WORCESTER (MA)
Telegram & Gazette
By Dianne Williamson
dwilliamson@telegram.com
Three years ago, Ashley Cooper told The Asbury Park Press that she was excited about her decision to play basketball at the College of the Holy Cross.
“After all the work, you end up where you’re supposed to be,” she said. “I believe I ended up where I belonged.”
As it turns out, Cooper didn’t belong at Holy Cross. After two seasons of unremarkable play, she abandoned an athletic scholarship and transferred to New York University, where she no longer competes in the sport she’s loved since childhood.
Then, Wednesday morning, she made headlines across the country by filing a lawsuit against veteran HC basketball coach Bill Gibbons, claiming he verbally and physically abused his players. The 20-year-old former high school star says Gibbons shook them by the shoulders, struck and berated them repeatedly during games and once slapped her so hard on the back that he left a hand print.
“Defendant Gibbons … would act in an outrageous manner in his yelling, ranting, screaming and hysterics directed towards the Holy Cross players as well as game referees, which prompted players on opposing teams to remark, ‘Your coach is crazy,’ among other comments,” claims the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan.
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