MADISON, Wis. — Five former Wisconsin women’s basketball players have filed a lawsuit saying they received psychological abuse from ex-Badgers coach Marisa Moseley and that the university responded with “a policy of laissez-faire inaction.”
The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court lists the Wisconsin Board of Regents, Moseley and former Wisconsin associate athletic director for external communications Justin Doherty as defendants. The plaintiffs are Lexi Duckett, Krystyna Ellew, Mary Ferrito, Tara Stauffacher and Tessa Towers.
The lawsuit was first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal.
Moseley announced in March that she was resigning for personal reasons. She went 47-75 in four seasons.
In their complaint, the plaintiffs say Moseley “unconstitutionally toyed with the mental health of her players, including Plaintiffs, as a means of exerting control over every facet of their lives, including retaliating against them based on their protected speech and expressive acts and discriminating against them based on their disabilities or perceived disabilities.”
They say Moseley intruded on players’ privacy in one-on-one meetings by “pressuring them to divulge everything from issues with their parents or romantic partners to their confidential mental health symptoms and treatment choices.”
“Moseley accomplished all of this by abusing her position of power by making threats about scholarships and playing time, and manipulating her players, claiming that she was simply ‘building trust’ with them on and off the court,” the complaint states.
For example, the complaint says Ellew was experiencing a mental health event when Moseley kept her alone in the back of a locker room and threatened to notify police unless she agreed to check into a mental health facility.
According to the complaint, several players and their parents reported abuse allegations to Doherty, who retired earlier this year.
The complaint says Wisconsin adopted “a policy of laissez-faire inaction” rather than intervening to protect the players.
Wisconsin didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
In January, Wisconsin officials said they were looking into allegations Towers had posted on social media saying she was mistreated by Moseley and her staff.
The lawsuit filed Friday alleges that Towers was placed on 11 new medications in less than a year after she disclosed her ADHD diagnosis. The complaint says Towers’ mental health deteriorated as Moseley singled her out.
“Tessa’s teammates found Moseley’s behavior towards their friend and teammate disturbing,” the complaint says. “Her teammates knew about Tessa’s ADHD, and they watched their coach bully her because of it. Then, as they witnessed Tessa’s mental health problems escalating in multiple crises, they observed their coach’s behavior grow even worse. They could do nothing about it since Moseley threatened to reduce their playing time if they visited Tessa in the mental health facility or continued their friendships with her.”
Moseley stepped down following a 13-16 season that ended with a first-round loss in the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin has since hired former Missouri coach Robin Pingeton to take over the program.
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