Oregon’s new strength and conditioning coach, Irele Oderinde, has been suspended after three of Duck players were hospitalized after intense offseason workouts.
The announcement came late Tuesday evening.
Oderinde recently joined the program after the hiring of Willie Taggart, with whom he’d previously worked at the University of South Florida. Oderinde has been suspended for one month without pay for his conduct.
The three players who were hospitalized were linemen Doug Brenner and Sam Poutasi and tight end Cam McCormick. All were said to be in stable condition Tuesday and Brenner was eventually released that same night.
Taggart released a statement through the university following the suspension of Oderinde, saying, “I have visited with the three young men involved in the incidents in the past few days and I have been in constant contact with their families, offering my sincere apologies. As the head football coach, I hold myself responsible for all of our football-related activities and the safety of our students must come first. I have addressed the issue with our strength and conditioning staff, and I fully support the actions taken today by the university.
Oderinde’s intense training regimen was said to be reflective of military basic training and consisted of push ups, sit ups and squats. However, multiple players complained of discolored urine while another complained of unusual muscle soreness.
