Two graduating seniors are now suing their prep basketball coach, accusing him of bullying, abuse and intimidation.
Four months after finishing their Muhlenberg County (Greenville, Ky.) girls’ basketball careers, Makayla Sampson and Kerra Vincent are seeking disciplinary measures against Lady Mustangs coach Mike Harper as well as compensation for the injuries and resulting medical treatment they say he forced them to play through, according to WBKO-TV.
“The behavior that we had to endure was not the normal motivational methods,” said Sampson. “When it comes to being criticized for my basketball performance, I can handle that. But when I’m falsely accused of being jealous, and selfish and self-centered — and that would be a daily thing — I do not think it’s acceptable.”
Sampson, Vincent and another senior quit the team this past season, citing their coach’s abuse, the report said. Sampson averaged 15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in just four appearances for Muhlenberg County (11-21) in 2015-16.
During her career, Sampson told WBKO-TV she was told to play through leg pain that later required surgery to repair a stress fracture and torn fascia tissue as well as a head injury that was eventually diagnosed as a concussion. Video footage shows Sampson falling to the ground and apparently temporarily losing consciousness in a game. She blames Harper for robbing her classmates of their final prep basketball season “and the chance to finish up a game we loved.”
“Many players past and present have had to endure it,” Sampson told WBKO-TV in the extended sit-down interview, “but no one has been willing to step forward to say anything due to being intimidated.”
However, West Virginia State University guard Amiea Summers, who played her entire high school career for Harper, offered a experience with the coach. “If he did yell at me, it was more of a, ‘Because I know you can do better,’ type thing. It wasn’t like, ‘You’re awful,’ or anything like that,” she told WBKO-TV. “I couldn’t see him being like that.”
Sampson said she hopes the school board disciplines Harper and establishes an anti-bullying and injury plan for coaches.
The school district said it could not comment on pending litigation.