Gators basketball coach Todd Golden was reportedly accused of sexual harassment and stalking in a Title IX complaint filed earlier this autumn to the University of Florida, according to The Alligator, a student publication at Florida.
The article, which published Friday afternoon, contains plenty of detail from the Title IX complaint, as well as interviews conducted with two women who affirmed the allegations in that document and offered greater detail.
Golden is accused of making "unwanted sexual advances toward numerous women on social media," per the report.
The head coach released the following statement via X, formerly known as Twitter on Saturday evening:
— Todd Golden (@CoachToddGolden) November 9, 2024
UF reportedly received the Title IX complaint September 27, per The Alligator. That complaint reportedly accused Golden of “allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and stalking. The complaint alleges that over a year, Golden specifically aimed these behaviors toward UF students.”
Six weeks have passed since the report was filed, but Golden coached the team in its first two games of the 2024-25 season, victories over USF and Jacksonville.
Here's what to know about the allegations surrounding Todd Golden.
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What are the allegations against Todd Golden?
According to the Alligator, the Title IX document includes allegations Golden made unwanted sexual advances on the social media site Instagram. That included “requesting sexual favors” and “sending photos and videos of his genitalia”.
It’s also been alleged that he stalked women by taking pictures of them while they walked or drove and then sent the photos to them. He's also accused of stalking after reportedly showing up at places where he knew those women would be located.
It also was alleged Golden attempted to cover his behavior, first by “liking” Instagram posts of women, then withdrawing those endorsements after they’d read his direct messages.
The student journalists spoke with two women who offered greater detail about Golden’s alleged behavior, although it was not made clear whether they were part of the Title IX complaint.
One former UF student said she was stalked by Golden “more than 10 times” and that he sent unsolicited photos of his genitals on days the team’s schedule indicated the men’s basketball team was traveling for road games.
“At first, it starts off slow, like, ‘Oh, wow. That’s odd. This guy is showing us attention,’” she told the Alligator. “And then it becomes, ‘Wow, he’s kind of crossing a line. No, he didn’t mean it that way.’ Then it’s, ‘Wait, he’s fully stepping over that line.’ And then it’s, ‘Wow, there’s a picture of his d---.’ It was a full grooming process with all of us.”
Who is Todd Golden?
Golden was hired by Florida in March 2022, not long after he’d led San Francisco to an NCAA Tournament appearance in his third season in charge of the Dons. It was his second 20-win season, and though USF seemed a long way from the Sunshine State, Golden previously had been an assistant coach in the SEC, under Bruce Pearl at Auburn.
He led the Gators to a 22-12 record and March Madness appearance in the 2023-24 season, and this season’s squad was ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press preseason poll and No. 6 in the official Southeastern Conference poll.
Golden played basketball for four seasons at Saint Mary’s and started for three seasons, including on a 25-7 NCAA Tournament team as a senior, when he averaged 7 points and 2.6 assists. He played professional basketball in Israel for two years immediately after finishing school, then worked in sales and marketing in the Bay Area. He got into coaching at Columbia in 2012 and became a member of Pearl’s first staff at Auburn before leaving for an associate head-coach position at San Francisco under Kyle Smith, who’d been his boss at Columbia. When Smith left for Washington State in 2019, Golden was promoted to Dons head coach.
His bio on the Florida athletic site lists him as married to Megan York, who began her volleyball career at Saint Mary’s when Golden was a senior on the basketball team.
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What’s next for Florida and Todd Golden?
The Gators are scheduled to play Grambling State in a home game Monday at 7 p.m., which gives the administration a short window to consider how to respond to this circumstance. If he coaches the game, any pre- or postgame media interaction would almost certainly be dominated by questions about this report.
A university spokesperson told the Alligator that UF was unable to comment on or confirm Title IX inquiries because it would violate federal law.
This is not the first time a Gators head coach has been the subject of problematic allegations. Cameron Newbauer coached the women’s basketball team from for four seasons starting in 2017 before resigning for personal reasons in July 2021. In October of that year, ESPN’s John Barr reported the coach had created a “toxic and abusive” atmosphere in which Newbauer “routinely belittled and berated” players during practice, made “racially insensitive comments” and also threw basketballs at them.
UF fired women’s soccer coach Tony Amato in 2022 after just one season. Because the firing reportedly was "without cause", he was paid a buyout of more than $1 million. This came in advance of a report by a north Florida public radio station that an “unprecedented” number of players left the program and Amato had made comments to players about eating habits and body types “despite knowing that some players have struggled with eating disorders.”
