George Washington Basketball Players Accuse Coach Mike Lonergan Of Verbal And Emotional Abuse

The George Washington men’s basketball program has seen 13 players transfer out of the school in the last five years. According to accusations made by current and former players in a thorough Washington Post, players keep transferring because head coach Mike Lonergan is a nutjob that nobody wants to play for.

According to the Post, multiple players have brought complaints about Lonergan’s behavior to school administrators, including the school’s Title IX coordinator. A school official told the Post that concerns over Lonergan’s behavior have been addressed, but that hasn’t stopped the steady stream of players leaving the school. As one anonymous basketball staffer put it to the Post, “They just transferred because they hated him. They couldn’t stand another second of him.”

As for the alleged behavior that’s been driving players away, it’s some pretty weird stuff:

Beneath the surface, the accomplishments have been accompanied by tumult and turnover. According to multiple players, Lonergan’s critiques crossed the line from constructive to mean-spirited. He told one player his son would always be on food stamps. He told another, in front of the team, he should transfer to a “transgender league,” multiple players said.

Lonergan also seems to have a strange fixation with George Washington athletic director Patrick Nero. Five current and former players told the Post that Lonergan told them Nero wanted to masturbate to their practice tapes in his office, and then accused Nero of having a sexual relationship with a member of the team.

There are plenty of other strange details in the Post’s story, which you should go read right now.

Photo via AP