Junior Kane Gladnick speaks at the press conference in support of former Penn State Fencing Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov at the Ramada Inn on Wednesday, Sept 18, 2013.
Posted on 09/19/2013 1:09:23 PM PDT by FlJoePa
By Eric Shultz | Collegian Staff Writer
A key figure surrounding the departure of Emmanuil Kaidanov as Penn State fencing’s head coach came forward Wednesday afternoon with her side of the story — a misunderstanding involving medical tape mistaken for drugs.
Junior Kane Gladnick speaks at the press conference in support of former Penn State Fencing Coach Emmanuil Kaidanov at the Ramada Inn on Wednesday, Sept 18, 2013.
Surrounded by nine other Penn State fencers during a press conference at State College’s Ramada Inn, junior fencer Kane Gladnick described an incident she said ultimately led to Kaidanov’s firing after he followed up on the issue.
Gladnick said the scene that sparked the suspicion of drug possession came down to a piece of medical tape she had taken off her knee and rolled up in her hand.
“Instead of coming up, approaching me and asking me, ‘What is that?’ where I could’ve said ‘It’s garbage,’ [a secretary] went straight to the athletic director and the police,” Gladnick said, also noting that it “crushed” her to know she was a part of Kaidanov’s dismissal.
Neither the fencers nor Kaidanov’s attorney, Alvin de Levie, released the name of the secretary during the press conference.
While with the team, Kaidanov routinely put out dominant squads as the Nittany Lions’ coach. He won 12 national titles and had fencers capture 28 individual national championships.
However, Kaidanov was no longer part of the university by late August and had his position replaced by associate head coach Wieslaw “Wes” Glon for the interim on Aug. 29.
Gladnick said in a prepared statement that during February, she was called to the Penn State Police station and was informed she had been anonymously accused of possessing drugs. After “immediately” clearing her name with a police officer, Gladnick then approached Kaidanov in an attempt to clear her name with the athletic department, she said.
“With coach K’s help I voluntarily took a drug test,” Gladnick said in her statement. “The test came out negative, proving the allegations against me were wrong.”
The secretary who reported Gladnick of possible drug possession was then asked about the situation by Kaidanov, Gladnick said. The Wynnewood, Pa. native said that the action led to Kaidanov’s firing because he was “falsely accused of retaliating against [the secretary].”
“All coach Kaidanov tried to do was find out the truth about what happened, about a report about one of his student-athletes,” de Levie said. “And what coach Kaidanov did was all that was expected of him.”
Assistant Athletic Director/Communications Jeff Nelson declined to comment on the new developments surrounding Kaidanov, saying that it is a personnel matter that he cannot discuss.
Gladnick’s father, Michael, was also present and briefly defended Kaidanov.
“I think Penn State needs to look at their rash decision and perhaps reconsider it,” he said.
All other nine fencers present supported Kaidanov, too, bringing up things like the coach’s reputation and influence on their decision to come to Penn State.
But fencer Yasser Mahmoud said he does not think the athletic department is listening.
“I think they don’t want to hear what we’re saying,” the sophomore said. “They don’t want to give us any information, and they’re just using big words to try to jump over it.”
As for further action, de Levie said a grievance hearing date has not yet been set for Kaidanov. But de Levie said Penn State is suggesting the hearing last two hours and Kaidanov does not have a lawyer present.
“What Penn State wants to do is to hide the truth,” de Levie said.
He said the goal is to have Kaidanov reinstated as head coach at Penn State.
“We’re hopeful it will go our way, and if it doesn’t, we’ll worry about it then,” de Levie said. “But hopefully Penn State will see the light.”
Outside of DC, there is not a more incompetent group of supposedly intelligent people in the world than the PSU administration/b.o.t.
They all need to resign and just go away. They have failed in every imaginable way the past 2 years.
Did they help to cover up the Foo-Ball program’s complicity with pedophilia?
(hint: ask the confederate cavalry at Gettysburg)
CC
It’s a shame that the fencing program must lose an athlete or two because Penn State failed to protect some kids from a predator in its football program, but that’s the way it goes . . . .
You still don’t read (just respond), do you. It’s the coach that was fired.
Thank you. Substitute “athlete” for “coach” in my last comment. Thanks, again.
or vice versa, whatever, I’m on my phone
Yeah...whatever.
I’d say your last comment suggests that you are butthurt, but I’d better be careful on PSU threads.
I hope 9th grade is treating you well this fall.
Yes...you got some cute fencers there...
Wonder if this secretary was black, or a minority? If she made a false drug use accusation...she should be fired. I work for a college here in FL...and would be canned if I made a false claim against a student
Something is going on between the unnamed “secretary” and the Athletic Director?
Don’t pay any attention to our resident Bolshevik rudeboy...he is probably upset that the coach fled Eastern Europe.
Crap goes on at all schools, unfortunately...and PSU got singled out because Paterno was not a flaming liberal. Paterno once got a signed Rush Limbaugh book, after asking Rush for a copy. Don’t think the Left Media ever forgot that
The athletic director is an interim athletic director. He’s bought and paid for by the “move on” crowd of the b.o.t.
He has no experience in this field - he is an MD, former player under Joe, former Olympic MD) and wants this job full time because he’s basically broke.
He continues to purge the “old [meaning anything to do with Joe Paterno] guard, and try to put his stamp on things.
He’s fired the baseball, softball, swimming/diving, and now the fencing coach. I will say that baseball and softball were on their way out anyway.
Rumors are that Russ Rose (the most successful women’s volleyball coach in the history of the world) is next on his list.
He’s not a nice man.
It is very good to get a knowledgeable answer, especially when I posted a somewhat snarky wild guess as to the situation.
Thanks for the enlightenment!
You need to correct that statement, the predator was not a member of the football program.........
He’s not real good at separating fact from fiction when it comes to this scandal. Nor are the monitors - to whom I have asked for help - to no avail.
How's that?
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