Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Red Wolves coach Jimmy Obleda yells instructions to his team during warmups at CHI Memorial Stadium in East Ridge on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Jimmy Obleda will not be roaming the sidelines for the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC this weekend and potentially the foreseeable future.
On Friday afternoon the United Soccer League announced Obleda had been provisionally suspended pending the results of an ongoing USL investigation into misconduct from the third-year Red Wolves head coach.
The USL Players Association released the following statement on its Twitter page at 2 p.m. Friday.
"The USLPA has raised allegations of misconduct by Chattanooga Red Wolves head coach Jimmy Obleda with the USL. The USLPA will continue to be supportive of the USL investigation into the matter. The USLPA encourages current and former players and staff with information relating to discrimination, harassment, abuse or bullying within the USL, whether in connection with this incident or other matters, to contact the USLPA directly."
Red Wolves assistant coach Jimmy Weekley has been named interim head coach in Obleda's absence.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Jimmy Obelda talks to the media after being introduced as the Red Wolves new head coach. The Chattanooga Red Wolves announced Jimmy Obleda as their new head coach at their offices in downtown Chattanooga on Thursday, November 21, 2019.Obleda was hired on November 21, 2019, to lead the Chattanooga Red Wolves. The 50-year old coach has led the team to 23 wins, 19 losses and 17 draws with an 85-68 scoring advantage in those matches.
"The Chattanooga Red Wolves SC received notice today from the USL of the provisional suspension of head coach Jimmy Obleda pending a league investigation into allegations of misconduct," the Red Wolves official Twitter page said in a statement. "The club takes all such allegations seriously, is complying with the investigation and has placed Coach Obleda on administrative leave until its conclusion."
The Red Wolves (6-8-2) will try to move up from sixth place in the league standings as they host the Northern Colorado Hailstorm (5-6-5) at CHI Memorial Stadium at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday. The USL League One season is 30 games long with the top six teams in the 11-team league making the playoffs, which starts Oct. 21.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.