WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A former player for the Holy Cross women’s basketball team has sued the college and her former coach, saying he was “verbally, emotionally and physically abusive.”
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in New York City by 20-year-old Ashley Cooper seeks unspecified damages and attorney’s fees.
Cooper’s suit names as defendants the Jesuit school in Worcester (WUS’-tur), head coach Bill Gibbons, athletic director Richard Regan Jr., and associate athletic director Ann Zelesky.
Messages left Wednesday seeking comment from the defendants weren’t immediately returned.
Cooper, who is no longer at the school, alleges Gibbons shook players by the shoulders and struck them during practices and games. She says a slap on the back during a game left a red handprint.
The lawsuit alleges university officials knew of the abuse but did not stop it.
