Dive Brief:

• Boston University is investigating its head coach for women’s basketball, who is accused of bullying her players.
• Four women quit the team and their scholarships during this academic year, citing emotional abuse so severe that in one case, the player considered suicide.
• The coach, Kelly Greenberg, faced complaints of cruel treatment of her players in 2008.

Dive Insight:

According to the Boston Globe, which broke the story, besides the player who considered suicide, another sought mental health care and two others said the abuse ruined their love of basketball. The four players gave up $60,000-a-year basketball scholarships. BU has confirmed that it is evaluating Greenberg’s coaching performance, which includes looking into the emotional abuse allegations. This story brings to mind the Rutgers snafu over its abusive men’s basketball coach, Mike Rice Jr., and the scandal in the wake of his firing last year. That case included multiple resignations and questions about conduct all the way up the ladder to Rutgers president Robert L. Barchi. If BU’s investigation turns up any truth to the accusations against Greenberg, given the lessons learned from Rutgers, it’s hard to see how she keeps her job.