Texas Tech women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings was fired Thursday,following a damning report that described a culture of abuse during her two years at the school.

Of the 21 players that Strollings has coached over the last two seasons, 12 have left the program. A USA Today report Wednesday detailed what life was like for players under Stollings and her coaching staff.

A heart-monitor system was allegedly part of the abuse. Players were forced to put on wearable heart-rate monitors during each game, practice and workout. If someone’s heart-rate dropped below 90% capacity for more than two minutes of game time, they might lose playing time or be given conditioning assignments.

“It was basically like a torture mechanism,” Erin DeGrate, who transferred to Baylor in 2019, told USA Today Sports. “I feel like the system wasn’t supposed to be used how she was using it.”

Players were reportedly berated by coaches, often demeaned for being overweight or out of shape. All 10 players who spoke with USA Today said they raised red flags to administrators about the culture of the basketball team since Strollings was hired.

Strength and conditioning coach Ralph Petrella was accused of threatening players with violence and making sexually suggestive comments. One player accused him of reaching under her sports bra and spandex shorts.

Petrella has since resigned and denied the allegations against him.

“It was just the feeling of fear, anxiety, depression,” Mia Castaneda, who transferred to Washburn University in Kansas last year, told USA Today Sports. “And it wasn’t just a few people — it was our entire team.

“They were breaking not just athletes, they were breaking people. And they didn’t realize that.”

Texas Tech had an 18-11 record last season before college basketball was shut down early because of the coronavirus pandemic. It broke the team’s streak of five consecutive losing seasons.

Texas Tech is familiar with being accused of unfair treatment by coaches. Former Red Raiders head football coach Mike Leach was fired in 2009 for allegedly punishing a player who had a concussion by putting him in an equipment room alone for hours.

Leach has denied the story, which was contradicted by some witness statements.

Marlene Stollings
Marlene Stollings coached the Minnesota Golden Gophers watches the game against the Maryland Terrapins at the Xfinity Center on February 28, 2016 in College Park, Maryland. G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES
Coronavirus