Allegations of Air Force Academy athletes involved in sexual assaults, drugs and cheating are being investigated by the superintendent.
Superintendent Lt. Gen., Michelle D. Johnson, is being investigated on the validity of information discovered in documents released through the Freedom of Information Act. The information has already been confirmed by AFA sports officials, and aligns with misconduct cases from 2010 and 2011, in which football players were involved with heavy drinking and drugs – including the use of date-rape drugs – at several parties, The Gazette reported.
Johnson recently warned coaches that the academy stood to a hit to its reputation, similar to the 2011 Penn State scandal, if academy standards were not upheld, reports the NY Times. Likewise, head football coach Troy Calhoun has warned coaches that turning their heads away from a recruit's problems or from a misbehaving athlete will result in their termination, reports the AP.
"(The coaches) still talk to me and say, 'I have never been chewed out like that before,' " Hans Mueh, the academy athletic director, told The Gazette.
After a raid of six dorm rooms following a 2010 "wild" party, investigators confiscated synthetic marijuana, which lead to the expulsion of 21 cadets, reports the AP. A similar party in 2011 did not result in any expulsions; however, 32 cadets were investigated on misconduct allegations, according to the AP.
This investigation is currently being characterized as another black eye on the proud military branch, as it follows intense congressional scrutiny in 2003, regarding charges that Air Force officials were discouraging female cadets from reporting sexual assaults. Among other outcomes, the scandal led to the replacement of top officials at the academy, including the former superintendent.
