Wichita State Basketball

Wichita State athletic director Darron Boatright announced Tuesday men's head basketball coach Gregg Marshall has resigned amid an investigation into abuse allegations made against him by former players.

Marshall, who will receive a $7.75 million buyout paid out over six years, released a statement about his departure:

"This was a difficult decision, but one I feel was necessary for my family, the university and, most importantly, the student-athletes. I remain grateful for my years spent at Wichita State. I wish to thank the coaches, student-athletes, the university, the community, and all of Shocker Nation for their unending dedication, support and loyalty. I am incredibly proud of this men's basketball program and all it has achieved over the past 14 years and am confident of its continued success."

Boatright added:

"Our student-athletes are our primary concern. While the university acknowledges the success of the basketball program under Coach Marshall, this decision is in the best interest of the university, its student athletes and the WSU community. WSU will continue its pursuit of excellence with the help of its student-athletes, staff and loyal supporters of the basketball program."

Assistant coach Isaac Brown will take over the program on an interim basis ahead of the 2020-21 season.

In October, CJ Moore and Dana O'Neil of The Athletic reported Wichita State launched an internal investigation into claims Marshall was physically abusive toward players and coaches and verbally abusive to both members of the Shockers program and other members of the school community.

Marshall allegedly attacked former player Shaq Morris after Morris challenged a shot in practice during the 2015-16 season. Marshall allegedly shoved Morris in the back and then, after kicking him out of practice, followed him out of the gym and punched him from behind on the upper back by the neck, according to The Athletic.

The report alleges he also put his hands around the neck of a staff member after a poor practice session during the same season.

Marshall was known for his "combativeness" throughout the athletic department, including an instance where he yelled at a student-athlete from another sport and attempted to punch him through the car window for parking in the coach's designated spot on campus, per The Athletic.

"It wasn't just players—the academic people, the marketing, everybody. If you had to associate with Wichita State basketball, you got caught in the crossfire," a former player said. "I lost respect for him because I saw the way he treated my teammates and other people."

Marshall released a statement after the allegations became public last month:

The 57-year-old South Carolina native took over the Wichita State program in 2007 after a decade as head coach at Winthrop, which was his first job leading a staff.

He posted a 331-121 record (.732 winning percentage) across 13 seasons with the Shockers. They earned seven straight NCAA tournament appearances beginning in 2012 and reached the Final Four in 2013. Wichita State also won the NIT in 2011.

Marshall led Winthrop to a 194-83 record (.700) in nine years.

Brown joined the Shockers' staff in 2014. This will be his first career head coaching opportunity.

Gregg Marshall's time as the Wichita State men's basketball coach is coming to an end after 13 seasons.

According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Wichita State is expected to "part ways" with him by the end of the week.

This decision comes after a number of shocking allegations regarding physical and verbal abuse by Marshall toward players and others inside the athletic department surfaced. On Oct. 9, Wichita State released a statement acknowledging the allegations and explaining there was an independent investigation:

"The investigation is being completed in an expeditious and deliberate manner. We have received full cooperation from university staff, coaches, and current student-athletes, and Coach Gregg Marshall and support any individual who chooses to participate in order to conduct a fair, impartial and thorough investigation.

"In the interim, activities of the team will continue as scheduled, and, as it does regularly, the university has reminded all staff, coaches and student-athletes of relevant policies and channels for reporting concerns."

Marshall also released a statement through his agent in which he defended himself and explained he would cooperate with the investigation, per Goodman:

Goodman reported on the allegations of abuse, noting he contacted 36 former and current members of the basketball program, including 26 players, who had experience with Marshall and detailed patterns of physical and verbal abuse that also included alleged instances of racism.

Among the most notable allegations was Shaq Morris saying Marshall punched him twice during a 2015 practice.

"Shaq Morris told me that he informed Gregg Marshall that his mother had cancer just hours prior to Marshall punching him in the head in practice," Goodman wrote.

"I love my teammates, the city and Wichita State," Morris said. "But if I could go back to that day when he punched me, I would have left."

The Stadium report also detailed allegations that Marshall choked assistant coach Kyle Lindsted during the 2016-17 season, told Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, who is of Native American descent, "to get back on his horse" and make "Indian howling noises" during the 2018-19 season, and told Jamie Echenique, who is from Colombia, that he would be "a great coffee bean picker" when he struggled on the court.

"We were tight-knit off the court," a player said. "We all wanted to beat Marshall up. If he wasn't the head coach, we'd whoop his ass. I'm not a fan. I'm not rooting for him. I got tired of being mother(bleeped) and being called a son of a bitch every day."

Goodman noted 10 players transferred away from Wichita State in just the last two years, which was almost double the national average.

CJ Moore and Dana O'Neil of The Athletic also reported on the allegations of misconduct and abuse, including an instance in which a student-athlete allegedly parked in Marshall's spot, which angered the coach and led to a frightening encounter:

"As Marshall approached his spot that day, he did not get there fast enough to block the student in. Instead, Marshall quickly turned his car around and followed the student's car, eventually blocking his car at an intersection in the parking lot. According to an eyewitness, Marshall got out of his car and started yelling at the student, asking 'Do you know who the f--k I am?' 

"The student had his window down and responded, 'I don't give a f--k who you are.' Marshall approached the car and, according to the eyewitness, attempted to punch the student through the driver's window."

One former player suggested more than just members of the basketball team knew about Marshall's reputation.

"It wasn't just players—the academic people, the marketing, everybody," he said. "If you had to associate with Wichita State basketball, you got caught in the crossfire. I lost respect for him because I saw the way he treated my teammates and other people."

Marshall was the head coach at Winthrop from 1998-99 through 2006-07 before coming to Wichita State and finished his time there with a 194-83 record and seven NCAA tournament appearances.

The Shockers hired him going into the 2007-08 campaign, and he quickly built them into a winning program. He went 11-20 in his first season but was 29-8 by his fourth, underscoring his ability as a coach when it came to wins and losses.

In all, Marshall finished with a 331-121 record at Wichita State and made seven NCAA tournaments. The Shockers also reached the 2013 Final Four during his tenure.

Wichita State men's basketball coach Gregg Marshall "unequivocally" denied physically assaulting players in a statement to The Wichita Eagle on Tuesday evening. 

Marshall is currently under investigation by the WSU athletic department after multiple allegations of player abuse were published by The Athletic's C.J. Moore and Dana O'Neil as well as Jeff Goodman of Stadium last week. 

“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 told The Eagle. “Allegations claiming otherwise are false.”

Marshall has been accused of hitting former player Shaquille Morris twice during a 2015 practice as well as choking former assistant Kyle Lindsted at a practice during the 2016-17 season.

Both instances were detailed in reports by The Athletic and Stadium with The Eagle confirming the allegations with multiple players who wished to remain anonymous. 

Per Taylor Eldridge of The Eagle:

"The Eagle independently contacted five former players, who also asked to remain anonymous, who said that Marshall punched Morris in the back of the head and that the coach put his hand around the throat of Lindsted.

"Marshall reiterated that he is fully cooperating with the independent investigation by Tueth Keeney, a St. Louis-based law firm. But Marshall voiced his concerns about how the allegations are being handled by media.

"It is important that the investigation conclude its work without outside influence," Marshall said. "An unrelenting character assassination by a member of the media that repeatedly targets me and my family threatens to undermine the impartiality of the investigation."

The 57-year-old coach has also been accused of verbally assaulting various student-athletes around the athletic department.

Multiple basketball players transferred from WSU in recent years reportedly due to Marshall's behavior. 

“I am devoted to my team and the entire Shocker community,” Marshall said. “I value my players and believe in their potential. If there is any question of my love for my team, it’s my responsibility to do a better job of demonstrating my commitment.”

Marshall remains the head coach of the Shockers. There is no known timeline for the conclusion of the investigation.

Wichita State men's basketball coach Gregg Marshall released a statement Friday denying allegations of physical and verbal abuse toward players and staff members.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium provided the full statement:

CJ Moore and Dana O'Neil of The Athletic reported Thursday that Marshall's actions were the focus of an internal investigation by the school that's included interviews with current and former Shockers players.

During the 2015-16 preseason, Marshall allegedly berated a staff member after what he considered a poor training session with a group of players and then "put one of his hands around his neck."

Marshall allegedly engaged in a confrontation with Shockers forward Shaquille Morris after he tried to block a shot in practice during the regular season. He allegedly told him to "get the f--k out of practice" and "punched Morris between the shoulders near his neck" from behind as Morris left.

The Athletic report said the coach's "combativeness was well known" within the athletic department and provided a comment from an anonymous former player who said he's speaking out to protect future Wichita State players.

"This thing's been going on before I came around, and no one warned me," he said. "For me, it's about helping the next kid. I wouldn't be telling this if I didn't think it was going to help somebody."

In addition, sources told Goodman that Marshall "routinely physically and verbally abused members of the program and demeaned his players with ethnic and racial slurs."

"He doesn't know how to treat people," a former player told Goodman. "I felt like I wasn't playing for him, but that I was playing against him. He f--ked me up mentally."

Marshall has led the Wichita State basketball team since 2007. He'd previously guided the Winthrop program for a decade beginning in 1998 after 14 years as an assistant at four different schools.

The 57-year-old South Carolina native has posted a 331-121 record (.732 winning percentage) and earned seven NCAA tournament appearances with the Shockers. His $3.6 million in total pay ranked 15th among college basketball coaches for 2020, per USA Today.

Wichita State issued a statement saying the investigation would be completed in an "expeditious and deliberate manner."

Wichita State is reportedly investigating men's basketball coach Gregg Marshall for alleged misconduct.

CJ Moore and Dana O'Neil of The Athletic reported the news Thursday, noting Marshall confirmed the investigation. Marshall said, "I'm aware the university conducted interviews and I fully participated in the process. I look forward to having it wrapped up as I continue to focus my energy on our team."

Moore and O'Neil provided some background, pointing out six scholarship players and a walk-on transferred last spring. What's more, 2020 commit Ja'Dun Michael also asked out of his letter of intent with the program.

Marshall's erratic behavior was apparently well known throughout the athletic department.

"It wasn't just players—the academic people, the marketing, everybody," one former player said. "If you had to associate with Wichita State basketball, you got caught in the crossfire. I lost respect for him because I saw the way he treated my teammates and other people."

Many of the most alarming allegations in the report from Moore and O'Neil are from the 2015-16 season.

Marshall allegedly told Shaq Morris to "get the f--k out of practice" after he attempted to block a Zach Brown shot. "Brown fell awkwardly on the play," according to The Athletic, which apparently sparked Marshall to shove Morris in the back and then punch him between the shoulders by his neck as he was leaving practice.

What's more, a student-athlete allegedly parked in Marshall's spot, which drew the ire of the coach. Moore and O'Neil detailed the allegations:

"As Marshall approached his spot that day, he did not get there fast enough to block the student in. Instead, Marshall quickly turned his car around and followed the student's car, eventually blocking his car at an intersection in the parking lot. According to an eyewitness, Marshall got out of his car and started yelling at the student, asking 'Do you know who the f--k I am?' 

"The student had his window down and responded, 'I don't give a f--k who you are.' Marshall approached the car and, according to the eyewitness, attempted to punch the student through the driver's window."

Marshall also allegedly put his hands around a staff member's neck in another incident.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium also reported on the story, noting more than 30 current and former members of the basketball program detailed allegations of Marshall's verbal and physical abuse that also included racist slurs.

"I love my teammates, the city and Wichita State," Morris said, per Goodman. "But if I could go back to that day when he punched me, I would have left."

Goodman added more details and also reported Marshall allegedly choked assistant coach Kyle Lindsted:

The Stadium report also detailed allegations of the head coach telling forward Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, who is of Native American descent, "to get back on his horse" and make "Indian howling noises," among other accusations of racism.

"We were tight-knit off the court," one player said. "We all wanted to beat Marshall up. If he wasn't the head coach, we'd whoop his ass. I'm not a fan. I'm not rooting for him. I got tired of being mother(bleeped) and being called a son of a bitch every day."

Marshall has been the head coach for Wichita State since the 2007-08 season and has built the smaller program into a national contender.

The Shockers went to the Final Four in 2013 and have five regular-season conference crowns and seven NCAA tournament appearances under Marshall.

Marshall also coached at Winthrop from 1998-99 through 2006-07.