George Washington Fires Men's Basketball Coach After Investigating Verbal Abuse Claims

Two months after the Washington Post reported verbal and emotional abuse in the men’s basketball program—and two weeks before the first practice of the season—George Washington University has fired head coach Mike Lonergan.

The school announced the dismissal Saturday morning, saying that Lonergan “had engaged in conduct inconsistent with the university’s values” in a statement from Provost Forrest Matzlman.

The firing comes after an independent investigation into the report published by the Post in July. That report (which is full of bizarre details and worth your time here) linked 13 player transfers in Lonergan’s five-year tenure to the fact that he was, essentially, a nightmare to play for—with lowlights including telling one player that his son would always be on food stamps and another that he would be better suited for a “transgender league.”

The Post investigation found that multiple players had relayed complaints about Lonergan to the university, including to the Title IX coordinator, but no action was taken—until, apparently, now. An interim coach has not been named.

[ Washington Post]