Allegations of Abuse & Mistreatment at Texas Tech | The Boneyard

Allegations of Abuse & Mistreatment at Texas Tech

The comments from the players who are quoted in the article paint a terrible portrait, and yet those remarks are difficult to square with the very positive comments during the season from UConn transfer Lexi Gordon, who revitalized her career at TT. When Gordon left UConn, one of the disappointing aspects of her 2 years in Storrs is that she never really got herself in shape to play UConn WBB. At TT, Gordon significantly improved her fitness, gained confidence and became a solid starter for the Red Raiders.
 
oldude said:
The comments from the players who are quoted in the article paint a terrible portrait, and yet those remarks are difficult to square with the very positive comments during the season from UConn transfer Lexi Gordon, who revitalized her career at TT. When Gordon left UConn, one of the disappointing aspects of her 2 years in Storrs is that she never really got herself in shape to play UConn WBB. At TT, Gordon significantly improved her fitness, gained confidence and became a solid starter for the Red Raiders.
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I guess she was "MADE" on the 90% heart rate thing....

I hope Stollings is fired ASAP.
 
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oldude said:
The comments from the players who are quoted in the article paint a terrible portrait, and yet those remarks are difficult to square with the very positive comments during the season from UConn transfer Lexi Gordon, who revitalized her career at TT. When Gordon left UConn, one of the disappointing aspects of her 2 years in Storrs is that she never really got herself in shape to play UConn WBB. At TT, Gordon significantly improved her fitness, gained confidence and became a solid starter for the Red Raiders.
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Kaili McLaren was never in great shape, and yet she played.
 
She sounds like a coach who, 20 years ago, would've been lionized as someone who was able to mold kids into winners. The players would've been criticized as either being soft or being "politically correct."

To be clear, coaches like this are bad for their players, bad for their programs, bad for their schools, and bad for the sport. They should be out of the profession. They never should have been allowed to coach in the first place. It should not take this level of harm to players to remove a coach or other staff member.
 
chrissaran said:
Kaili McLaren was never in great shape, and yet she played.
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The game has changed since McLaren played. Fitness is extremely important in today’s game. Gordon must have realized that when she transferred to TT as she got herself into much better shape than her 2 seasons at UConn.

Not saying that TT’s HC is justified. All the transfers clearly indicate her program doesn’t work.
 
oldude said:
The game has changed since McLaren played. Fitness is extremely important in today’s game. Gordon must have realized that when she transferred to TT as she got herself into much better shape than her 2 seasons at UConn.

Not saying that TT’s HC is justified. All the transfers clearly indicate her program doesn’t work.
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oldude, even when Gordon got in better shape, it was not the kind of shape that would gain her minutes at UConn. I never saw her not hustle for TT but she struggled running up and down the court. It looked as if she was not physically able to keep up with the kind of practices UConn has. I'm glad she found a school at which she could prosper.
 
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I looked her up, she coached at 4 other schools prior to TT (always short tenures). Will allegations come to light at some of her previous schools?
 
nwhoopfan said:
I looked her up, she coached at 4 other schools prior to TT (always short tenures). Will allegations come to light at some of her previous schools?
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From the OP's article:
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Lowry Dawkins’ tenure at New Mexico State ended in 2003 when she was removed following a school investigation “into allegations of mental and physical abuse, and other conduct that has jeopardized the health, safety, welfare and education of student-athletes under your charge,” according to a copy of the school’s termination notice obtained by the Intercollegiate along with other investigative records.
 
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DeeHusky said:
It’s been so many coaches fired or were under investigation for similar reasons these past few years. What is really going on?
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It's a societal change that, hopefully, is permanent.

People are finally facing consequences for bad behavior -- bad behavior that previously was ignored, tolerated, or even celebrated. Players believe their allegations will be taken seriously and lead to action instead of just being filed in the circular filing cabinet.
 
j66kicker said:
From the OP's article:

"She also brought associate head coach Lowry Dawkins, who had been Stollings’ top assistant at Minnesota and VCU. The roles were reversed more than 15 years earlier, when Lowry Dawkins was head coach and Stollings an assistant at New Mexico State.

Lowry Dawkins’ tenure at New Mexico State ended in 2003 when she was removed following a school investigation “into allegations of mental and physical abuse, and other conduct that has jeopardized the health, safety, welfare and education of student-athletes under your charge,” according to a copy of the school’s termination notice obtained by the Intercollegiate along with other investigative records.

New Mexico State’s investigation found Lowry Dawkins threatened to kill one player, pulled another player’s hair and pushed players in conditioning to the point that some became sick. After Lowry Dawkins was reassigned to assistant athletic director, Stollings was named interim coach and eventually resigned in support of Lowry Dawkins.

“You were counseled for similar behavior last season,” Lowry Dawkins’ termination notice said, “and your actions this year indicate an inability or an unwillingness to conform to an acceptable level of conduct.”

"Lowry Dawkins’ New Mexico State post is not listed on her Texas Tech biography, nor in the 2018 release when the school hired her.'
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I started the article, but didn't finish it. Thanks for highlighting this. Wow. Just wow. How were the HC and assistant coach responsible for this allowed to continue coaching elsewhere? Who cares if the roles were reversed. Completely unacceptable.
 
oldude said:
The game has changed since McLaren played. Fitness is extremely important in today’s game. Gordon must have realized that when she transferred to TT as she got herself into much better shape than her 2 seasons at UConn.

Not saying that TT’s HC is justified. All the transfers clearly indicate her program doesn’t work.
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Maybe you think fitness is more important today, but talk to the greatest athletes of their time who were always in great shape.
 
chrissaran said:
Maybe you think fitness is more important today, but talk to the greatest athletes of their time who were always in great shape.
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Point taken. I guess my point is simply that Gordon was not in particularly good shape during her 2 years at UConn, and that certainly contributed to both her lack of playing time, along with a rash of nagging injuries. After transferring to TT, she appears to have gotten herself in better shape, and earn a chance to play.
 
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This is a lot more than just players complaining about tough coaches. Sounds like both the head and assistant are classic bullies, who hide behind the curtain of WCBB. I would make book that Geno and CD are tough as nails with practice and expectations, but you never hear the players calling them out like this!
 
It just occurred to me that Texas Tech has something of a history of hiring basketball coaches who abuse players. After Bobby Knight was fired from Indiana In 2000 for numerous incidents, including choking a player, TT hired Knight who coached in Lubbock for 7 seasons until retiring.

Sort of reminds you of fictional coach Norman Dale In Hoosiers who is given a chance to coach Hickory HS in Indiana after being fired for punching his star player in the face when he coached in college.
 
BostonBay said:
That was a tough read. If all the allegations are true - they need to clean house. Some need to be in jail.
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Indeed it was. This story has gone viral. Stollings may not be able to weather this fire storm of allegations from the myriad of current and former players, none of whom have any reason to lie. It will be interesting to see where the BIG boosters and the general fan base weigh in on this.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Texas Tech women's basketball players describe a toxic culture of 'Fear, anxiety and depression'. If just half of the allegations are true, there's serious trouble in Lubbock. It's hard to sell your program to a potential recruit and their parents, when strong allegations like this has been made by so many different current and former players against you.

It will be interesting to to see if any their recruits from the 2020 class leave, and how many recruits from the 2021 class and beyond she's able to bring in if she's retained by the administration. The administration may be hesitant to eat the remainder of her contract salary that runs through 2024, and bring in a whole new staff.
 
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oldude said:
It just occurred to me that Texas Tech has something of a history of hiring basketball coaches who abuse players. After Bobby Knight was fired from Indiana In 2000 for numerous incidents, including choking a player, TT hired Knight who coached in Lubbock for 7 seasons until retiring.

Sort of reminds you of fictional coach Norman Dale In Hoosiers who is given a chance to coach Hickory HS in Indiana after being fired for punching his star player in the face when he coached in college.
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TT had some issues w/ a football coach I thought as well. Although maybe that was discredited.
 
nwhoopfan said:
TT had some issues w/ a football coach I thought as well. Although maybe that was discredited.
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Mike Leach who, of course, is now a big deal up in your neck of the woods...

"On December 28, 2009, Leach was suspended indefinitely by Texas Tech pending investigation of alleged inappropriate treatment of Adam James, son of former SMU and New England Patriots running back (and former ESPN college football analyst) Craig James. On December 16, James suffered a concussion. He was examined the next day, and told not to practice that afternoon due to the concussion. According to a James family source, Leach ordered him to stand in the equipment room near the Raiders' practice facility. According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, school officials claim they gave Leach an ultimatum to apologize to James in writing by December 28 or Leach would be suspended. His attorney, Ted Liggett, disputed the characterization of events as reported by the university and other news sources, and said that James had been treated reasonably in light of his condition."
 
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A few weeks ago, I posted elsewhere the different assistant coaching changes since Stollings took over at Tech:

- 2018-19: Nikita Lowry Dawkins, Erin Grant, Larry Tidwell
- 2019-20: Nikita Lowry Dawkins, Malikah Willis, Alysiah Bond
- 2020-21: Nikita Lowry Dawkins, Malikah Willis, Carlene Mitchell

So, after her first two seasons, she's lost 3 assistant coaches.

Erin Grant left her alma mater to join the USC staff.

Larry Tidwell (who has coached a lot in the state of Texas) left to join the Kansas staff (quit after one season, and was replaced by Terry Nooner).

Alysiah Bond left to join the Missouri State staff.

All that to say that is a lot of coaching turnover. That has to hurt recruiting (relationships), player development, and staff cohesion. If that keeps up, she won't last much longer at Tech as any additional staff turnover will surely raise some eyebrows. Granted, it would be different if they were leaving for career advancement, but that doesn't seem to be the case (other than maybe Grant).

Wonder if any of those coaches left due to "philosophical" differences with Stollings. Hoping someone will interview them soon, although the coaching network seems to stay tight-lipped about others in their industry.
 
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Wally East said:
She sounds like a coach who, 20 years ago, would've been lionized as someone who was able to mold kids into winners. The players would've been criticized as either being soft or being "politically correct."

To be clear, coaches like this are bad for their players, bad for their programs, bad for their schools, and bad for the sport. They should be out of the profession. They never should have been allowed to coach in the first place. It should not take this level of harm to players to remove a coach or other staff member.
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Rene Portland of Penn State was lionized decades ago, too. Then her homophobia was revealed and she was rightfully “retired“ from wbb.

onwardstate.com

A Look Back At Rene Portland’s ‘No-Lesbian’ Lady Lions

Portland’s 27-year tenure at Penn State encompassed seven conference championships, eight conference tournament titles, and numerous NCAA tournament appearances. However, despite the accolades and extraordinary stats, her coaching career is hindered by an alleged shadow of hate.
onwardstate.com onwardstate.com
 
oldude said:
And running into trouble already after tweeting out a meme of a woman knitting a noose, upsetting his players and gaining a reprimand from the Miss St Administration.
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Well he's always gonna stick his foot in his mouth, that's what he does. He shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the press.
 
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