Nihon Univ. Panel Finds Coaches Responsible for Dangerous Tackle

July 1, 2018

Tokyo- A third-party panel set up by Nihon University found Friday former head coach Masato Uchida and former assistant coach Tsutomu Inoue responsible for a dangerous tackle by a member of the Japanese university's American football team.

Uchida and Inoue ordered the hit that injured a Kwansei Gakuin University quarterback during a match on May 6, the panel said in an interim report. The tackle was intended to injure him, it said.

Nihon University Phoenix players have often been encouraged to foul their opponents, the panel said.

The panel concluded that Uchida and Inoue were not adequately qualified as coaches and that their attempt to shift blame onto the player that hit the Kwansei Gakuin Fighters quarterback was extremely inappropriate.

The two former coaches were apparently not repentant during hearings, Mitsuhiro Katsumaru, a lawyer and head of the panel, told a press conference in Tokyo.

The panel also reported that there was unjustifiable involvement by Nihon University officials in an attempt to deny the responsibility of the former coaches and keep students from telling the truth.

The panel urged the university to set up a committee with outside members when choosing a new head coach in order to boost transparency. The university is publicly seeking a new coach.

By the end of July, the panel intends to release a final report in which it will call for new measures to prevent such issues reoccurring.

An earlier investigation by the Kantoh Collegiate Football Association also recognized that the dangerous tackle was made at the behest of Uchida and Inoue. Jiji Press