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The University of Florida announced it fired women’s soccer coach Tony Amato after just one season with the program. The move comes after players complained about how Amato treated them and a large number chose to transfer from the program.
“We have worked diligently with Tony since last fall when I first became aware of challenges with relationship building and communication,” athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. “As the issues continued to be brought to my attention, it became apparent that sufficient progress was not being made and Tony was not a fit for the University of Florida.”
Florida hired Amato away from Arizona last year, after the coach spent eight years with the Wildcats. In total, Amato has been a head coach in each of the last 19 seasons for four different schools.
The Gators went 4-12-4 in their first year under Amato. However, according to Payton Titus of WUFT, players had complained that Amato “pressured them about eating habits and their bodies” last year. Amato was reportedly strict over what the players ate, to the point that some players said they had developed eating disorders as a result.
Titus added that issues became apparent in October last year, which led to players and select support staff signing and sending a letter to the administration expressing their concerns. In the last year, 13 Florida players have entered the transfer portal, while four more have left the team, a rate that is significantly higher than the national average.
The team last played a game in early November, and Stricklin explained he was hoping the team and Amato could work on their issues. However, keeping Amato seemed to be hurting the team in the offseason, which led Stricklin to make this decision.
“I fully recognize the disruption this causes our athletes and our program,” Stricklin said. “We all wanted this to work, but ultimately it is my responsibility to do what is in the best long-term interest of this program, and thus this decision.”
