A former University of Illinois offensive lineman sent a flurry of tweets Sunday afternoon and evening, accusing football coach Tim Beckman of “abuse and misuse of power,” in pushing him to play through a serious injury.
Simon Cvijanović, a four-year starter at tackle, suffered a season-ending knee injury Nov. 1 in the Fighting Illini’s game against Ohio State.
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Cvijanović, who has completed his college football eligibility, vented his anger Sunday on Twitter, sending out almost 100 tweets as of 11 p.m. In those tweets, he accused Beckman and his staff of pushing him to play through a serious knee injury and that Beckman prevents players from speaking up on issues by "dangling scholarships like a carrot."
My knee had a tear in the meniscus. Takes 6 months to heel if repaired. Ask @drose Instead I was told it was no big deal. Back in two weeks
— Simon Cvijanović (@IlliniSi) May 10, 2015I quit football because the pressure to get back on the field was too much from @coachbeckman and his staff. I was too injured to continue.
— Simon Cvijanović (@IlliniSi) May 11, 2015Cvijanović said he was also upset he was not invited for the team’s trip to the Heart of Dallas Bowl, and that he did not receive an invitation to the team's postseason senior banquet. Cvijanović met with Beckman on Friday to ask about not being invited for those events, and he claimed in a Tweet he was “kicked out of his office cuz he couldn't answer y I wasn't invited to the senior banquet.”
Which led to the flurry of tweets Sunday. Cvijanović claims he’s not alone in having problems with the 50-year-old Beckman, who is 12-25 in three seasons at Illinois.
I'm not the only horror story of abuse and misuse of power by @coachbeckman
— Simon Cvijanović (@IlliniSi) May 10, 2015But at least two of Cvijanović's former teammates took to Twitter to defend their coach and school.
Simon quit on his brothers when we needed him most. These coaches let him stay on scholarship to finish his degree. #truth
— Teddy Karras (@_teddy_k) May 10, 2015Everyone has a tough journey/story playing collegiate sports. Stop blaming one person or situation and start taking responsibility
— Miles Osei (@TheMiles8) May 10, 2015Read this dude's TL and try to make the case that college athletes shouldn't be compensated beyond scholarships: https://t.co/XvTCMavPEI
— Chad Markulics (@Chad_BSD) May 10, 2015