes earlier this year, but the university’s statement said the action against Farden was “not related to student-athlete welfare.” The statement clarified Farden was being placed on paid leave for “recent conduct and actions” that “simply do not align with our values and expectations.”
The U said Carly Dockendorf, associate head coach under Farden, will step in as the interim head coach during this period of leave.
The U hired a law firm, Husch Blackwell, in June to investigate Farden after several women voiced complaints about Farden’s treatment of them to the university’s student-athlete advocate.
The review found that while Farden’s behavior caused some athletes to feel an “increased fear of failure,” it didn’t ever get to the level of “severe, pervasive, egregious acts of emotional or verbal abuse of student-athletes,” as defined by the NCAA and SafeSport.
A month after the report was made public, highly decorated U gymnast Kara Eaker announced her retirement from the U’s gymnastics team as well as from the sport as a whole, citing “verbal and emotional abuse.” She has also withdrawn as a student from the U.
“As a result, my physical, mental, and emotional health has rapidly declined,” Eaker wrote in her October announcement. “I had been seeing a university athletics psychologist for a year and a half and I’m now seeing a new provider twice a week because of suicidal and self-harm ideation and being unable to care for myself properly.”
Days later, former U gymnast Kim Tessen posted a statement on Instagram in support of Eaker and condemned the U and its various departments for failing to address abusive coaching.
Tessen said she isn’t trying to compare her trauma to Eaker’s, rather, she is “sharing this in support of her and all other survivors of abusive coaching.”
Tessen directly called out Farden in the statement for excessive criticism, intimidation tactics, favoritism and aggressive conduct. The former Red Rock gymnast shared some of her personal experiences in her statement, including her injuries, mental health and interactions with Farden.
“It’s also clear that if you can’t look, act, eat, or perform in a certain way, you’ll face negative consequences,” Tessen wrote in her statement. “These are clear, intentional, intimidation tactics used to exert control and dominance over us.”
Farden has been the Red Rocks’ sole head coach for four years. The coach has led the team to four consecutive Pac-12 regular season titles, and three third-place finishes in the NCAA Championships.
