USF coach Leavitt under investigation

TAMPA - USF president Judy Genshaft has an outside investigator looking into the allegations that head football coach Jim Leavitt grabbed and hit one of his players.

President Genshaft says these are serious allegations, and Thomas Gonzalez, who specializes in workplace issues, will work with the vice president of human resources.

Leavitt has already talked to human resources along with Joel Miller, the player Leavitt allegedly grabbed and hit.

USF says they will move quickly, because they don't want to drag the process out. They say the findings will be made public.

The allegation is that head coach Jim Leavitt hit one of his players during halftime in the Louisville game.

Leavitt strongly denied the story, which was reported by Fanhouse.com, that he grabbed player Joel Miller by the throat and hit him twice in the face.

USF president Judy Genshaft and Athletic Director Doug Woolard met with the Board of Directors Wednesday and decided to do internal and external reviews of the situation.

Conflicting stories have emerged about what happened in the locker room, and people who were quoted are now saying something different.

Tuesday morning, Miller's brother told a radio station that the whole team saw it, and Miller's father was quoted in the original story on Fanhouse.

But now Miller's father says he was taken out of context, and all of it is a non-incident.