The Cadets Hall of Fame committee has unanimously voted to remove George Hopkins from the Cadets Hall of Fame. In addition, an independent report has concluded that there is no evidence to support that Interim CEO Sean King knew about Hopkins’ alleged sexual misconduct towards Jessica Beyer.
Previously, there had been allegations that King did not report sexual misconduct allegations against former CEO George Hopkins. King has now been cleared of all allegations according to the findings of a two-month independent investigation from Chicago law firm Franczek Radelet.
In April, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a story that included sexual misconduct allegations from nine different women against Hopkins, and an additional story with accusations from two more women, one of which was Beyer. In the article, Beyer noted that she had reported some of the misconduct to King, who at the time was working in a supervisory role at YEA!
Following these articles, a new YEA! Board of Directors terminated Hopkins and placed King on leave pending investigation. YEA! hired Franczek Radelet to conduct an investigation into complaints of sexual harassment, including Beyer’s allegations against King, and Jennifer Smith, a partner in the Education Law Practice Group at the firm, led the investigation.
With regards to King, Smith’s report noted:
“Contrary to the implication of initial media reports, no individual has alleged that King either received a complaint of sexual harassment or failed to take appropriate action in response to complaints regarding working conditions. Beyer did not notify King that she was alleging sexual harassment in 2008. No other individuals have come forward with allegations of wrongdoing against King after ample opportunity and invitation to do so. Accordingly, there is no allegation of wrongdoing by King and the information provided by Beyer confirms that the implication of wrongdoing in media reports is fully resolved in favor of King.”
In addition, Smith noted that Beyer’s personal attorney was given an opportunity to refute the facts outlined in the final report, but thus far, no evidence contradicting the facts of the report has been submitted.
Therefore, the YEA! board of directors of has lifted King’s suspension while the board of directors completes the selection process of a new, permanent executive director for YEA!
“During the investigation, ‘Sean King generally recalled Jessica Beyer reporting that working conditions were not great, and that he interpreted her concern to be with the same type of berating conduct that he experienced from Hopkins,’” stated YEA! Board Chair Doug Rutherford, “The reason Sean was suspended was entirely due to an allegation by Jessica that he was told of sexual harassment and failed to respond. The report concludes that he was not told of sexual harassment by her, and the Board voted to lift this suspension.”
