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Post by bbtds on Jul 28, 2010 3:53:48 GMT -5
www.indystar.com/article/20100728/LOCAL/7280328/1001/NEWS/IUPUI-launches-inquiry-into-program IUPUI launches investigation into program Women's basketball coaches accused of emotional abuse A three-member panel will investigate allegations of "emotional abuse" and NCAA rules violations in IUPUI's women's basketball program. The abuse allegations, reported in The Indianapolis Star, came from 11 former players of head coach Shann Hart and associate head coach Chanel Spriggs. Players alleged an atmosphere of fear, favoritism, humiliation and inappropriate interest in their personal lives. One player told The Star that Hart asked explicitly about her sexual orientation. Others described a reckless postgame rant by the coach that centered on accusations of players breaking team rules by becoming involved in intimate relationships with each other.
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Post by bbtds on Jul 28, 2010 4:04:52 GMT -5
www.indystar.com/article/20100728/LOCAL/7280304/1004/SPORTS/Emotional-abuse-at-IUPUI 'Emotional abuse' at IUPUI? 28 have left women's basketball program (Julia) Whitted left the team in December during her senior season. Why? She said she could no longer take the "mental anguish" of playing for head coach Shann Hart and associate head coach Chanel Spriggs. Whitted is far from alone. She is among 28 players and assistant coaches who have quit Hart's program in the past four years. The departures included 19 scholarship players. Whitted and 10 other former players from the past four years interviewed in an Indianapolis Star investigation explained that turnover by saying Hart and Spriggs dominated their lives, regularly breaking NCAA limits on practice time and fostering a culture of "emotional abuse." Hart violated NCAA rules by requiring basketball activities -- practice, film study, weightlifting -- in excess of 20 hours per week. Time logs required by the NCAA, obtained by The Star through a public records request, show glaring omissions and questionable verification. Hart repeatedly and publicly humiliated players, including handing out a framed "award" -- in front of the entire team -- to the player with the worst grade-point average. Hart probed the details of her players' personal lives, including sexual orientation, once asking a player, "Do you like girls?" Last season after a loss, Hart gave her college athletes children's "Happy Meals" for their post-game meal.
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Post by valpo89 on Jul 28, 2010 9:16:03 GMT -5
I just read the entire story on the Star's Web site. Very good reporting, very sad story.
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Post by stlvufan on Jul 28, 2010 11:46:29 GMT -5
TD, IndyValpo, others, do you remember in 2003 or 2004 when we heard from Odell Bradley's Dad (or was it 2002) that Ron Hunter was abusive toward his son?
For some reason, this surfaced in my memory banks just now as I read this. Men's and Women's basketball are separate entities at a University, and I'm not sure how often they even notice each other, at least in a formal sense, but I couldn't help wondering what Ron Hunter (or his players) are thinking as they hear this stuff come out, or if they were aware of it while it was happening.
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Post by rlh on Jul 28, 2010 14:29:42 GMT -5
I don't remember the Hunter incident, but I had heard rumours about the women's program before. Since nothing came of it I didn't say anything...although I must admit these charges are worse than anything I had heard before....
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Post by bbtds on Aug 28, 2010 18:07:56 GMT -5
I meant to put this response from IUPUI's women's coach Shann Hart into this thread earlier. This may be a case of a tough disciplinarian going overboard (something similar to Bob Knight) and running straight up against a new generation of athletes that don't take well at all to her discipline. But as Coach Wooden said in one of his autobiographies that discipline can be handled privately and with decorum without cussing out or embarrassing a player but with demand for excellence and team work.
IUPUI coach says allegations are false
August 10, 2010
IUPUI women's basketball coach Shann Hart -- facing criticism from former players and a university investigation -- said in an interview with The Indianapolis Star that she has never broken NCAA rules or mistreated players.
Responding publicly for the first time since The Star published results of an investigation into her program, Hart defended her actions, describing herself as an honest, hard-nosed coach and caring mentor to young players.
"I can simply say that these allegations are not true," Hart said. "It really saddens me to hear these comments that you say that these players have made because I do nothing but care for student-athletes."
Despite criticism from a growing number of former players at IUPUI and American University, Hart said many others "had (a) positive experience and loved playing" for her: "I can't count the number of weddings I've been in with former players."
Of her detractors, Hart added: "Quite frankly, its easy to find those that perhaps did not" like playing for her.
Still, Hart said, she is sensitive to the allegations of former players -- some of which, she explained, she heard for the first time from The Star.
"I'm very conscious in trying to better myself, the program, the team, the staff and making adjustments to try to fit the need for each of our student-athletes and their well-being," she said.
Hart, who has headed the IUPUI program since 2004, previously had turned down interview requests before The Star published its report. She was accompanied in the interview Friday by a university spokesman and the school's sports information director. Her attorney and a publicist also participated via a conference call.
Although the majority of players interviewed by The Star have expressed negative feelings about playing for Hart, the coach has supporters.
Two former players who Hart encouraged The Star to contact spoke positively about their experiences. Similar sentiments were expressed by current and former players in a handful of e-mail messages either provided by Hart or that were e-mailed to The Star directly. The Star had reached out to several current players, individually and through the university athletic department, before publishing its first story about Hart but received no response at the time.
"I learned a lot playing for coach Hart and working for her. I've become a better person," said Jernisha Cann, who was in Hart's first recruiting class at IUPUI and served last season as a graduate assistant with the program.
Cann said she never saw Hart violate NCAA rules or be abusive to players.
Hart was, however, a tough disciplinarian who demanded -- and expected -- a lot from her players, Cann said.
As a freshman, Cann said, she received the team "award" for having the lowest grade-point average -- a practice questioned by some of Hart's other former players because it was presented in front of the entire team.
"At first, I wondered, 'Why did she do that to me?" Cann explained. "Then I realized it was not for humiliation. It was to get my attention. And I used it as motivation to prove her wrong and to prove to myself that I could do better."
In the interview, Hart said that is exactly the reason she has for years handed out the award, just as she has honored the player with the best GPA.
Former IUPUI player Farren Stackhouse denied Hart violated NCAA rules limiting practice in season to 20 hours a week.
Hart said apparent omissions in practice logs occurred because a former compliance official said time spent reviewing films could be logged under practice time. She also said practice logs for up to 15 weeks were signed on one day, after the season had ended, because the team's schedule was so busy during the season.
Christina Cunningham, who transferred to IUPUI in 2006 and finished her career in 2009, called some of the former players who criticized Hart "spoiled" and said they became upset "if things didn't go their way."
"I didn't get along with coach Hart my first year," she admitted. "But I knew it was more about me -- you have to look at yourself and what you're doing."
Despite the criticism leveled by at least 20 former players, Hart said she doesn't plan to change her approach.
"I don't think that the approach has caused me problems," Hart said. "We've been able to be successful academically and athletically every place I've coached."
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Post by ValpoHoops on Aug 28, 2010 20:56:19 GMT -5
Rumors are - and I stress RUMORS! - that Hart will be let go this week.
In her contract, it states that if she is fired "without cause" that she must be paid the full amount of her contract (three years remaining at just over $103k).
If she is fired "with cause", she would only be owed the remainder of that month's salary (about $8k). If they make their move by Tuesday, she wouldn't be owed September's money, which makes a big difference...thinking about the fact that it would all but cover an entire road trip out west (Southern Utah).
I personally think that this has been in the hands of the lawyers for a while and they are trying to figure out a reason for "cause" and if they found an NCAA violation - too much practice time - they could do so...but only if they could prove it when (not if) she sues them.
Even if she is found "innocent", the program there has suffered too much damage for them to keep her. She will struggle to recruit even more. She has to go.
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Post by stlvufan on Aug 29, 2010 1:11:50 GMT -5
Reading over the coach's interview again reminds me of a work situation I had many years ago, suggesting that it is quite possible for her to have some supporters and other detractors among former players, and they both could be right.
If this is one of those cases, it still does not make her look very good. Basically, it means coach/boss so-and-so is a meany unless you can establish a relationship with them, then they're just great. It's not really as sinister as that sounds. It's just that some people have the kind of personality that's hard for some others to handle, and whether or not you get on their good side might just be a matter of luck or circumstance.
I had a boss in the late 80's who was absolutely reviled by some of my coworkers. I had no problem with her and thought she was fine. And these coworkers were dear friends of mine. We'd be out for lunch somewhere (with boss nowhere in sight) and I'd have to listen to an all-out bitch-fest about this person, and if I got involved at all in the conversation, all I could say was that none of that rang true with me, which I'm quite sure annoyed them to no end.
Some people are just plain difficult. I also had a prior boss who intimidated people. He intimidated me, until somewhere along the lines I won his respect and suddenly I could feel comfortable going in to his office and talking to him about things. But I know others I worked with and liked absolutely hated his guts and had no use for him. In that case, I could see what they meant, up to a point.
In both cases, the person was a good boss -- with certain people. They were not so good with other people, and at the end of the day, I think that is still a huge problem. A leader has to be someone who can reach everyone and be accessible to everyone. My impression is that Hart had some very unorthodox methods of motivating people, and they worked for a few and were destructive to others. That happens when you go for the unorthodox, and she should probably bear responsibility for that. If you are going to work outside the box, you have to accept the risk and the responsibility for the consequences that goes with it.
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Post by ValpoHoops on Aug 29, 2010 9:03:35 GMT -5
Well put STL...one of the things that you'll notice in reading the interviews, most of the players who support the coach were her best players...aka, the ones who played a ton of minutes.
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Post by wh on Aug 29, 2010 15:09:43 GMT -5
Leading people is a skill. Like any skill, leadership needs to developed and honed. In the corporate business world, assumptions are never made that leaders intuitively know how to manage people, or that they don't need training to enhance their intuitive skill set. Progressive companies provide ongoing "people skills" training for managers at all levels.
I have to wonder how much leadership skills training this coach has ever received. My guess is little to none. For example, does she understand the difference between compliance and commitment and the benefits of achieving one over the other. Does she understand the difference between laziness and lack of motivation? Has she ever assessed which of her players are extrinsically motivated vs. intrinsically, or which have an external locus of control vs. internal, or which have naturally high self-esteem vs. low? Has she learned about personality profiling? Has she attended team-building training? Has she ever done a 360 performance appraisal? Has she ever completed a structured self-assessment exercise? Has she ever heard of Theory X vs. Theory Y? Does anyone in her athletic department understand or value any of these things any more than she does?
I would guess that this is a systemic problem throughout the coaching world, and a shame it is. Here are people who represent their respective academic institutions at a high level, have huge impact on their image and reputation, and yet they're given a pass on soft skills training as if they automatically come equipped as God's gift to leadership.
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Post by valporun on Sept 24, 2010 12:16:33 GMT -5
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Post by valpo04 on Sept 24, 2010 12:19:24 GMT -5
So she gets fired, but will still get paid?!?! "We have an issue with your actions... Your punishment? You will no longer have to come to work, and we will pay you for the next 3 years." |
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Post by valporun on Sept 24, 2010 14:31:38 GMT -5
I guess the buyout would have been more substantial, than just relieving her of her duties with pay? They'll have to do an interim coaching situation, probably with a current assistant or someone who can at least monitor things until a replacement is found?
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Post by ValpoHoops on Sept 24, 2010 20:43:57 GMT -5
The entire staff needs to go. Spriggs (top assistant) was heavily involved in what went on, and with allegations such as this, they need to just plain clean house.
As far as a buyout, they are generally LESS than the full salary...Hart's contract did not have one, rather it stated that if she was fired with cause she would be paid only for the remainder of the current month...without cause she would be paid the entire salary.
Simply put, they probably didn't have the items that were specified in her contract as "cause", but still felt it necessary to move on (thank God).
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