The Legislature stepped in to remove the state’s top mental health official, Allie Friesen, marking the first time in 100 years such a move has been made.

Q: How was the Legislature able to do this if the Governor has hiring and firing power?

A: While Governor Kevin Stitt has authority over five key agencies, including the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), lawmakers added a safeguard in 2019 that gives the Legislature oversight and the power to fire a commissioner with a two-thirds majority vote.

Q: Was the removal of Commissioner Friesen a personal decision?

A: Senator Paul Rosino stressed it wasn’t personal. “There was no pleasure taken in doing it,” he said, “we just felt the department was not moving in the right direction.”

Q: What concerns led to this decision?

A: The main concerns were financial. In April, lawmakers launched a probe after the department requested an additional $6.2 million, but a May audit revealed the actual need was over $28 million.

Q: How were state employees affected by the financial issues?

A: Some state employees struggled due to the budget shortfall, and lawmakers stepped in to ensure payroll was covered and employees were paid.

Q: Were the financial troubles a recent development?

A: No. News 9 political analyst Scott Mitchell says these issues have been building for years. He pointed out that “a lot of eyebrows were raised” when the agency spent $1 million on a Super Bowl ad before Friesen’s tenure.

Q: How did these financial problems impact the agency?

A: Mitchell explained that money troubles distracted the agency from focusing on serving people with behavioral health needs, which is its core mission.

Q: Did Commissioner Friesen have the capability to handle these challenges?

A: Senator Rosino believes she meant well and tried hard but didn’t have the competency to manage such a large agency with many moving parts.

Q: Were there other factors influencing the removal?

A: Yes, a recent consent decree requiring faster mental health treatment for inmates found incompetent to stand trial also played a role.

Q: What happens next for the leadership of the department?

A: Gov. Stitt will appoint an interim commissioner to serve until the Legislature confirms a permanent replacement during the next session.

RELATED: Oklahoma lawmakers vote to remove ODMHSAS Commissioner Allie Friesen

Jockeys are some of the most passionate, fearless people in the horse racing industry, but like any sport, injuries can happen.

Most athlete populations have little trouble finding literature on how emotion management, coping strategies and moral support impacts athletes after an injury. When it comes to the horse racing industry, research on the psychological effects of injuries on jockeys is lacking

Kelley Renner is a graduate student at the University of Kentucky completing her master’s degree in sport and exercise psychology in the College of Education. Through her interest in working with jockeys and the horse racing industry, Renner began exploring the effects of injury on this group of athletes.

This spring, she presented her master’s thesis, “The Psychological Impacts in Exercise Riders and Professional Jockeys Following Injury.”

“I’ve always had an interest in post-injury experience and a passion for the equine industry, so I decided to combine the two,” Renner said. “One of my core values is compassion, and if I can help people with something, even if it’s just 1%, I want to try to do that. Not a lot of horse racing spectators know the ins and outs behind the scenes of what really goes on. So, I wanted to bring awareness to this group of athletes.”

The goal of her thesis is to begin unpacking this area that is underrepresented in research, specifically looking at the psychological effects jockeys face after an injury.

Renner conducted semistructured interviews with jockeys to gather information on specific emotions associated with post injury, coping strategies they use when facing an injury, what kind of support system they have and what they go through during the return to ride process.

From her analysis she created a model that outlines the athlete’s journey when it comes to the mental impact. In traditional athletes, post-injury, there is a timeline of when the injury occurs, to the recovery period and being cleared to return to the sport. She used this timeline as a guide for her model.

“Based off the themes in the traditional athlete injury timeline, that’s where I aligned the emotions that were specifically involved with each stage of injury occurrence,” Renner said. “So, for each phase of the timeline I explored the emotions the jockeys felt. For example, during the recovery phase, how might the emotions look different for jockeys compared to traditional athletes.”

Some of the most common injuries jockeys face are concussions, muscle tears or strains, shoulder dislocation and broken bones.

“What we know is a lot of them will try to hide their injuries,” said Michaela Keener, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Sports Medicine Research Institute, Equestrian Athlete Initiative faculty in the UK College of Health Sciences and committee member for Renner’s thesis. “There’s a lot of pressure for them to return to riding, even if they are not feeling 100%. Racing is their livelihood to support themselves and often their families. They have a lot of pressure to get back on the horse a little too early.”

In general, the horse racing business can be very strict and demanding. It’s a competitive industry, it can cause a lot of stress and fear among the riders that they can be replaced at any moment.

“I’m feeling very mad, mad because they don’t care. They replace you very soon. You have an accident, and the next day another person is going to be over there. Nobody called. Nobody’s asking how you’re feeling,” said one of the jockeys who participated in the interview.

Renner’s analysis explains that a lot of these athletes come from outside of the United States, so most of the time they don’t have a support system nearby to lean on. The jockeys told her this is something they struggle with.

The athletes have a lot of powerful emotions, but with the lack of support feel like they have no one to talk to about it.

During her interviews, Renner asked the jockeys how they coped when an injury occurred, and sadly, suicidal thoughts were mentioned.

“I had one participant admit to attempting suicide once, so it’s important for people to grasp the severity of the situation here,” Renner said. “This is why we must research, advocate for the jockeys and provide resources.”

Although suicide is at the very extreme, it happens in the horse racing world more than people would think.

“Sometimes people who go to Keeneland and watch the pretty racehorses run just don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes,” said Ashley Samson, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion in the College of Education and chair for Renner’s thesis. “We aren’t trying to paint a horrible picture, but it’s not always pretty, and that’s the reality.”

Uniquely, Renner found that this group didn’t necessarily have a fear of reinjury, but instead, they mentioned being afraid that they might develop an anxiety around riding or racing.

“It’s the fear of having fear,” Renner said. “They know that if they are fearful, they cannot speak up about it, they feel like they must hide it. People are always told if you’re afraid to get on the horse, you should not get on that horse. But these athletes have a lot of pressure, so they feel like they have to regardless of if they have that gut feeling.”

They feel as though they don’t have a choice and must get on the horse to make their livelihood. The jockeys explained in their interviews that they don’t have anyone to talk to when they feel these emotions.

The culture of horse racing has a stigma around expressing feelings of mental health struggles. There is an unspoken rule that they shouldn’t talk about it, push it down and get back up on the horse.

Renner hopes that with her research, she can help with breaking the stigma and ensuring jockeys and other members of the industry have all the resources they need when it comes to taking care of their mental health.

“It’s a very difficult sport,” said another jockey who participated in the interview. “Mentally, this sport can drain you because you could be on top of the sky today, and tomorrow you’re only as good as your last race.”

Renner asked if any of the jockeys had experience in receiving help for their mental health or mental performance. Three out of four said no, they never have, but they all agreed that it would’ve been helpful if they would’ve had someone to talk to.

“The emphasis there is that we know that they want the help,” Renner said. “They are ready for it. It’s just the challenge of how we combat the stigma, the barriers and getting over that.”

Her data only focuses on four jockeys so far, but she feels confident that if she is able to gather more research from larger groups of jockeys, she can help them even more.

“With this research, Kelley is on the brink of something that can change the industry,” Keener said. “The Horseracing Integrity Safety Authority has recently worked with the Jockeys’ Guild to provide jockeys with 24-hour access to mental health services. As we see these resources become more available hopefully, more people will also be willing to talk to Kelley about their experiences.”

As more resources are offered to the athletes, their hopes are to begin to see a shift in the stigma around jockey mental health.

“The public needs to be more aware of these athletes, they’re often overlooked,” Renner said. “We can’t forget that these riders are human, it is a real person riding the horse. They all have a passion for riding, it’s what they love to do.”

Renner will continue to research and advocate for these athletes as she completes her master’s degree and will remain at UK to pursue her doctorate degree.

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron has fired its women’s soccer head coach following an investigation by its Human Resources department into the mental health and physical safety of players.

Jen Simonetti was placed on paid administrative leave on Feb. 14, according to records obtained by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Simonetti, who was hired before the 2022 season, received a termination letter on May 13.

The investigation findings were detailed in an April 1 report that included complaints against Simonetti dating back to 2023. The investigation included interviews with more than two dozen people, including current players, former players, University of Akron athletic department staff members, UA strength and conditioning coaches, Akron Children’s Hospital athletic training staff members, assistant coaches and Simonetti herself.

In its investigatory findings, the university said that while it received multiple anonymous communications regarding the women’s soccer program prior to Feb. 14, 2025, its ability to respond was limited because the concerns were shared anonymously. After the university received concerns from Akron Children’s Hospital staff and multiple reports via a UA hotline, the university began the formal investigation process, according to the report.

Physical safety of players

One instance cited in the report was pushback an Akron Children’s Hospital athletic trainer said they received regarding a student athlete with a suspected concussion who was sent to the emergency department due to unequal pupils. Coach Simonetti reportedly asked the staff member “if that was really necessary,” to which the staff member replied, “do you understand this is my job–my livelihood–I have a license to protect–not releasing if not OK.”

In another instance detailed in the report, an Akron Children’s Hospital athletic trainer said there was an interaction between Simonetti and an athlete during which Simonetti told her she was having shin pain because she was “unfit.” The athlete was later diagnosed with a black line, a dark line seen on an X-ray that suggests a high-risk stress fracture, often associated with delayed healing and potentially requiring more aggressive treatment.

In her response, Simonetti said that the women’s soccer team has had four athletic trainers since she was hired in July of 2022. She also said the current strength and conditioning coach for soccer is “good, but she knows nothing about soccer.” Simonetti also said that she asks athletes for clarity when it comes to injuries because there is “miscommunications,” which can impact rehab and healing.

Anonymous letters and emails included in the report suggest Simonetti puts pressure on student athletes to return to play too early when they are hurt, which results in them getting re-injured. Multiple statements in the letters and emails cited student athletes getting hurt because of overuse and poor treatment of injuries. In one letter, a parent said “the girls practice and play hurt because they fear what Jen will do.”

Degrading/disrespectful language

During the investigation, current and former athletes were asked if they had ever witnessed Simonetti using degrading or disrespectful language with athletes or training staff. Ten of the athletes interviewed said that they had, four athletes said they had not and three athletes said that they hadn’t directly, but they have heard it from other members of the team.

The report includes an interview with a former athlete who said the coach told her certain students were “selfish brats” and that she shouldn’t hang around them. The former athlete explained she felt she needed to record her one-on-one meeting with the coach for her “own safety” due to the coach saying one thing in meetings and another in public.

In her response, Simonetti said she talks about the team in terms of the top 10%, middle 80% and bottom 10%, and she challenges athletes to surround themselves with those who are going to push them to be better players.

Sharing personal information

According to the investigation, 10 of the 16 athletes interviewed said the team culture is “great” among athletes but “lacking” among coaching staff. Several athletes said they don’t feel like what they talk about with Simonetti remains confidential and that she uses what they share against them. When 17 current and former athletes were asked if they were asked to share personal information with Simonetti that they felt was not in line with what a coach would need to know, 10 said yes.

In her response, Simonetti said personal information shared with her was not shared with other teammates. She also said there are times when a player may need more help to meet their goals, so it’s important to understand what is going on with them that could affect their performance.

The investigation concluded that Simonetti:

“Did not abide by the highest standards of personal conduct. While the coach reports that her standards are high and her goal is to grow student athletes in their personal lives and as student athletes, her methods seem contrary to the needs of her current athletes. Her integrity is in question regarding multiple reports of personal information shared by athletes that were then used against them or shared with others without permission. There were a significant number of examples given by student athletes and training professionals indicating that Coach Simonetti frequently criticized student athletes when injured. It would reason that if Coach Simonetti was fair, sympathetic, and protective, student athletes would not report being afraid to talk to coach about their injuries and would feel comfortable stating that they could not play due to pain. It is also reasonable that a coach would ask additional questions to players and medical staff for clarification purposes. However, it does appear that Coach Simonetti has expressed open hostility to the professionals from Akron Children’s Hospital when they don’t answer in the manner she expects.”

Before Akron, Simonetti was the head coach at Case Western Reserve University dating back to 2019. She played as a defender at the University of Dayton and earned NSCAA All-America third team status in 2004 as a senior.

The University of Akron named Maggie Kuhn as head coach. Kuhn had been an assistant women’s soccer coach with the Zips for four years. She was previously the head coach at Lock Haven University, according to her biography on the University of Akron’s website.

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