That video was taken down and you can only see the previous week’s press conference. What else gets such revisionist history at NM?

Did we expect anything better of the press conference? No. Not from this villainous bunch.

The document also quotes one assistant coach as saying that Gerald was willing to move ahead and put the incident behind him. But in a meeting two days after the Sept. 20 incident, Locksley showed no remorse and tried to downplay it.

Gerald has since hired a lawyer and threatened to sue the University of New Mexico.

The newly revealed document also shows that the receivers, coached by Gerald, were worried they were responsible for Locksley’s mistreatment of their coach.

UNM had failed to release the document to the media until Friday “because of a copying error.” The omitted document was the back side of a witness statement provided by quarterbacks coach Tee Martin three days after the incident in which Locksley is accused of choking Gerald and punching him in the mouth.

Locksley denies that he punched or choked Gerald, but acknowledges the altercation took place.

The copying error is the latest gaffe in UNM’s handling of the Locksley scandal. On Wednesday, UNM President David Schmidly revealed that Athletics Department employee Shannon Garbiso had destroyed all of the original versions of witness statements she took, though copies of those notes remain.

Schmidly, Athletics Vice President Paul Krebs and Human Resources Director Helen Gonzales held a news conference Wednesday in which they acknowledged that UNM had “bungled” its handling of the altercation but insisted there was no cover-up.

According to the newly released document, Martin told Garbiso about the earlier incident in which Locksley threatened Gerald. Martin said Locksley made the threat in front of a reporter for the Daily Lobo, the student newspaper.

He also told Garbiso the wide receivers feel that they’re doing something wrong and are provoking mistreatment of Gerald, who was the wide receivers coach.

Locksley apologized to the team the day after his run-in with Gerald, according to Martin’s statement. Two days after the altercation, Martin, offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey and offensive tackles/tight ends coach Cheston Blackshear set up a meeting between Locksley and Gerald.

“Gerald was willing to put this behind him until he talked to Locks – Dickey, Blachshear and Martin were present – and Locks not only showed no remorse but tried to downplay what had happened,” Martin told Garbiso.

Copies of the witness statements previously provided to the media contained passages that are unreadable, and they appeared to be missing the margins of the originals.

Cleaner copies of the documents released Friday reveal that Martin told Garbiso that some players witnessed part of the altercation.

Schmidly on Friday directed a review of current practices for handling record requests “to more efficiently deal with increasing demand and to properly comply in a timely manner with these requests.”

• New Mexico finished the season 1-11, its worst record since the 1980’s. Many of those losses were blowouts.
• Coach Locksley admitted striking an assistant coach during a “physical altercation”.
• As of 10-10-09, Locksley had been blown out in 5 out of 6 games.
• Loss at home to undermanned and less talented NMSU squad.
• Poor leadership and example for student athletes — physical violence in the workplace.
• Talented recruiting class not yet in the works, despite Locksley’s supposed expertise as recruiter.
• Rapid decline in football game attendance, and general apathy toward program under Locksley.
• Segment by ESPN Outside the Lines alleges cover up and previous anger management issues.
________________________________________

Despite big promises and big words, University of New Mexico Lobo head football coach Mike Locksley delivered only a single victory in 2009, at a cost of $750,000 to the taxpayers of New Mexico. That’s right, $750,000 per victory — what a bargain. The Lobos finished near the bottom of the NCAA in most important offensive and defensive statistical categories — so much for Locksley’s bragging assertion that another number would need to be added to the scoreboard — if it was needed, it was needed on the opposing team’s side this year. Coach Locksley was hit with an EEOC complaint earlier in 2009 that has now been settled, with his former employee being given a newly created, higher-paying position, back pay, lifetime season tickets to UNM sporting events, and an undisclosed, behind the scenes settlement. Coach Mike Locksley has admitted to striking assistant coach J.B. Gerald in a “physical altercation”, and it appears possible that this incident may result in a lawsuit against UNM, as Coach Gerald has opted to leave the team, and retain an attorney. Locksley has also failed to land the recruits he could supposedly deliver, losing two of his top three recruits in 2009 to their failure to qualify. Another one of Locksley’s highly touted recruits briefly left the program and returned because of the controversy surrounding the gerald situation.

The University of New Mexico pays Coach Mike Locksley $750,000 annually, or approximately $14,423.08 per week. Has Coach Mike Locksley done anything to demonstrate that he is qualified to be a head football coach at this level? Is Mike Locksley representative of the values of the University of New Mexico Lobos, or the state of New Mexico? Does he really deserve this kind of money, based on performance, or should the University of New Mexico have terminated him for cause when they had the opportunity to do so? We feel the answer is a resounding “yes”, based on his record, performance, and behavior. Mike Locksley was a very bad hire.

The taxpayers of New Mexico and fans of University of New Mexico Lobo football deserve more coaching and more integrity for their money. It is time to recognize the mistake made by Paul Krebs in hiring Coach Locksley, and sever ties with Coach Locksley, before the program suffers irreparable damage. New Mexico Lobo football cannot survive 5 more years of Mike Locksley, and this style of management, or lack of coaching ability. Our student athletes deserve better leadership.