Coach Dykes’ childish stunt on news coverage can’t fix TCU cover up

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Every few years in a quarter-century of recent success, TCU reverts to its old ways and does something really futile and stupid.

Fifteen years ago, the university foolishly allowed a vindictive Fort Worth police officer to stage an overzealous and petty drug investigation that cost the university students, money and goodwill.

This time, the university has decided that the problem with a football player being attacked in the locker room and beaten unconscious is that it was reported in the Star-Telegram.

In a childish stunt straight out of head coach Sonny Dykes’ 1970s upbringing in small-town West Texas high school football, Dykes and the university have banned the Star-Telegram from all sports press boxes and locker rooms.

By punishing the Star-Telegram for independent reporting, TCU is only pretending that it is protecting the victim by completely ignoring the incident and the ensuing report finally made to campus police a full day later.

Obviously, TCU is really protecting its own very thin skin.

The university risks liability for not preventing a workplace attack despite a history of conflict between employees. That’s what college football players are today.

By covering up the entire attack and the name of the hospitalized player, who identified himself on social media as wide receiver Dozie Ezukanma, the university claims it was protecting him from retaliation.

If I had a student attending TCU, I would worry about this kind of “protection.”

The university takes a day to report an assault with serious injuries to police.

Then, TCU takes four more days to decide whether and how to fire the other player.

Then, the university pretends nothing happened and keeps the story secret on all its pet websites run by paid lackeys. The only regular website TCU doesn’t control, either through money or access, is the Star-Telegram.

And, la-di-da, let’s all have fun and go Frogs, right?

Riff ram bah zoo,

We don’t need

Press like you.

The university claims that reporter Steven Johnson, a tireless worker who has chronicled the ups and downs of Dykes’ years in Fort Worth, was wrong to name the player attacked. But Ezukanma posted his own social media video.

The university claims the Star-Telegram should not have quoted an unnamed close source saying the coaching staff knew about a conflict between the players. That would be a potential liability risk.

But the newspaper also printed that another close source disagreed. University officials had every opportunity to comment on the fight but have never done so on the record.

Generally, the university is upset at honest, fair and even-handed coverage that simply does not cover up for TCU.

University leaders should know better. In a sport that is more professionalized than ever, TCU cannot act more amateurish and bush league.

In particular, Dykes has a history of similar small-town stunts straight out of Class AA football.

The more he loses control of a team, the more he tries to control coverage. He drops the folksy, aw-shucks relaxed attitude.

Dykes has a 57% career winning percentage. Only three times in his 17-year career at four schools has he ended the season on an upbeat note with a bowl victory, only once in a major bowl.

His highlight 2022 Fiesta Bowl victory over Michigan was followed by a crushing runaway defeat in the national championship game.

Now, this amateurish reaction to the kind of scrutiny that comes with playing at high levels in college football is the story looming over the program, not the Frogs’ high-profile game against North Carolina in Ireland.

Dykes and TCU need to make more good news.

Not hide the bad.

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This story was originally published August 27, 2026 at 11:41 AM with the headline “Coach Dykes’ childish stunt on news coverage can’t fix TCU cover up | Opinion.”