Ex-Illinois player accuses Tim Beckman of rough treatment
CNN reported Tuesday that former Illinois players have accused Tim Beckman of rough treatment during Illini practices.
By
Jerry Hinnen
•
2 min read
CNN issued a report Tuesday on the alleged mistreatment of athletes in Illinois's athletics programs, and though its principal focus was the Illini women's basketball program, it also included another set of allegations involving Illini football coach Tim Beckman.
Beckman had been publicly accused in May of "attacking" former Illini player Kenny Knight at a 2013 practice. Knight told CNN that both he and an unnamed current player had each been subject to rough, physical treatment from Beckman during Illini practices, with CNN reportingthose claims had been backed up by other players.
[W]itnesses said that at the start of one practice, the [current] player ran onto the field with his helmet unbuckled, and Beckman ran over to him, grabbed his face mask and jerked his head back and forth, yelling at him.
In 2013, Knight says, a similar thing happened to him. He says Beckman grabbed and tackled him from behind, throwing him to the ground during a practice. Two former teammates who witnessed the incident ... say it happened after Knight was hit "dirty" by another player with his head down -- something that's prohibited in college football.
"I immediately got in his face about it," Knight said of the player who hit him. "Before I had the chance to lift a finger, in a matter of seconds, I was grabbed by my shoulder and thrown on the ground. I was livid, I thought I was going to look up and see one of my teammates had thrown me down, but I looked up and saw Tim Beckman staring in my face. I was shocked. I don't think I uttered a word."
The university says Beckman thought he was breaking up a fight ... Knight's father said the night of the incident, Beckman told him, 'Kenny accidentally fell backwards over him.'
Knight's account comes on the heels of other players speaking out against Beckman's treatment, most notably former Illini lineman Simon Cvijanovic, who said in May Beckman pressured him to play through injury. Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas has backed Beckman through the allegations, as have many of Beckman's current Illini players.
Thomas had previously stated his belief that Beckman was attempting to break up a fight in the incident described by Knight.
Knight's allegations -- and those of Nick North, another Illini player who told CNN he'd been pressured to play through injury -- may not be brand-new, and ultimately likely won't decide whether Beckman remains Illinois's head coach or not. (A second straight bowl berth would do far, far more good than any of this will do harm, it appears.) But CNN's restoring those allegations to the forefront of the Illinois offseason is another reason Week 1 probably can't come soon enough for Beckman.
