Florida athletic director [autotag]Scott Stricklin[/autotag] fired women’s soccer coach [autotag]Tony Amato[/autotag] after one season without cause on Wednesday. The Gators finished 4-12-4 in their lone season under Amato.
The departure came after numerous players expressed concerns about Amato’s coaching style. Payton Titus of WUFT reported the players specifically complained about Amato’s approach to fitness, eating, weight and issues of body image.
Stricklin released this statement after the program made the decision to part with Amato:
“My thorough evaluation of the soccer program is that there is a disconnect between Tony and his athletes,” Stricklin said in a statement. “We have worked diligently with Tony since last fall when I first became aware of challenges with relationship building and communication. As the issues continued to be brought to my attention, it became apparent that sufficient progress was not being made and Tony was not a fit for the University of Florida.”
Florida will have to pay the remaining five years of his deal since he was fired without cause, which paid him $225,000 annually.
Amato’s departure is eerily similar to former Florida women’s basketball coach [autotag]Cameron Newbauer[/autotag] who was fired after players complained he was verbally abusive and created a toxic environment.
The Gators restructured their reporting process to make it easier for players to come forward with complaints after Newbauer’s departure.
Stricklin has been the athletic director at Florida since 2016. He has made four hires since then with three of them being essentially fired.
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