Five ex-Wisconsin women’s basketball players sue former coach Marisa Moseley, alleging mental abuse

Five former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball players sued ex-coach Marisa Moseley, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and former women’s basketball administrator Justin Doherty, claiming they were subject to mental and psychological abuse. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are former Badgers women’s basketball players Alexis Duckett, Krystyna Ellew, Mary Ferrito, Tara Stauffacher and Tessa Towers.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the lawsuit claims that Moseley “unconstitutionally toyed with the mental health of her players, including Plaintiffs, as a means of exerting control over every facet of their lives,” which included retaliation based on their protected speech and expressive acts and discrimination based on their disabilities or perceived disabilities. The plaintiffs allege that Moseley interfered with the mental health treatment of her players, doing so by threatening to take away their playing time or scholarships.

The lawsuit also alleges that Moseley’s abusive behavior had been reported to Doherty, but that he and the university as a whole failed to act in what was described as “a policy of laissez-faire inaction.” The plaintiffs claim that the university punished players for mental health issues caused by their coach instead, which included an incident where they were “coerced … to sign broad agreements releasing their medical records if they wished to remain on the team” following a mental health incident.

One of the plaintiffs, Towers, claimed in January that Moseley and her staff threatened to kick her off the team if she did not abide by multiple demands in regards to her mental health. Towers claimed that Moseley forced her to sign a release form permitting her coach access to her therapy sessions, told her that she would be removed from the team if she expressed “anything close” to thoughts of suicide or death during therapy, and that she had been forcibly tested for autism. Towers finally claimed that she had been forced to choose between admitting herself to a mental hospital and being kicked off the team.

An ESPNW report on the lawsuit goes further into Towers’ circumstances, claiming that Towers’ teammates knew of her ADHD diagnosis and “watched their coach bully her” because of this, and that Moseley threatened to take away their playing time if they visited Towers in a mental health facility or continued their friendships with her. The lawsuit also claims that when Ellew began experiencing a mental health event, Moseley had kept her in the back of the locker room and threatened to notify police unless she checked into a mental health facility.

Moseley resigned as coach of the Badgers in March, citing “personal reasons” after posting a 47-75 record in four seasons. The lawsuit against Moseley and other UW officials was filed in District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages among other penalties.