CLEVELAND — There were no cries of outrage across the basketball landscape when the coaching staffs for Saturday’s first Women’s College All-Star Game were announced several weeks ago, but there are had whispers and raised eyebrows.
Did you hear? Can you believe it? What were they thinking?
Questions revolved around the inclusion of Cynthia Cooper as a volunteer assistant. While she is definitely a basketball legend, which is how she and the three other coaches were described in the ad, Cooper was also at the center of a damning and disturbing investigative report from 2022 by Athleticism which described allegations of inappropriate, vulgar and verbally abusive behavior toward players on multiple teams over several decades.
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Former players accuse Cynthia Cooper-Dyke of humiliating, demoralizing and abusive behavior
She resigned from Texas Southern two years ago and stayed out of the spotlight until her photo appeared alongside those of Nancy Lieberman, Janice Braxton and Cheryl Miller in the press release. The reaction may have been muted nationally, but the pain was real among the former players who spoke out in the article.
“She needs to publicly apologize to every player she hurt and make a statement,” one said. Athleticism this week. “She has not once publicly apologized to any players. We want a loud apology, and we want it loud, just like the abuse was.
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The answer to whether Cooper should have been asked to coach is simple. She shouldn’t have. The wounds remain too fresh, the emotional pain too deep for those affected. But to the question of the appropriate time for atonement, I do not have that answer. This varies from situation to situation and usually comes down to you know it when you see it or feel it.
Final Four weekend is meant to celebrate what’s right about the game, not the things that have sullied it, and Cooper’s record includes either NCAA rule violations at Prairie View A&M or allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse at UNC Wilmington, USC and Texas Southern. I firmly believe that Cooper should return to coaching, but my conversation with her this week leads me to believe that there is still work to be done.
For example, when I asked what she would say to victims who spoke out against her, she replied, “I apologize for making their experience a very negative one.” I know that everyone’s perception is their reality, and so I have mine and they have theirs. But I never wanted them to have a negative experience.
These words did not sound like someone was accepting responsibility for specific actions. They sounded like someone saying she was sorry for the hurt she caused without acknowledging the actual actions that caused the pain. This is a subtle but significant distinction, as it presents itself as an apology/non-apology.
When former players describe suicidal tendencies because of the abuse they suffered, as some did in Athleticismhistory, it should not be taken lightly. It stretches the limits of credulity that she couldn’t have known she was crossing the line between metaphorical pushing and actual abuse when, for example, she watched a player hit a bleacher until his hand bled , upset because she thought she was wrong. punished by Cooper.
What makes this all the more damning is that Cooper holds a special place in women’s basketball as someone who won two championships at USC, an Olympic gold medal and four WNBA titles, all of which ended with her being the Finals MVP. When we talk about the greatest of all time, his name is regularly mentioned. The WNBA ranked her among the 25 greatest players in league history.
But this iconic status can be a blessing and a curse in that it brings not only greater visibility but also greater responsibility as a steward of the game. His bad behavior has been hurtful not only to people involved, but also for a women’s game that relies so heavily on the precepts of integrity and conscience.
His conduct resulted in a Title IX investigation and an order of no contact with players beyond practices and games. She resigned from Texas Southern weeks before a scheduled Title IX hearing and said she began therapy a little more than a week later. The current sessions have been painful at times, she said, but that may be a positive sign, because pain is usually a factor in progress on the path to progress.
“I realized I was in trouble,” she said. “I sent the article to my therapist before I left, just so she knew what she was dealing with. Then I got to work – working on myself, working on looking in the mirror to see what I could have done better or what I could have done differently. I had to examine what people were saying about their experiences and what role I played in them. I had to replay everything.
The invitation to coach at the All-Star Game came from the National Basketball Retired Players Association, whose president and CEO, Scott Rochelle, said he had seen Cooper work beyond the spotlight to improve, improve your self-awareness and training. She coached and mentored amateur basketball groups, primarily fourth and fifth graders, and participated in the NBA Coach Development Program.
“It’s not an award,” Rochelle said of being named an All-Star. “It’s another step in his development to try to improve himself personally and professionally. This article was not foreign to us, but… we believe that those who do the work are the ones we want to continue working with. From this point of view, we are on his side and those of any former player who really wants to improve. People are right to have opinions about this situation, but to treat it like it’s a momentous occasion where it’s being celebrated – she’s volunteering her time to give back. I guess the question becomes: what else are you looking for? »
Cooper’s participation comes the same week Ole Miss hired Quentin Hillsman as an assistant coach. Hillsman resigned three years ago as Syracuse head coach amid an independent investigation into alleged verbal abuse and threatening behavior toward players, all of which were described in another investigation by Athleticism. And while some may try to draw a direct correlation between his situation and Cooper’s, they are different in the sense that Hillsman is a full-time position and will work with players year-round; Cooper served as a volunteer assistant for a weekend. The argument can be made that participation in the game, which was broadcast on ESPN2, could be used as a stepping stone to full-time coaching, but there’s no way to know. Cooper said she wasn’t sure if she wanted to return to coaching at the college or professional level.
“It’s always a question in my mind, it’s always a question in my heart,” she said. “I would say that the article hit hard. … I think right now I just want to be the best version of myself every day. I want to be able to contribute in a positive way to women’s basketball. I have done this my whole career and I would like to continue to contribute to the development of the sport if they allow me.
For me, the road back must begin with offering a face-to-face apology to those Cooper hurt. This is not a first step, it is a mandatory step because this is where the real responsibility begins. But even that might not be enough, and that’s understandable.
“It turns my stomach to see that she still has access to people’s children and young wives,” one staffer said. “With some people, there are isolated incidents where they make mistakes, and with others, it’s central to who they are as a person. I don’t see a 180 degree change in two years.
(Top photo: Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)