Athletes At College In Upstate New York Accuse Coach Of Bullying
A women's lacrosse coach has been accused of consistent abusive behavior by a number of her former student-athletes in a letter sent to the president of the university.
The accusations include disturbing accounts that the coach "psychologically abused numerous players, with severe consequences to their physical and mental health.” It appears those accusations may have substance.
After a months-long investigation by Thomas C. Zambito, Noah Ram and Melanie Anzidei of USA Today network published on poughkeepsiejournal.com, the trio reported that Colgate's women's lacrosse coach Kathy Taylor was accused of ridiculing players over their weight, dismissing their mental health concerns and pushing them to play through injuries that shortened their careers. The accusations triggered an internal investigation by Colgate.
In a statement delivered to the USA Today Networks in response to their investigation, Colgate stated, “We identified specific actions to improve the women’s lacrosse student-athlete experience and address concerns from student-athletes and parents regarding leadership approach and player development, and have been implementing these measures with the full commitment, involvement and support of Coach Taylor and the Athletics Department leadership and staff.” Basically, the university felt that accusations did not warrant the firing of the coach. That happens most times in these situations. Often there is more to the story that is unavailable to the public, sometimes there is not.
Unfortunately, to this day, some hard-nosed coaches feel that many student-athletes are "too soft." I am not saying this is what happened at Colgate. Some coaches will use sarcasm to relay messages. Sometimes there are ramifications from that sarcasm to the recipient. Mental well-being is a real thing. Some young athletes are not cut-out to be ridiculed in front of their peers. The USA Network Investigation stated that since the start of the 2022-23 school year, seven Colgate women's lacrosse players have quit the team. One of them was the team’s top goal scorer and a Patriot League standout. 20 student-athletes have left the program prior to graduation since Kathy Taylor took over as head coach in 2019. Hopefully, the changes made by Colgate's athletic administration will make it a better experience for the entire women's lacrosse program.