Florida men's basketball coach Todd Golden has been accused by multiple women of stalking and sexual harassment, according to Title IX documents obtained by Florida's student newspaper The Alligator.
The paper outlines a pattern of alleged predatory behavior by Golden who, the paper said, regularly targeted Florida students. The process would begin on Instagram and eventually escalated to where Golden would allegedly send unwanted photos of his genitalia, often while on road trips with Florida basketball. One woman told the paper Golden stalked her "more than 10 times" and that he messaged her on Instagram saying he was "waiting for her" after she publicly posted her location.
Two women spoke to the paper, but it's unknown how many may have received Golden's unwanted advances since he arrived on campus.
“He just had this manipulation tactic over everyone,” one woman said. “And he sent us all the same sh*t. It was copy-paste to every girl.”
Another woman said others within Florida men's basketball exhibited similar behavior.
“I think it is just a sick f*cking joke that they’re all doing, within that organization, all the coaches,” she said. “They probably get off by showing each other the pictures…There’s something f*cking sick going on there.”
The paper reported Florida received a formal Title IX complaint against Golden on Sept. 27, alleging that he violated UF's Gender Equity Policy. Florida has not commented on the situation.
Golden was hired in the spring of 2022 after taking San Francisco to the NCAA tournament that season. In two seasons on the job, Golden has taken the Gators to one NCAA tournament game.
Golden has the 21st-ranked Gators in both of their games so far this season; Florida is scheduled to play again on Nov. 11.
In the meantime, the accusations against Golden will bring serious questions upon AD Scott Stricklin, who just Thursday announced Billy Napier will return amid uncertainty in Florida's football program. Former women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer, Stricklin's first hire at Florida, resigned in 2021 after allegations of abusive behavior in that program surfaced.
"We failed in this situation," Stricklin said at the time, "ultimately that's my responsibility for the culture of this department. I'll take responsibility for that."
Florida is in the midst of uncertainty at the top. Former university president Ben Sasse resigned after 17 months amid tension with the Board of Trustees, and former UF president Kent Fuchs has returned to his post on an interim basis as the university searches for a new full-time leader.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.