Indiana University parted ways with a longtime athletic trainer after 44 seasons, the man's attorney said Tuesday.
Tim Garl had been the head men's basketball trainer at the school since 1981 before IU Athletic Director Scott Dolson told him his Hoosiers career would end and his last day of work was Monday.
"Dolson informed Garl that he would like a 'fresh start' for the IU Basketball Sports Medicine staff," Christopher Lee, Garl's attorney, said in a statement to NBC News.
At least five Indiana players, including one-time NBA player and former Toronto Raptors coach Butch Carter, are suing the university for allegedly ignoring warnings about Dr. Bradford Bomba Sr., who they allege performed medically unnecessarily rectal exams on the young men.
Garl is named in the lawsuit, which accused him of turning a blind eye to alleged sexual abuse within the Hoosiers program. In December, Bomba Sr. invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination dozens of times during a deposition for the lawsuit.
Plaintiffs' attorney Kathleen DeLaney said her clients asked the university to remove Garl this past summer.
"I mean, unless the university issues a statement to that effect, I don't know what their decision making process was," she told NBC News on Tuesday. "All I can tell you is, we asked them to exit Tim Garl and they launched an investigation. We added Mr. Garl to the lawsuit as a defendant, and shortly thereafter, he was terminated."
Garl has not been accused of participating in any rectal exams of players, which "at the time was standard for a complete physical exam," Lee said.
A representative for Bomba could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday. The retired physician has previously declined to answer questions about the alleged abuse.
Despite leaving Assembly Hall under these difficult circumstances, Lee said, his client is appreciative of his long career serving every Hoosiers basketball coach since Bobby Knight.
"He finds it a blessing that a kid from Elkhart, IN could be fortunate enough to participate in both collegiate and international competitions," according to Lee's statement. "Tim’s enduring legacy includes being at every IU basketball game for 44 seasons."
According to an IU spokesperson, Garl's contract was among 12 associated with the Hoosiers men's basketball program that were not renewed. The spokesperson did not offer any additional comment Tuesday.
The Hoosiers recently hired West Virginia's Darian DeVries to lead the men's basketball program after Mike Woodson stepped down following a four-year stint as head coach at his alma mater.
