George Washington University says it is bringing in outside counsel as part of an investigation into allegations against mens basketball coach Mike Lonergan.In a statement released by a spokesman Thursday night, the school said that it is undertaking a Title IX review but that some of the reported allegations go beyond the scope of Title IX.The statement comes in response to a story posted earlier Thursday by The Washington Post?that reported Lonergan routinely abused his players verbally and emotionally, creating an offensive environment and causing many of them to leave the program as a result.The university expects full cooperation and will not tolerate retaliation during the course of the investigation, the school said in a statement. We will also continue to inform the student-athletes on our mens basketball team of the universitys support and of the resources available to them.Citing interviews with multiple former players and staff members, the Post painted a picture of a coach who regularly crossed the line in his assessments and critiques of his players. According to the newspaper, Lonergan told one athlete he belonged in a transgender league and suggested that anothers son would forever rely on public assistance.One former player, according to the Post, said he needed therapy to cope after his time playing for Lonergan.?Thirteen players have transferred from George Washington in Lonergans five-year tenure.I dont think the guy should be in sports, one former player told the Post. I dont think what he said should be tolerated. I would like to stay at GW. I will not play for Mike Lonergan.One former member of the George Washington basketball staff said, 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 couldnt stand another second of him.Lonergan, 50, led the program to the NCAA tournament in 2014 and the NIT championship last season.?Lonergans attorney, Scott Tompsett, provided this statement to ESPN on behalf of the coach on Thursday afternoon:The Washington Post article is full of lies and half-truths. For example, GWU administrators did not address concerns with Coach Lonergan last year. Rather, they looked into allegations and after a thorough investigation, concluded that Coach Lonergan had not violated University policy and that no further action would be taken.The fact of the matter is that the anonymous accusations are not new and they are not true.Coach Lonergan has a well-earned reputation in the college basketball world as a coach who runs his program with integrity and respect. He has always been a champion of diversity and inclusion. Coach Lonergan celebrates those values. Coach Lonergan is proud of his team and its accomplishments both on and off the court. He will aggressively defend himself and his program against false and defamatory accusations.Isaiah Armwood, who played for Lonergan at George Washington from 2012-14, defended the coach.?My time with Lonergan was great, Armwood told ESPN. He is an old-school coach who wants the best out of his players. Me and Lonergan bumped heads on different occasions for different reasons, but in my opinion he did not demean players using inappropriate language whatso ever. He was a very hard-nosed and straight forward coach. Someone who a good player would love to play for.Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said on ESPNs college basketball podcast on Wednesday that he has talked to Lonergan, who is a good friend of his.I grabbed him in Vegas and said how can I help you? Hes a teacher and educator and intense guy too, Brey said. He cant overreact. I said you cant get into a public contest of throwing barbs. But its my alma mater and Im disappointed in the administration that they could have handled this better. Im close to the place and love the place. The guy has done a good job. He works his butt off and represents the place well. I just hope it works out and Mike continues to stay at GW. As an alum were happy the way hes run the program.The Post reported that allegations of abuse against Lonergan during the 2014-15 season prompted a meeting between the coach and administrators, who requested practice film to examine Lonergans actions. After associate athletic director Ed Scott began to travel with George Washington last season, Lonergan began to target athletic director Patrick Nero, according to one former player who spoke to the Post and expanded on his comments to ESPN.The stuff [Lonergan] has said about the athletic director made everybody uncomfortable, the player told ESPN.The player said Lonergan routinely accused players of engaging in sexual relationships with Nero.It was very odd, the former player said. He had this weird obsession.In early April, the former player met with Nero to discuss a variety of concerns, including inappropriate comments Lonergan allegedly made on a recruits visit in October and during private conversations. He and other former players who spoke to the Post said Lonergan created an awkward and intimidating environment.That resulted in a Title IX investigation, since Title IX refers to sexual harassment of any kind.In an email the former player shared with ESPN, Nero said, I appreciate you stopping in today to let me know of your conversation with Coach Lonergan in the fall and your concerns with this conversation. Obviously, this was not something that was easy to share.According to the email, Nero told the former player he would confidentially share their exchange with Rory Muhammad, the schools Title IX coordinator. A week after his meeting with Nero, the former player emailed Muhammad afterward to express concerns that it seems as if nothing was taken seriously.This worries me because if I [and others] choose to leave the University, word of Coach Lonergans verbal and emotional abuse, as well as player mistreatment would eventually be known among the greater community, the former player wrote to Muhammad. But the former player said Muhammad ultimately told him the program had handled everything internally, which the former player viewed as a failure to take action against the coach, who signed an extension through the 2020-21 season after a successful 2013-14 campaign.The player then left the school.One day, I said I have to do something, the former player told ESPN of his decision to publicize the accusations against Lonergan. I dont think its fair that people have to leave the school they love. 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"We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Cecil Cooper Jersey . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Kim Rhode sees the news on television or social media. Another mass shooting, in Aurora, San Bernardino, Newtown, Orlando, Dallas, Baton Rouge.For the two-time Olympic gold medalist shotgun shooter, what comes next has become routine.I just wait for my phone to ring, Rhode said. I know the questions are coming.Shooting is one of the most divisive sports in the Olympic program.Guns, always a hot-button issue, have been thrust even further to the forefront of public debate with the spate of mass killings in recent years.Sport shooters are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment, given their chosen event. Because they are public figures, more so during Olympic years, they have become targets for anti-gun groups.Mass shootings exacerbate the rift over gun control and often put Olympic shooters in the crosshairs of hate.Its unfortunate that we get lumped in with that, said Rhode, who is vying to become the first American athlete to win medals in a sixth straight Games at next months Rio Olympics. There has to be some kind of reality.When Rhode won her second career gold, in skeet at the 2012 London Games, one of the first questions she was asked by media was about the theater shooting at Aurora, Colorado, which occurred a few days earlier and left 12 dead.Sometimes it goes beyond inquiries.Several shooters have received death threats, requiring extra security in London.Trap shooter Corey Cogdell-Unrein needed extra protection after someone posted hunting videos on her Facebook page without her knowledge.A two-time Olympian, she grew up in Alaska, where the family hunted for its food, and still hunts. Despite saying she didnt agree with the content of the videos, Cogdell-Unrein received numerous death threats before the Olympics.After the London Games, where she won bronze, thousands of people signed a petition to strip her of the medal.Unfortunately, there were people who decided to hone in on me as a public figure at the time and they wanted to push their agenda of trying to stop animal cruelty and hunting, said Cogdell-Unrein, who is headed to Rio. Hopefully that will not happen again. If it does, I will be better prepared for it this time.dddddddddddd I definitely dont support animal cruelty and a lot of the things they were saying I was a part of.As gun laws become stricter, the ability to obtain guns and ammunition could become much tougher for Olympic shooters.In California, where Rhode lives, Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a law requiring background checks for anyone purchasing ammunition, among other restrictions. Rhode burns through up to 1,000 shotgun shells a day in training and is concerned how the new laws will affect her ability to properly prepare.Im not sure how thats going to work out, how thats going to affect me, what thats going to entail, she said. It could make things much more difficult for me to train.Travel is another issue for Olympic shooters.Shooters and their liaisons must keep up on gun laws, not only for each of the 50 states, but any country they may travel to or through for competitions. For air gun shooters, that sometimes means sending their air canisters to their destination ahead of time.Even knowing the regulations doesnt always make things go smoothly.Rhode once had a flight from San Marino delayed for hours after a competition because security officials were concerned she had multiple shotguns and ammunition in her luggage.Jay Shi, an air gun and pistol shooter headed to his first Olympics, had to wait nearly four hours to get cleared into China for a competition as security hand counted every bullet. The process was repeated when he left.Shi had to stand by another time as a security person took out his pistol to examine it because of the strange-looking handle used on competition guns.The rule is not to touch the gun, but they took it out and were looking at it, Shi said. I was freaking because now theyre waving a gun all around.The issues Olympic shooters face wont subside anytime soon.The debate over gun control is a divisive chasm that seems to grow deeper with each mass shooting.Athletes who use guns for their sport will likely always be part of that debate -- whether they want to be or not. ' ' '
