Mn. St. Players Unite Behind Coach Hoffner

 MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – A Minnesota State football player says the team is now going to unite behind reinstated coach Todd Hoffner.
 
     A day after refusing to practice with Hoffner, the players met Thursday morning with Hoffner, interim coach Aaron Keen and athletic director Kevin Buisman (BEYES’-muhn).
 
     Senior tight end Darius Clare says  “We’re going to move forward with Todd Hoffner as head coach.”
  
     Hoffner returned to campus Wednesday for the first time since an arbitrator ruled he was fired unfairly last year in the wake of a child porn investigation that ultimately cleared him.
 
     Mavericks players came out for spring practice that afternoon but were not in uniform. They read a statement saying they wanted Aaron Keen to remain as head coach.

Previously…

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – A fired Minnesota football coach who got his job back through an arbitrator’s ruling is getting a cold reception from his former team.
 
     Minnesota State, Mankato head coach Todd Hoffner is back on campus for the first time since last week’s ruling. The arbitrator said Hoffner was wrongfully dismissed in the wake of a child porn charges that were ultimately dropped.
 
     Mavericks players came out for spring practice Wednesday afternoon but weren’t in uniform. The Free Press of Mankato reports  that they read a statement saying they want interim coach Aaron Keen back.

Previously…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Former Minnesota State, Mankato, football coach Todd Hoffner says he’ll return to his old job after an arbitrator ruled he was wrongly fired.

Hoffner said Tuesday that returning “will help heal that injury.”  He’d since taken a job at Minot State and says he’ll be “forever grateful” to that school.

He’ll resume his duties Wednesday in Mankato.

Hoffner was fired last May for undisclosed reasons after he’d been accused, then cleared, of having pornographic images of his children on a work-issued cellphone.

An arbitrator’s ruling obtained by The Free Press of Mankato outlined some reasons for the firing, including that Hoffner viewed porn on his work computer. But the arbitrator found no proof and no grounds for termination.

The arbitrator ordered that Hoffner be immediately reinstated with back pay.