I think this is the most relevant quote from that article:Leistikow: An important interview with Jordan Lomax, who sees Iowa football on right track
Jordan Lomax, a former team captain, shares his perspective on Chris Doyle, Kirk Ferentz and a 2017 interaction with Black players on Iowa's team.www.hawkcentral.com
Not a big fan of the fire everyone mentality, that changes nothing. I believe he will still be HC, but not sure about the son. From what we all read and heard, a toxic bad environment had to change and it appears it is.
"For the most part, Division I football recruits were stars of their high school teams. That often can be accompanied by a brash confidence to compete at a high level. Lomax echoes a common theme among former players that such attributes were diminished at Iowa, regardless of skin color. (Tight end George Kittle's big personality, for example, was diffused at Iowa and he has since become an NFL superstar.) "
The coaching staff (maybe some with ham-handed or ill-advised methods) tried to eliminate brash or contrary traits. Naturally, there are a few more cultural differences between the average young black athlete today & the coaching staff than there are between the average young white athlete today & the coaching staff, so that's where more of the conflict happened.
It doesn't all reflect wonderfully on the Iowa staff, but just calling it racism is a lazy take that's being stoked by a really bitter Ferentz-hater in Iowa City.