Transfer to a "Transgender League": George Washington Coach Mike Lonergan Accused of Verbally Abusing Players

By now, we are pretty much numbed to the absurdity and power-thirst of college sports, but every once in a while something happens to remind us that these are actual adults with authority over the lives of college students—and sometimes they misuse it.

In Washington D.C., there are ugly allegations about George Washington men's basketball coach Mike Lonergan creating a verbally abusive atmosphere that led his players to flee the program. As reported by the Washington Post, Lonergan may have been constantly belittling his players and also, for some reason, trying to undercut his athletic director. If the allegations are true, this is like the Mike Rice drama but with less basketball throwing and more psychological warfare.

Thirteen players have left the program during Lonergan's five years as head coach so far. One former member of the GW staff told the Post, "A lot of kids transfer because they have delusions of grandeur. Nobody transferred from GW with delusions of grandeur. They just transferred because they hated him. They couldn't stand another second of him."

Some of the allegations against Lonergan seem particularly cruel:

• He told a player that his son would never get off food stamps.
• Another player was told he should transfer to a "transgender league" in front of the whole team.
• After the university met with Lonergan to discuss his behavior and the athletic department conducted an internal review, including one official traveling with the team on road trips last season, the Post says, Lonergan's "invective shifted toward Athletic Director Patrick Nero." And this is where it gets even more absurd. Just read these two sentences and remember it's a college coach trying to pit his players against the head administrator: "Lonergan told players Nero requested the practice tapes so he could masturbate while viewing them in his office. The players said Lonergan also told them Nero had engaged in a sexual relationship with a member of the team."

It's not surprising, then, that Lonergan tried to undercut the AD among his players:

"I was in the gym, shooting," one player said. "He comes up to me, starts talking about the AD. 'Can you believe he thinks he's going to get me? Don't worry, I have one of the best lawyers. I know what he wants.' . . . He would say it in a very serious tone.

Also not surprising is that the players' complaints to the university have so far resulted in little more than some half-measures—the kind that universities love to use to give a facade of caring without making actual changes. Now GW has a scandal on its hands. Another college coach went too far, pushed his power to greater heights, and even tried to turn his boss into an enemy.

So how did Lonergan handle all this as it bubbled up to the surface? By reportedly calling his players to find out who talked to the Post and telling them it was all just lies. Of course.

When will college coaches ever learn? Don't demean your players, don't act like an abusive jerk, and stop trying to cover it up when you do.

[WaPo]