A new report by Sports Illustrated has called into question when the University of Colorado found out about the domestic violence allegations against former assistant Joe Tumpkin and whether the school allowed him to coach in their bowl game after talking to the alleged victim.
The story by Michael McKnight is titled ” Seeking justice for abuse, victim of Colorado assistant confronts big-time college football” and was posted online Friday.
In the story, Sports Illustrated talks to Tumpkin’s ex-girlfriend, who told police that Tumpkin physically abused her over the course of their three-year relationship.
The woman filed for a restraining order on Dec. 20, and Broomfield police have also since charged Tumpkin with several counts of assault.
Tumpkin, 45, resigned from CU after being told to do so by the university on Jan. 27.
The Daily Camera broke the story of the restraining order request on Jan. 6, and at the time the university said it was the first they had heard of the allegations.
“We are still gathering details about the very serious allegations in this filing,” CU Athletic Director Rick George said in a statement at the time. “Once I’ve reviewed it, I will get together with Coach (Mike) MacIntyre and we will take whatever action is appropriate and necessary.”
But in the Sports Illustrated story, the woman claims that she had reached out to MacIntyre’s wife on Dec. 9 and that MacIntyre called her back immediately after. During that talk, the woman told Sports Illustrated that she told him Tumpkin had been abusive of her.
According to the article, the woman said she didn’t want to put MacIntyre in an “Art Briles situation” — a reference to the former Baylor head coach who was fired for reportedly mishandling allegations of sexual assault perpetrated by his players — and said she didn’t necessarily want to pursue charges or have Tumpkin lose his job but did want the university to get him help.
“Mac said that he was numb,” the woman told Sports Illustrated. “He said he had never had a situation like this come up before and he wasn’t exactly sure what to do. He said he was getting ready to get on a plane to Denver and he would find out what he needed to do legally. I started to cry and told him I don’t want the police involved because of what it would do to Joe. I just needed someone to know—someone who could help him get well—because he is dangerous.”
The woman said MacIntyre told her he had spoken to George about the matter, but said she did not hear back from anyone at the university after that point.
She told Sports Illustrated that Tumpkin’s attorney Jon Banashek called her and said he knew she had talked to MacIntyre. Banashek did not return requests for comment from the Camera on Friday.
These conversations would have taken place before Tumpkin was selected to call the defensive plays during the Buffs Dec. 29 bowl game for departed defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt. Part of the payout Tumpkin received upon his resignation was a $15,692 compensation for the Buffs’ bowl appearance.
CU has not yet responded to requests for comment by the Daily Camera. But CU spokesman Dave Plati told Sports Illustrated that the university did not find out about the allegations until contacted by a Camera reporter.
“I don’t even know if Joe [Tumpkin] knew it was coming,” Plati told Sports Illustrated. “When I saw the email [from the Daily Camera on Jan. 6] I said, I haven’t heard of this, and I called Rick—Rick hadn’t heard of it either. Mac hadn’t heard of it either. Sometimes how you find things out is from the media.”
Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars
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