Let us not forget this comes to light just days after word of Marcus Coker's departure. The Athletic Director plays a major role in determination of possible violations of the student athlete code of conduct and what action, if any, is taken. From afar, it appears Bary Garta did little to protect Marcus or to get his suspension lifted. Granted, we do not know all the details of what went down, and likely never will. But reading between the lines of Kurt Ference's limited comments on Coker and Coker's cryptic posts on his Facebook page, it appears Garta did little to intervene.
This less than a year after word of members of the team being stricken with rhabdo, apparently from hard workouts following the bowl game and semester break. I don't know anyone who thinks the department's initial handling of the negative publicity was anything but a disaster, and that falls squarely on Garta's head.