Inadequate response

This was not exactly a gold-star week for women's basketball in the Horizon League.

In Michigan, Detroit Mercy received a letter from the parents of every player on the roster alleging a pattern of abuse by first-year coach AnnMarie Gilbert.

In Indiana, newspaper articles in the Indianapolis Star and the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette  reported remarkably similar allegations against Purdue Fort Wayne coach Niecee Nelson -- allegations that players and former players have been making to little effect for two years.

You'll hardly be surprised, given the last, that only one of the two schools had an appropriate response.

That would be Detroit Mercy, which suspended the remainder of the season pending an investigation.

Purdue-Fort Wayne, on the other hand, issued a release in fluent lawyer-speak that basically said "Yeah, we dealt with this a couple years ago." A lot of smarmy empty-calorie phrases provided the garnish, stuff  like "the health and well-being of (PFW's) student-athletes" and "conducted an additional review of the matter" and "Coach Nelson is very aware of the concerns raised by some of her students and has worked closely with Athletics' leadership to maintain a positive team environment and I'M SORRY WERE YOU SAYING SOMETHING?"

OK. So that last was not in the statement. That was just me talking.

This is also me talking: Both the Star and, in fuller detail, the Journal Gazette used as their source material 48 pages of statements from more than 20 people, most former players and their parents, alleging incidents of abuse by Nelson. That 48-page document was sent to Purdue officials -- among them Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, Purdue Fort Wayne Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer and PFW athletic director Kelley Hartley Hutton -- in May of last year.

Forty-eight pages. More than 20 mostly former players and their parents. Eight months ago.

And yet, silence from PFW, until yesterday. Nelson continues to coach, having been cleared by the university's "investigation" in 2019. So far this season, her team is 0-12. Since being hired in 2016, she's 21-106.

So, to review: You've got a coach who's 21-106 in four-and-a-half seasons, and who's already been investigated (well, sort of) once for abusive behavior, and who's apparently learned nothing because a number of the former athletes interviewed by Vicky Jacobson of the JG arrived on campus AFTER the 2019 allegations.

Also, 21-106.

How many coaches with that kind of won-lost still have their jobs after 4 1/2 years? Even without all the other stuff?

Strange and stranger. And, yes, sure, these are still only allegations. Nelson of course denies all of it, and I suppose she could be completely blameless here -- although when more than 20 former players, parents and staff members are telling the same sorts of stories, it does tend to make those stories more credible.

In any case, after eight months to mull over 48 pages of serious allegations, issuing a release that addresses none of it is a laughably inadequate response. Detroit Mercy wins this one going away.

And Purdue Fort Wayne?

Can't win on or off the court, from the looks of it.