University suspends coach who coerced athletes into giving blood samples

Taipei, July 14 (CNA) A coach at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) bullied female soccer players by threatening to withhold academic credits if they did not submit to blood tests for research purposes, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said Monday.

The ministry said NTNU's campus bullying prevention committee concluded that the coach's actions met the definition of bullying and recommended a two-year suspension.

According to the MOE, the university reported the case through its campus safety reporting system in November 2024 and launched a formal investigation under its guidelines for preventing bullying on campus.

Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) first brought the case to public attention last November, revealing that players were required to participate in a National Science and Technology Council research project involving three blood draws per day for 14 consecutive days.

Chen also said that in the early stages of the study, the blood was drawn by people without medical qualifications to do so, and players were told they would be denied academic credits or withdrawn from school if they did not comply.

In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, NTNU said the coach was removed from all administrative and coaching duties in December 2024.

After the National Intercollegiate Athletic Games in May this year, the coach signed an apology letter, which was delivered to the players by NTNU staff, the Taipei-based university said.

The school's investigation found that some blood draws violated the Human Subjects Research Act, the statement said, adding that the study has been terminated and the materials ordered destroyed.

The MOE said NTNU's research ethics review committee failed to fulfill its oversight duties, and the two lead investigators will both face administrative penalties.

The university was ordered to halt all new human research ethics reviews starting July 1 and must submit a written plan for improvements within three months, the ministry said.