A university in Tokyo decided Monday it will dismiss two former coaches of its American football team over a dangerous late tackle by one of its players during an intercollegiate game in May that injured an opposing player.
Nihon University's decision comes after the governing body of college football and a university third-party panel found the two former coaches -- head coach Masato Uchida and assistant coach Tsutomu Inoue -- responsible for ordering the foul play.
They received a lifetime ban from competition in June over the May 6 incident, in which a linebacker on the university's team injured the quarterback of archrival Kwansei Gakuin University.
The third-party panel of seven lawyers appointed by Nihon University to investigate the incident said at a press conference Monday that the coaches had been giving instructions to players in a way that imposed a heavy burden on its players, possibly a form of power harassment.
(Uchida (R) and hold a press conference in Tokyo on May 23 over their alleged order of a late hit during an intercollegiate match)
The panel, headed by a former senior public prosecutor, also released its final investigation report Monday, criticizing the way the incident was handled by the university's chairman, Hidetoshi Tanaka.
According to the panel, Tanaka has avoided making public appearances or statements since the incident, intensifying public criticism of the university.
The panel advised Tanaka to issue a statement of apology, and recommended establishing a group led by outside personnel to govern sport teams at the university.
The former coaches and Nihon university had denied the allegation, saying linebacker Taisuke Miyagawa misinterpreted the instructions given by the coaches. The university, however, has admitted that the former coaches were responsible for the incident in a report handed earlier this month to the governing body of college football.
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Miyagawa made a public apology that was broadcast live across Japan. Although American football is a relatively minor sport in Japan, the incident involving two of the country's best university teams attracted nationwide attention.
Uchida had resigned as a member of the university's board of directors but remained a university employee. He was to be suspended from work for six months, the university said last month. Inoue had also remained a university employee.
The quarterback for Kwansei Gakuin University injured by the foul, Kosei Okuno, has filed a criminal complaint with the police against Uchida and Inoue, while asking investigators to show leniency toward the Nihon University player.
