Rogelio V. Solis/AP
Tyler Summitt, the 25-year-old son of legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt, resigned on Thursday from his post as head coach of the Louisiana Tech women's basketball team after admitting to "engaging in a relationship that has negatively affected the people" he loves.
In a statement, Summitt said:
It is with great regret that I resign from my position as head coach of the women's basketball program at Louisiana Tech University. I am profoundly disappointed in myself for engaging in a relationship that has negatively affected the people I love, respect and care about the most. My hope, plans and prayers are to repair those relationships.
I am appreciative of the opportunity I was given to coach at Louisiana Tech. I am heartbroken that my time has ended in Ruston, but because of my respect for the institution, it is best that I resign. I am hopeful the media and the public will respect the privacy of my family and me as we deal with this difficult situation I have caused.
Summitt's statement, including his admission of the relationship, is cryptic. Plenty of speculation and rumors have swirled across the internet since the news of his resignation broke, but as of Friday nothing has been confirmed or credibly backed up.
LA Tech also released the following statement:
Effective immediately and for personal reasons, Tyler Summitt has stepped down as head coach of Louisiana Tech University's women's basketball program. The university has accepted his resignation and appreciates the contributions he has made to the growth and success of the Lady Techsters program during his tenure. Louisiana Tech will immediately begin the process of selecting a new head coach to lead the women's basketball program and student-athletes forward. Louisiana Tech wishes Tyler and his family the best of luck in the future.
In his two years at the helm of the Louisiana Tech program, he amassed a record of 30-31. He was hired at the age of 23, after spending two years as an assistant coach at Marquette. Before that he was a student assistant for his mother's Tennessee team.
Summitt married his high school sweetheart in 2013.