A week ago the campus community learned women’s basketball coach Pokey Chatman was resigning from her coaching duties at the end of the NCAA tournament. But that was not the end of the story. The next day Chatman released a statement saying she would be stepping down immediately. This was perhaps the beginning of a long and troubled road to be traveled by fans, the media and athletes and paved by the Athletic Department. In the past week, representatives of the Athletic Department have refused to comment about the situation, and Chatman has only released two statements, totaling about 350 words – less than half the length of this column. And the most important factors – the women on the basketball team – in the ordeal are being ignored. In the week after the two-stage announcement, some pieces of the story have begun to come together. Several media outlets across the state and nation have cited unnamed sources, which collectively tell the story of Chatman’s resignation. In Chatman’s second statement she said she would be a distraction to the team. We now know Chatman initially said she was leaving in the wake of “false rumors,” but the Chatman requested to remove the word “false” from her statement, according to e-mail correspondence between Chatman and the Athletic Department obtained by The Daily Reveille. The first report came Thursday when outlets began citing sources who said Chatman left because of allegations of “inappropriate conduct” with a former player. Rumors began to soar, and speculation about what players were involved began to grow. The unnamed source said no current players were involved, but no evidence was given. The Athletic Department continued to remain silent, leaving details to the imagination and failing to come to the defense of current players. Days later sources reported that assistant women’s basketball coach Carla Berry had been the one who came forward with the allegations. Message boards began to fill with speculation as to a motive, and again current players were included in the flurry of hypothetical theories. And still the Athletic Department remained silent, again leaving details to the imagination and failing to come to the defense of current players. Then the pinnacle of the basketball season arrived – the announcement of the NCAA tournament brackets. With the excitement of learning LSU will be the third seed and the location of the first round game came further speculation about the ongoing Chatman story. The announcement of LSU’s placement in the bracket was followed by summary of the story. The anchors of the ESPN program spoke passionately about the issue, one saying she thinks Chatman will “rebound” from the ordeal. But the Athletic Department remains silent, refusing to answer any questions about the situation. The continuous response from the Athletic Department, or lack thereof, has been detrimental to the women’s team. No one has spoken out in defense of the women on the team. We know the team was distraught after learning of Chatman’s resignation. An e-mail acting head coach Bob Starkey sent after the announcement described the first practice after the story broke as difficult and rough. And still no one has spoken about the team’s members. Reporters from The Advocate, The Times-Picayune, the Associated Press and The New York Times were present on campus at the announcement of the brackets. Now is the time to support the players as they prepare for the NCAA tournament. The tournament committee sent a message by giving the Tigers a No. 3 seed that they are a viable team capable of performing well. And the nation’s eyes will be on the team. The time for the Athletic Department to come out in support of the team has passed. The players deserve to know their professional staff is behind them as they prepare for the tournament amid a scandal. But still the Athletic Department lets them down.
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