Wagner College men’s basketball coach Donald Copeland is being investigated for allegations of mistreating players and is currently suspended by the school.
Copeland allegedly verbally abused players and refused to allow them to take water breaks during hard practices, according to a report by the New York Post. Wagner College has not officially confirmed the allegations, but school officials reportedly received multiple complaints about Copeland, leading to the investigation.
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The culture in the men’s basketball program was described by one player as “a lot of things done there aren’t normal,” while another said the coach inflicted “psychological damage” on the team with his conduct.
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Among the complaints were Copeland not allowing water breaks during strenuous workouts. “If you’re thirsty, swallow your spit,” a letter from a current player accused the coach of saying.
In another instance, a player hid a Gatorade bottle that he could drink from later. The coach found it and made the players run more as a result. “You’re all going to run until the Gatorade is out of his belly,” Copeland allegedly said.
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Two players passed out due to dehydration, according to the complaint. One of them needed to go to the hospital afterward.
“In practice, he uses a bullying tactic in coaching style, saying cruel things about our upbringing or using harsh or foul/inappropriate language with the players that just tear us down mentally,” the player’s letter said, adding that Copeland’s behavior has caused “significant emotional distress.”
Those tactics allegedly included telling players that their parents “gave birth to a p***y” and that if they were a loser playing for him, “you’re going to be a loser in life,” the Post reported.
A player from last season’s team even went on the record to the Post. R.J. Greene alleged that Copeland called him “a p***y, a b***h, a punk [and] a vagina” at various points.
“Every day was like war, on and off the court,” Greene said told the Post’s Zach Braziller. “We could never just go to him and talk to him, not as a coach for a second. It was run like a military base.”
Only two players returned to Wagner for this season after last year’s team finished 14-16 during Copeland’s third season as head coach.
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Wagner qualified for the 2023 NCAA tournament in Copeland’s second season, as the Seahawks won the Northeast Conference tournament and an automatic bid to the field of 68. Wagner defeated Howard in a First Four matchup before losing to North Carolina in the first round of the tournament.
After playing for Bob Hurley Sr. in high school at St. Anthony’s and collegiately at Seton Hall, Copeland played nine years overseas. He spent two years as a graduate assistant at Wagner and another three seasons as a full assistant with the program before joining Kevin Willard’s staff at Seton Hall. After one season, he was hired as Wagner’s head coach when Bashir Mason left to take the Saint Peter’s coaching opening.
Neither Copeland nor Wagner College athletic director Walt Hameline offered comment when contacted by the Post. The length of Copeland’s suspension also has not been reported.
