UC Riverside: More on the Abuse Allegations
The Highlander, the student newspaper at UCR, has published a lengthy article on the alleged mental and verbal abuse of student-athletes by head coach John Margaritis (who was recently suspended for 20 days without pay following an investigation), as well as the dismissal of assistant coach Giuliana Mendiola. One interesting part of the article is a statement from Mendiola, in which she claims that UCR’s athletic director, Tamica Smith-Jones, had told Mendiola that she planned to fire Margaritis and name Mendiola the interim head coach. Instead, Smith-Jones and the university later opted not to renew Mendiola’s contract.
“The job of a coach goes beyond winning and losing. The job of a coach is to lead, teach, challenge, inspire, and empower impressionable young student-athletes. Head Coach John Margaritis has been at the helm of the UC Riverside Women’s Basketball program for 15 years. For seven years I not only witnessed the toxic, demeaning, manipulative, threatening, hostile culture that he created with his verbal and emotional abuse, I am a victim of it as well.
UCR Athletic Director Tamica Smith-Jones had the opportunity to change the misogynistic culture Coach Margaritis created and she chose not to. AD Jones came to me shortly after the current student-athletes complained of Coach Margaritis’ mistreatment in December, and told me of her plans to fire Coach Margaritis and name me Interim Head Coach. She met with the team in May and promised them the same.
And without explanation, AD Jones and UC Riverside chose to abruptly end my tenure with the team by not renewing my contract and instead chose to give more power to the abuser which is a complete disservice to the student-athletes, the University and the community of Riverside. When Coach Margaritis was finally punished for the grave mistreatment of student-athletes, he was suspended for just 20 days. Twenty days of unpaid suspension for 15 years of abuse, is not justice.”
New Hampshire: Coaching Staff Changes
Kelsey Hogan has been promoted to associate head coach on the UNH staff, while Peyton Booth has been hired as an assistant coach after a year as an Akron grad assistant.
University of New Hampshire 10th-year women’s head basketball coach Maureen Magarity finalized her coaching staff by promoting assistant coach Kelsey Hogan ’14 to associate head coach and adding former Wildcat guard Peyton Booth ’18 in the role of assistant coach. . . .
Hogan, who spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach under Magarity, was a three-time co-captain and was an All-America East First-Team selection her senior year. Hogan ended her UNH playing career with the 12th most points in program history (1,181) and fourth most assists (375). . . .
Booth spent the 2018-19 season at the University of Akron as a graduate assistant while pursuing her masters in Sports Administration. In her Wildcat playing career, the two-time captain helped UNH win the 2017 America East regular-season championship, a season which she posted a .444 3-point percentage and a .379 field goal percentage, starting 10 of her 30 appearances.
Categories: 2019–20 season
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