A respected soccer coach at a Taiwanese university has apologized and lost her position over a bizarre scandal: She allegedly coerced students to repeatedly give blood for research projects, threatening them with expulsion if they refused, reports the BBC. Exactly why she did so remains unclear. "I sincerely apologize for the harm caused to the students involved, to the faculty, and the university's reputation," wrote 61-year-old Chou Tai-ying of National Taiwan Normal University. "I deeply regret the emotional distress caused to the students and want to say sorry to all of you."
The South China Morning Post reports that Zhou sometimes collected subsidies that were supposed to go to the students who donated blood, calling them "team funds." But the newspaper adds that it's unclear whether personal profit was the motive. The coach also had unqualified students collect the blood, according to a university investigation. A researcher at the university who apparently received the blood samples for his work also apologized. The probe found that the practice began in 2019, and came to light only when a student came forward.
"It was truly blood and sweat for credit," said the student, identified by her surname of Jian. "By the eighth consecutive day of blood draws, they could barely find a vein in either arm." She estimates she gave blood more than 200 times because she feared losing course credits and being expelled if she refused.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
