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Fourth-year Wagner coach Donald Copeland is serving a suspension and is under investigation by the school for repeated mistreatment of his players, school athletic director Walt Hameline confirmed to CBS Sports on Wednesday.
The investigation was first made public by a Wednesday report in the New York Post.
“Copeland is being accused of verbally abusing several players and refusing them water breaks during strenuous practices,” the Post reported. “Copeland has not yet been found responsible of the allegations, but multiple complaints were sent to school administrators at the Staten Island-based college that sparked the investigation, sources said.”
The Post’s story cites multiple sources and includes quotes from R.J. Greene, a former Wagner player who entered the transfer portal at the end of last season.
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“It was every single day,” Greene told the Post. “Every day was like a war, on and off the court.”
Copeland allegedly used inappropriate language against his players in practice, and in one disturbing alleged incident cited by the Post, mandated his players would run to exhaustion after he found a hidden Gatorade bottle in the gym that one player was drinking from. “Two players passed out due to dehydration,”…
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