Editor’s Note: This story is breaking, and more information will be added as it becomes available.
Tory Verdi, the former head coach of the Massachusetts women’s basketball team, is being sued by six former University of Pittsburgh players in individual cases. The players, all of whom competed under Verdi, are also suing the University of Pittsburgh.
The nature of the lawsuit, filed on Feb. 6 in the U.S. District Court in Western Pennsylvania, alleges civil rights violations, Title IX violations and emotional, psychological and physical abuses. The players claim that Verdi “created a hostile environment, psychologically abused players, and then retaliated against them when they complained,” according to a story released by Yahoo News.
Favor Ayodele, Raeven Boswell, MaKayla Elmore, Brooklynn Miles, Isabella Perkins and Jasmine Timmerson are the former players who are involved in the lawsuit.
Verdi joined UMass on April 9, 2016 and departed at the end of the 2022-23 season. Over seven years in Amherst, his Minutewomen teams went 127-85 and 57-50 in Atlantic 10 play. During his final two seasons at UMass, he went 52-13 with an NCAA Tournament and a WNIT appearance. As of writing, Pittsburgh currently holds an 8-17 record and a 1-11 record in the ACC, sitting 17th in the conference.
Emma Bensley can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @emmabensley4.
