Former Assistant Coach Lands Job in Nevada

A former assistant men's basketball coach at the University of California at Berkeley who is accused of sexually harassing a reporter assigned to his team will continue coaching. The University of Nevada at Reno said on Friday that it hired Yann Hufnagel, just one day after Hufnagel abruptly resigned from UC Berkeley. In a statement, Hufnagel's lawyer, Mary McNamara, said the "toxic environment" at UC Berkeley had made it impossible for Hufnagel to rejoin the basketball team.

One day after Hufnagel's resignation, UN Reno men's basketball coach Eric Musselman said he was "excited" that Hufnagel would be coaching for the school's Wolf Pack program. Musselman reportedly spoke to "20 to 30 people" at UC Berkeley and elsewhere before deciding to hire him, said UN Reno Athletics Department spokesman Chad Hartley. Hartley said Musselman "felt confident in (Hufnagel's) character and abilities to do his job." "I met Yann nearly a decade ago, and his track record as an assistant at three high caliber academic institutions speaks for itself," Musselman said in a statement.

"He's a high energy coach and recruiter, and we're happy to have him in our program." The fact that there were no criminal charges and no other legal proceedings pending also contributed to UN Reno's willingness to hire Hufnagel, Hartley said. UC Berkeley head coach Cuonzo Martin sought Hufnagel's termination on March 14 once a university investigation concluded Hufnagel had violated the school's sexual harassment policy.

Hufnagel had repeatedly propositioned a reporter working with him as a source via text messages and brought her to his apartment building, where he tried to "trick" her into having sex with him, according to a redacted report from an investigation into the reporter's allegations. Hufnagel admitted the allegations, according to the report. UN Reno has its own sexual harassment policy, which Hufnagel would be subject to, "just like any other employee," Hartley said.

--Bay City News