New Mexico State football coach Doug Martin denies accusations of bullying, racism

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — New Mexico State's Doug Martin denied any wrongdoing as head coach of the Aggies football program amid a recent complaint made to university administration.

The Office of the Attorney General is in contact with university officials who are conducting a review of student athlete safety and financial accountability matters at New Mexico State, the AG's office confirmed.

According to a letter from the AG's Office to New Mexico State President John Floros, "The Office of the Attorney General is in receipt of multiple complaints against New Mexico State University."

The letter outlines the following complaints with regards to the football program: 

• Head football coach Doug Martin has put students in peril by requiring them to practice under dangerous conditions.
• Play when injured and instructing players to not see the trainers on staff.
• Allegations of disparate treatment of minority student athletes, nepotism, and hiring disparities.

According to a New Mexico State University spokesperson, "NMSU is aware of a complaint made against coach Doug Martin. The university is looking into the matter."

In a statement to the Sun-News on Tuesday, Martin said: 

"This is a ridiculous allegation that will be proven false by players and trainers and everyone around here. It comes from a single disgruntled parent who has a kid that was not getting to play. They have been threatening me all year long that if their kid didn't play they had friends who could get me fired. They have used racial slurs saying I treat black players better than other players. This will all come out in the end to be false."

"During the first week in November 2019, this office and the NMSU Office of the Chancellor began a preliminary investigation after receiving an external complaint directed toward the conduct of its head football coach," NMSU General Counsel Roy Collins wrote in a letter the AG's Office dated Dec. 9. "Additionally, the NMSU Human Resources Services office has disclosed confidentiality that it has examined a prior complaint regarding nepotism within the NMSU athletics department under the leadership of that head coach."

The Attorney General's office responded with more specific details regarding the accusations against Martin, including:

• Intimidating and threatening behavior towards his student athletes
• Incidents of verbal bullying
• Inappropriate weaponizing of medical injury information and disparaging injury treatment plans
• Allegations that Martin has put students in peril by requiring them to practice under dangerous weather conditions, play when injured, and instructing players to not see the trainers on staff
• It is especially concerning that the complaint contains allegations of disparate treatment of minority student athletes.

New Mexico State University could not identify a time frame to conduct its review, but in its Dec. 11 letter, the Attorney General's office asked "that you provide detailed information regarding the process and steps taken thus far to ensure financial and safety compliance within both departments."

Martin has been head coach at New Mexico State since 2012 and has compiled a record of 22-63.

Follow the Las Cruces Sun-News' Jason Groves on Twitter @jpgroves.