MADISON - The allegations of mental abuse that preceded the resignation of former Wisconsin women's basketball coach Marisa Moseley moved to a new arena on Aug. 15.
Federal court.
Five former players filed a civil lawsuit against Moseley, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and Justin Doherty, who served as the administrator for women's basketball and retired as UW's senior associate athletic director for external communications in April. The players claim psychological abuse by Moseley and that Doherty was aware of the issue but took no action to protect the players.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are former Badgers Alexis Duckett, Krystyna Ellew, Mary Ferrito, Tara Stauffacher and Tessa Towers. The lawsuit was filed in District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin and seeks compensatory and punitive damages among other penalties.
The lawsuit hits on some of the same issues Towers shared about her experience at Wisconsin in a Tik Tok post in January.
Among the allegations in the 52-page document:
* Moseley "unconstitutionally toyed with the mental health of her players, including Plaintiffs, as a means of exerting control over every facet of their lives, including retaliating against them based on their protected speech and expressive acts and discriminating against them based on their disabilities or perceived disabilities."
* Moseley interfered with her players' mental health treatment, something she accomplished by threatening to take away playing time or scholarships.
* Players and parents reported Moseley's abuse to Doherty, but the university failed to act. The complaint calls the university's response to the issues it raises about Moseley "a policy of laissez-faire inaction".
The complaint says that instead of removing or disciplining Moseley, the university punished the players for the mental health issues caused by the coach.
Among those claims was that the university "coerced players, following a mental health incident, to sign broad agreements releasing their medical records if they wished to remain on the team."
An attempt to reach Moseley and Doherty weren't immediately successful.
Moseley coached the Badgers to a 47-75 (.385) record in four seasons as head coach. That included a 21-51 (.292) record in the Big Ten. Her first three seasons were marked by an improved record over the previous season, but it was also marked by players who transferred or left the team midseason.