New UNM athletics director addresses fight allegations among UNM Lobo players
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Lobo basketball fans will be packing The Pit Wednesday night for the men’s first conference game.
This big game comes as the university is investigating some pretty serious allegations involving some players.
On Wednesday, UNM’s new athletics director, Fernando Lovo, had something to say about the allegations as he was introduced to the Lobo family.
“I’ve spoken to coach Pitino extensively about it,” said Lovo.
Lovo is talking about the alleged fight between two Lobo men’s basketball players while on a flight to a Thanksgiving tournament in California
“And as you know, it was reported yesterday. You know, the university, we’re following all of our policies and procedures, both student and student athlete code of conduct. While that process is ongoing, you know, I can’t comment any further, but that’s where that’s at,” Lovo said.
Attorney David Adams says his client Shane Douma-Sanchez is the alleged victim. He’s from the Laguna Pueblo and played high school basketball at Del Norte.
He claims he was punched by a scholarship player on the plane and at a hotel in California while the team was competing in the Acrisure Classic.
KOB 4 reached Adams for an interview, and he sent us a statement saying in part, “He’s working with the university to seek accountability and a resolution.” Adding, investigations are being done by both sides.
On Tuesday, UNM men’s basketball head coach Richard Pitino said he couldn’t say much about the investigation.
“I’m not going to get any of the specifics on it,” said Pitino. “To kind of address the current situation, your university has issued a statement. We will follow those protocols. There’s not a whole lot I can talk about, we are handling any discipline matters internally. But other than that, there’s not a whole lot I could say specifically.”
The alleged fight happened the week before Lovo took office. He says he’s trying to figure things out in real time, like everyone else.
“These things, they happen. So again, I’m trying to learn as much as I can and try to rely on my team that has been here for a long time. And so, you know, like I said, these things happen, and as the process continues, we’ll see how it plays out,” said Lovo.
On Wednesday, we also spoke with the attorney representing the other player allegedly involved. We are not naming that player since that information has not been released.
The attorney says the allegations are not true, and “No matter how hard you try to spin a lie into the truth, it just won’t get there.”
We also spoke with a UNM representative about the policies and procedures in a case like this.
She said the university is following the guidelines in the student and student athlete codes of conduct. Those are also guided by any applicable state and federal laws.
MORE: