An investigation by National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) found that a coach on the women’s soccer team forced players to donate blood or risk losing academic credits, the Ministry of Education said yesterday.
The ministry recommended a two-year dismissal for the coach and said it would monitor NTNU’s handling of the situation.
In November last year, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said that a coach on the NTNU women’s soccer team was forcing players to cooperate with a sports science research project.
Photo: screen grab from the Internet
The research project was led by the National Science and Technology Council.
Citing a complaint from a player, Chen at the time said that athletes were forced to give blood three times a day for 14 days, with the coach threatening to withhold graduation credits if they refused to cooperate.
Initially, blood samples were taken by those with no medical training, Chen said, adding that some athletes were required to withdraw from training for up to six months.
In a news statement issued on Sunday evening, NTNU said that the school had completed its investigation.
The university removed the coach from administrative and coaching positions in December last year, it said, adding that the coach would no longer be allowed to lead teams.
Department staff provided the athletes with a signed letter of apology from the coach in May, it added.
NTNU filed a report on Nov. 29 last year and launched an investigation in accordance with its bullying prevention guidelines, the ministry said in a written statement yesterday.
The university also offered students consultation and counseling resources, the ministry added.
Due to the case’s complexity, the investigation was extended by one month, it said.
The ministry said that the NTNU Campus Anti-bullying Committee concluded that the coach had engaged in bullying behavior toward the students, adding that further action would be determined by the university’s teacher evaluation committee.
The ministry said that it would continue to monitor the school’s review and actions, adding that it would request a re-examination and hold officials responsible if the school were to fail to abide by the Teachers’ Act (教師法).
An ethics committee in May found that the research project contravened the Human Subjects Research Act (人體研究法), with the university and personnel failing to provide proper oversight.
If serious contraventions of the act are confirmed, the project’s researchers and NTNU could face administrative penalties.
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