Wagner basketball coach Donald Copeland suspended for alleged verbal abuse | Post Sports + - video Dailymotion

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Transcript

00:00Wagner College men's basketball team has already kicked the fall off with the madness.

00:04Head coach Donald Copeland has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations

00:08of verbal abuse and mistreatment of his players.

00:12Can't do that in 2025, coach.

00:14The kids are what they call soft these days, but is it that you're just doing too much?

00:19So according to reports, during summer workouts, he limited or outright denied water breaks.

00:24And when players asked, his response allegedly was, if you're thirsty, swallow your spit.

00:30But there's more.

00:31In one reported incident, a player had hidden a Gatorade bottle.

00:35Copeland allegedly discovered it, forced everyone to run extra until that Gatorade is out of his belly.

00:42Two players collapsed from dehydration and one was hospitalized.

00:46Players have reportedly complained about harsh language, humiliating remarks about their upbringing,

00:52calling them losers, and coach even saying they'll be losers for life if they don't meet his standards.

00:58Copeland has denied the allegations so far, and Wagner's administration hasn't publicly addressed them either.

01:05I'm a son of a football coach.

01:07This is that corny Bobby Knight type of leadership that we're trying to get rid of in sports.

01:13Yelling and holding players accountable, yeah, that's one thing.

01:16But coaches that need to rule or lead with fear, they need to pack it up and move on.

01:21College sports have changed, and some of these kids are now making more money than the coaches

01:26because of NIL deals and the collective.

01:29This was a Post exclusive, so if you want more, sign up for Post Plus.