Marshall’s support doesn’t extend to former WSU players from two seasons in question
While multiple former Wichita State basketball players have defended Gregg Marshall, none of those public supporters were with the Shockers during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, when the coach allegedly engaged in physical abuse that triggered an investigation by a university-hired law firm.
The Eagle reached out to nearly every player on those two teams and five said that Marshall did punch a player and put his hand around the throat of an assistant.
The rest of the former players contacted by The Eagle either declined to comment publicly until the investigation is complete or did not respond. The five who did speak asked to remain anonymous because they feared retaliation.
In a new statement released Tuesday afternoon, Marshall denied both incidents.
“In response to the allegations put forward in the media, I simply state unequivocally that I have never physically struck a player or colleague,” Marshall wrote in the statement. “Allegations claiming otherwise are false.”
WSU has hired a St. Louis-based law firm to investigate the allegations. WSU has said he can continue coaching the Shockers while the investigation “is being completed in an expeditious and deliberate manner.” The university said Marshall is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Landry Shamet — three of Marshall’s most famous alums who all reached the NBA — have not publicly commented on the allegations. Neither have multiple other players who were all at WSU for one or both of the alleged incidents and are playing professional basketball overseas.
But five players who were on the 2015-16 and/or 2016-17 teams told The Eagle that they witnessed Marshall punching Shaquille Morris in the back of the head in an Oct. 22, 2015, practice before Shocker Madness, and putting his hand around the throat of assistant coach Kyle Lindsted during a practice in the 2016-17 season.
The physical assaults were also reported by Stadium in a six-month investigation.
According to Stadium’s reporting, which cites Morris, Ty Taylor and five teammates who chose to speak anonymously, Morris fouled Brown hard and caused Brown to land awkwardly on his back. Morris told Stadium that Marshall struck him on the left side of his face “with a punch” right after the play. After a heated exchange, Marshall kicked Morris out of practice and told him to go on the opposite court and “roll on the court until practice is over.”
Morris refused and began walking away when Marshall struck him again. Morris told Stadium that Marshall hit him over his right shoulder and “hit me in my jaw.”
The five players who spoke to The Eagle all said they saw Marshall punch Morris in the back of his head, in the neck.
Morris has not responded to multiple Eagle requests for an interview. On Twitter, he recently retweeted a message he sent on October 22, 2016 that read: “A year ago today... Something happened that honestly changed my life and how I view things... #NeverForget”
The second alleged incident occurred during a practice in the 2016-17 season when Marshall allegedly was frustrated by how Lindsted was running a drill. According to five players who say they witnessed the incident, Marshall put his hand around Lindsted’s throat in anger and squeezed.
“I looked over and saw coach Marshall choking him,” Morris told Stadium. “Then people started deescalating the situation, trying to calm him down.”
Lindsted was an assistant at WSU for three seasons starting in 2015-16 and left in the spring of 2018 for an assistant coaching position at Minnesota, where he still coaches. When reached by The Eagle, Lindsted declined to comment.
In addition to published comments by Morris and Taylor, former Shocker C.J. Keyser, who was a freshman on the 2016-17 team, tweeted a meme that read: “Like I said, what ever they say he did, he did that (expletive).” The tweet, which made no reference to Marshall but came two days following the allegations, was liked by Morris, Taylor, Eric Hamilton and two other former Shockers during the 2015-17 timeframe.
The following day, Hamilton tweeted that an “official statement formulated and signed by the athletes that attended Wichita State University from 2015-19 coming soon. Anything else, especially coming from those that were not there every day during those years, is irrelevant.” Two players told The Eagle that Hamilton was premature to announce the release of a joint statement, but that it could still happen at a later date.
In his statement released to the press, Marshall defended his coaching style but admitted it “isn’t for everyone.”
“Many players thrive in the system we have created and are energized by our team culture,” Marshall wrote in the statement. “For those players, I am a motivator, a pusher, someone who can tap into their greatest potential. For others, I can be demanding, harsh or strict. I don’t argue with those descriptions.
“What I am not is demeaning or abusive. I have deep respect for all my players. I believe unequivocally in their value as athletes, as students, and as people. Any portrayal of me to the contrary is wrong.”
Multiple players have defended Marshall on Twitter, but again, none were Shockers during the two seasons in question.
“Marshall took me out of poverty and taught you how to survive in this tough world,” said Ramon Clemente, a Shocker from 2007-09, in a string of tweets defending Marshall’s coaching style.
“We was just a different breed of guys that knew deep down Marshall wanted it and he wanted us to want it just as bad as him,” tweeted Chadrack Lufile, who was with WSU for the 2013 Final Four run and the 35-1 season in 2013-14.
“I’ve had a successful pro career and I will continue to have one because of the blueprint he’s placed in me,” said Joe Ragland, a WSU starter from 2010-12, in an Eagle interview.
Marshall, 57, is entering his 14th season at Wichita State, where he is the program’s all-time winningest coach and led the Shockers to seven straight NCAA Tournaments from 2012 to 2018, including the 2013 Final Four. He is paid $3.5 million annually, which makes him one of college basketball’s highest-paid coaches.
“I have always pledged my full-hearted commitment to my team,” Marshall wrote in the statement. “I hope that no player or coach in my program ever doubts my respect for them or my investment in their success. If there is any question of my love for my team, it’s my responsibility to do a better job of demonstrating my dedication.”
The investigation into Marshall’s conduct was triggered after six scholarship players, among the most in the country, transferred this past spring. That’s an unusually high number in any offseason, but especially considering WSU finished with a 23-8 record and was on the brink of returning to the NCAA Tournament before the season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Most troubling, WSU lost three young and talented building blocks in Jamarius Burton, Erik Stevenson and Grant Sherfield, who all averaged at least 24.7 minutes and 8.1 points per game this past season.
After Stevenson announced he was transferring, he told The Eagle that a major reason was because “coach (Marshall) and I didn’t have a great relationship.” Burton and Sherfield have both declined multiple requests for interviews since March.
The Eagle’s Dion Lefler and Chance Swaim contributed reporting
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 2:59 PM.
.jpg)