MSR: Charles Hallman: Ex-Gopher Says Similar Conditions Existed Here

Ignatius L Hoops

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A former teammate of Brunson and Bello talked exclusively to the MSR last week on the condition of anonymity. “Jane” (not her real name) said, “All of the stuff [that happened to the Tech players] happened to us.”


Among the main claims the Texas Tech players alleged are:

  1. Coaches demanded that Tech players keep a heart rate of at least 90 percent of capacity by using a “torture mechanism,” as they called it, during play or else face tough conditioning at the next practice. Something similar was done at Minnesota, said Jane, adding that the players were told “it would open our airways” while playing. “I did it three times [before stopping],” she said. “It made me uncomfortable.”
  2. Some players often were ridiculed by coaches in front of the team. This also happened in Minnesota: “All the coaches were cool off the court, but on the court, it depended on their mood,” said Jane. “Every day it was somebody they picked on depending on how they were playing in practices or the games.”
  3. One Tech player displayed depression symptoms but was admonished by coaches. “I’m sure that half of the [Minnesota] players were depressed, but they didn’t go to the doctors,” recalled Jane. “A lot of players cried all the time in the locker room. I knew one of the girls had real bad anxiety, and they [the coaches] knew about that and they didn’t care.”
  4. Five Tech players alleged that the strength and conditioning coach used a therapy technique that involved applying to the players’ chests, pubic bones and groins. The same coach also worked at Minnesota. Jane said she refused it but knew some players that did use the technique.
Jane recalled when once during practice a ball was accidentally thrown at Stollings during a drill. “She threw the ball back at the player because she thought it was thrown on purpose. It didn’t hit her, but [Stollings] tried to.”

Although she never intended to transfer, Jane noted, “I know a lot of players who wanted to leave.” It also bothered her that the Gopher coaches didn’t tailor their motivational methods to the individual player. “I never took it personally… Some people couldn’t take it,” said Jane. “It was no letting up.”

Jane said she and another Gopher teammate “worked to keep us together” as a team, and the players almost daily met and shared experiences. “It wasn’t the same for me, but I know it was happening to others while I was there.”

The climate definitely changed when Lindsay Whalen succeeded Stollings, Jane said. “It was easier.”
 

So Jane played under both Stollings and Whalen. 🤔
 


No surprise that some similar stuff happened when she was here. I'm hoping that the U can put some systems in place to prevent this kind of treatment for athletes of any sport in the future. I'm guessing that an AD might attend practices only a handful of times during a season so it might not be easy to determine what's going on behind the scenes. With that in mind, I'd like to see some kind of review system that could prevent this type of behavior from ever happening. I recall reading that the U hired an outside consulting firm to solicit reviews from the players, but with Stollings' players, nothing ever resulted from those reviews. Either the consulting entity never forwarded the info to the AD or the AD didn't heed the info he or she was given. Regardless of what happened, it should never happen with any high school, AAU or college team. I'm guessing that this type of stuff happens way more often than we might think it does.
 

> Coaches demanded that Tech players keep a heart rate of at least 90 percent of capacity by using a “torture mechanism,” as they called it, during play or else face tough conditioning at the next practice. Something similar was done at Minnesota, said Jane, adding that the players were told “it would open our airways” while playing. “I did it three times [before stopping],” she said. “It made me uncomfortable.”

"Jane" thank you for having the fortitude to "just say no" to the "torture mechanism." The probable reason that it made you feel uncomfortable was that it was very unhealthy for you. Your body knows, and it told you. Thanks for heeding your body and not blindly going with what the authority figure was telling you.

Sorry that you (and other team members) - all of whom we fans care about and appreciated as student athletes, not to mention enjoying watching you play the game of hoops - had to learn this life lesson (that sometimes you need to just-say-no to what the authority figure is demanding that you do, even if there may be negative consequences) in such a stressful way. But we are so glad that all of you persisted in spite of the stress, and stuck with the Gopher program. We appreciate you anyway, but in hindsight we now appreciate and respect your efforts (in the face of adversity) all the more.
 
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