Washington athletic trainer placed on leave

SEATTLE — The University of Washington’s head athletic trainer has been placed on paid administrative leave, accused of falsifying medical records to earn a Huskies athlete an additional year of eligibility with a medical redshirt.

Kevin Messick, who has held the job for five years, will be fired next month unless an appeal is upheld, the Seattle Times reported Saturday.

UW officials told the newspaper they will not identify the athlete or the sport involved because of student privacy laws.

But they said the incident occurred before this academic year and that the athlete has not played since the redshirt request was submitted. Such a request would allow an athlete an additional year of eligibility for missing a season because of an injury.

UW athletic director Todd Turner said the Huskies might have committed an NCAA violation in the matter that would “likely be secondary in nature.” But the fact that the athlete did not play could be a mitigating factor. Turner said simply rescinding the redshirt request might nullify any NCAA problems.

Turner said he does not believe any other member of the athletics staff will be found culpable.

Falsifying an application for a hardship waiver likely would fall under NCAA Bylaw 10.1 concerning ethical conduct, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.