Arbitrator: Mankato university wrong to fire coach

The Associated Press
Minneapolis

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Todd Hoffner
Minnesota State, Mankato football coach Todd Hoffner speaks to reporters as his wife, Melodee, right, attorneys Jim Fleming, left, and Gerald Maschka, second left, listen, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, in Mankato, Minn. Hoffner, who had been sidelined by accusations of child pornography involving his own children, reacted with relief Friday after a judge dismissed the case, saying he was "thankful to be waking up from this nightmare." Hoffner was effectively cleared when a Blue Earth district judge agreed with his assertion that innocent family videos had been misinterpreted. He had been escorted off a football practice field and arrested in August after a university employee came across cellphone videos of his children dancing and playing naked.
AP Photo/The Mankato Free Press, Jim Cross

An arbitrator says Minnesota State University, Mankato, had no grounds to fire football coach Todd Hoffner and he should be reinstated.

Hoffner was charged in 2012 with two child pornography counts after he recorded videos of his children dancing naked. The charges were dismissed after a judge found they were innocent.

Hoffner was fired last May for reasons that weren't disclosed then.

According to the Mankato Free Press, an arbitrator said the decision to fire Hoffner was made after pornography was found on his work computer, but Hoffner denied it and others had access to the computer, so there's no proof.

Hoffner didn't immediately return messages. Minnesota State, Mankato, says employers are bound by arbitration awards, whether or not they agree.

Hoffner is head coach at Minot State.

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