WORCESTER (MA)
MassLive
[with copy of the letter]
By John F. Hill, MassLive.com
on October 18, 2013
A group of 40 former Holy Cross women’s basketball players, managers and coaches have signed a letter in support of coach Bill Gibbons.
Earlier this week, a former player sued the coach, Holy Cross, and several college officials, alleging Gibbons was verbally, emotionally and physically abusive.
The letter, issued to media outlets, disputes Ashley Cooper’s claim that alumni are “demoralized” by the time they leave the program by the coach’s abusive tactics.
“[Gibbons] was, and still is, a father figure for those of us without fathers, and a sounding board for some of us with critical life decisions. His family took each and every one of us in and made us feel at home. Above all, he was a leader who always taught us to do right and – more importantly – to be “men and women for others” in the Jesuit tradition.”
The letter says the 40 signatures represent only those alumni who were able to be reached in the 24 hours following news of the suit.
Cooper’s lawsuit was filed Tuesday in New York, where she now lives after transferring to New York University from Holy Cross in the spring, following her sophomore year. Among other things, it alleges Gibbons once struck Cooper during a game so hard he left a red handprint on her back.
Read a copy of the lawsuit and an interview with Cooper’s attorney.
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