Former Fort Lewis College basketball coach Bob Pietrack ‒ who resigned in 2024 amid allegations of using racial slurs and engaging in bullying behavior ‒ said he is the victim of a “devastating and malicious” defamation attack by a former friend and colleague.
In an interview late last month, Pietrack denied ever using the N-word in a “racial way,” meddling in student-athletes’ academic affairs or creating a toxic culture among staff or players.
He said he worked in FLC’s athletics department for two decades – 11 years as an assistant coach and nine years as head basketball coach. During his tenure, no player filed a complaint or reported him for racism, sexism or homophobia, he said.
Pietrack provided the The Durango Herald a copy of a records request he filed with FLC seeking documentation of student-athlete complaints or misconduct reports filed against him. The college’s response said no such documents exist.
The Herald filed its own records request and confirmed that no documented complaints from student-athletes were found.
The request did return memos from David Pirrone, FLC director of compliance and community standards, dated 2020, detailing complaints from Joshua Coon, a professor and cross-country coach, accusing Pietrack of “bullying” and “harassment.”
In a 23-page letter to the Herald, Pietrack said Coon’s complaints were unsubstantiated.
Former assistant basketball coach and friend of Pietrack, Daniel Steffensen, sent a letter to FLC in 2024 describing Pietrack’s alleged behavior. The letter prompted an internal investigation by FLC that produced text messages between the two, revealing Pietrack’s use of the N-word and offensive remarks about female coaching staff.
The Herald obtained the messages – which also contained slurs used by Steffensen – last year through a public records request. The Herald relied on those records for a story published in October detailing the circumstances leading up to Pietrack’s resignation.
At the time, Pietrack declined to comment. About four months later, he wrote to the paper asking that parts of the story be removed, which the Herald declined to do. The Herald then met with Pietrack and began reporting a follow-up story detailing his denials. During reporting, Pietrack filed a defamation lawsuit against the Herald, but he then dismissed it after receiving reassurance the paper planned to publish this follow-up story detailing his denials.
Pietrack said he regrets using the N-word and other lewd language in texts but says the messages do not reflect his character or how he led FLC’s basketball team.
“I own the text messages. I regret the text messages. With that said, the text messages were selectively quoted, manipulated and twisted to fit a false narrative, and they were taken completely out of context,” he said.
He said the text messages between him and Steffensen – who he said was once his best friend – were written in a “playful, joking way,” and terms like the N-word were never used with malice or racial connotations in mind.
He firmly denied ever using such language around players.
“If I ever said anything even remotely like that in a huddle, how many people would have reported it? Are you kidding? The whole team would have reported it,” he said.
Steffensen told the Herald in an October interview he was wrong to use that language in text messages with Pietrack and said he takes responsibility for doing so.
Steffensen said he resigned from FLC in 2021 because he felt guilty about not reporting Pietrack’s alleged behavior. In addition to Pietrack’s language, Steffensen said Pietrack manipulated a student’s class schedule to delay graduation and cut players with scholarships from the team near graduation so the scholarships could be reallocated to newer players.
Pietrack denied each claim.
“I never, ever interfered with anybody’s athletic registration. I never, ever cut anybody’s scholarship close to graduation,” he said.
He said coaches, including himself, have no control over students’ class registration.
Steffensen alleged Pietrack manipulated star player Akuel Kot’s class registration so he would fall short of the credit hours needed to transfer to a Division I program at another college.
Pietrack denied manipulating Kot’s credit hours and said Kot didn’t have a credit problem – he had a GPA problem, which was outside Pietrack’s control.
Kot eventually transferred to the University of Wyoming, which has a Division I men’s basketball team – where he became a starter.
“For anybody to say that I would ever hurt him is just beyond hurtful,” Pietrack said.
He shared a text message he received from Kot after the transfer to the University of Wyoming dated Feb. 1, 2024, in which Kot said: “Extremely thankful for you Coach P!! I just wanna let you know that, wouldn’t have got any of these opportunities if it wasn’t for you. Glad most of my points were at fort Lewis and under you!”
The Herald reached out to Kot via Instagram for comment, but he did not respond.
Pietrack shared additional messages from March 2024 between him and Kot in which Pietrack asked how Kot’s classes were going and Kot congratulated Pietrack on FLC’s basketball season.
Pietrack said Steffensen accused him of academic misconduct because he did not rehire him to FLC’s coaching staff later in 2021, after Steffensen had resigned earlier that year.
“He’s very bitter at me for that,” Pietrack said. “Then the program has the greatest three-year stretch in the history of men’s basketball at Fort Lewis College where we go 75 and 17 with two national top-five finishes. I got the 2024 Red Auerbach Coach of the Year. Then the rest happens.”
The Red Auerbach Coach of the Year award, given out by the Jewish Coaches Association, recognizes Jewish American basketball coaches.
Steffensen declined to answer questions about Pietrack’s allegations, other than to say it is incorrect to assume he was bitter about not being rehired.
“I have taken responsibility for my actions, apologized, and made amends with those I’ve needed to,” he said in a written statement. “If Bob feels the need to disparage me or others to justify or minimize his own conduct, rather than owning his actions and also apologizing, that is his choice. I will have no part in, nor will I engage in that type of behavior.”
Pietrack provided text messages between him and former FLC basketball players that he said demonstrate camaraderie, as well as written statements from other former players and past associates in the college’s athletic department.
Jason Michaud, a former FLC assistant coach and men’s basketball program assistant, said in a written statement dated Jan. 5 that Pietrack always conducted himself professionally.
Pietrack provided Michaud’s statement during an interview on Feb. 28, along with additional written statements of support from former student-athletes who played under him.
“Bob has a great heart, loved his players, and the players loved him back. I stayed very close to the program and the players during my time there,” Michaud said. “Not once did I hear a player complain about mistreatment of any kind. Based on what I personally observed, the claims being made do not reflect the reality of the program.”
In an interview, Michaud said he stands by his letter of support.
“All those words are straight from me and based on my personal experiences around (Pietrack), whether it be in the locker room, whether it be in his office, whether it be on the court with him in practice, a student there and afterwards,” he said.
Pietrack said he strove to build a team culture of “accountability, trust, respect, camaraderie and brotherhood.”
He said the team was “business-like” but built on love and respect.
Pietrack resigned from FLC in 2024 after the college investigated Steffensen’s allegations about his behavior.
The investigation appeared to focus on text messages between Pietrack, Steffensen and others. FLC also reviewed allegations of academic misconduct but found no proof supporting Steffensen’s claims.
Pietrack said his resignation had nothing to do with the allegations or the college’s internal investigation.
He said the college’s investigation concluded about a week before he left for personal reasons.
“My brother, Andrew, was dying at the time, and then the investigation came and it was heavy, and I chose to walk away,” he said.
He said just because the investigation recommended his resignation doesn’t mean that is why he left.
He provided the Herald a copy of his release and settlement agreement with FLC, documenting his resignation effective April 29, 2024.
The agreement says Pietrack agreed to voluntarily resign “in compromise of disputed claims.” He did not receive severance, according to the college.
Pietrack said he took about a year off after leaving FLC. His brother died on May 15, and Pietrack said he spent time with his two children. He accepted a job at Ferris State University in Michigan in May 2025, but the allegations followed him there.
He later left FSU and said he has since focused on clearing his name.
“I’m going to do everything I can to be a good father and a good family member and a good member of the community like I’ve always been,” he said. “And if coaching comes back around, then it does. But I’m not really focused on that. I’m more focused on getting the record straight.”
cburney@durangoherald.com
