Des Moines, Iowa — A state senator is calling for the dismissal of the Director of Athletics at the University of Iowa.
Republican Senator Annette Sweeney of Alden says the more than four million dollars legal settlement to former black players who alleged there was racial discrimination in the football program is a boondoggle.
Sweeney cites three previous payouts in discrimination lawsuits over other Hawkeye sports. And Sweeney says Barta and others involved in negotiations in this latest case ignored the wishes of coaches who were fighting the allegations.
Sweeney, a farmer who served as state director for USDA Rural Development during the Trump Administration, says it’s time for accountability. She’s calling on the University of Iowa’s president to ask for Barta’s resignation and, if he doesn’t resign, Sweeney says Barta should be fired.
The Board of Regents governs the University of Iowa and the other two state universities. Two million dollars of the settlement announced Monday is being covered with state tax dollars, which has raised the ire of Sweeney and other lawmakers.
