UNC wrestling coach under fire for remarks highlighting 'attractive' women on campus
A recently introduced wrestling coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is taking heat for remarks made about female students on campus.
Rob Koll, who was named head coach on Aug. 31, has a decorated history in Chapel Hill. He won a national championship in 1988 as a Tar Heel and carries the most wins in UNC and Atlantic Coast Conference history. But at the moment, he finds himself entangled in controversy.
In a podcast that debuted on Sept. 6, comments that have recently come to light haven't sat well with some faculty members.
Koll was asked about what made Chapel Hill "so great" on "The Bader Show" with host Mark Bader.
"It's an awesome little town, man, it's a vibrant little town," Koll began.
“First of all, it’s 60 percent women for God’s sakes, and 95 percent of them are attractive," Koll said. "It’s just a really neat little campus for young 18 to 22-year-old men. You know? I mean, good Lord, why would you not want to go there?”
“It was funny," he continued. "We went, and they had this sorority weekend when I was there last weekend. And I look, and I’m like, it’s like 95 percent girls. I’m like – why do we not have a recruiting weekend this weekend?”
Ariana Vigil, Chair of Department of Women's and Gender Studies at UNC, found Koll's words marginalizing.
”Comments such as that made on the podcast unfortunately support misogyny and heterosexism," Vigil said. "They reduce female students to their physical beauty and imply that women’s value is measured by their attractiveness to men.”
Koll told WRAL News he's embarrassed and feels remorseful about what he said. UNC Athletics said they discussed the interview with Koll immediately after it happened, and Koll expressed regret. Koll told WRAL News he hopes his 35 years of actions supporting women's wrestling will speak louder than his words on the podcast.
Koll spent the last two seasons as the head coach at Stanford and the previous 28 as the head coach at Cornell.
