The women's basketball program has been embroiled in allegations, and it's part of why Marisa Moseley stepped away. However, Wisconsin and athletic director Christ McIntosh have stayed eerily silent about it all. Which is a bad look, no matter how you slice it or dice it. He needs to speak up, especially with the latest reports.
Mark Stewart of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported that there are now five players who have come forward with allegations of psychological abuse under Moseley. These five: Alexis Duckett, Krystyna Ellew, Mary Ferrito, Tara Stauffacher, and Tessa Towers have filed a civil lawsuit against Marisa Moseley, Justin Doherty, and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.
This has now escalated to a point where Wisconsin has to speak out. At the same time, they may not want to get into the details because a lawsuit is hanging in the balance. Acknowledgement of the situation and the path of resolution would go a long way in fans' minds.
The allegations against Wisconsin are that of inaction, and now silence seems to showcase more inaction
The allegations are damning, especially towards Moseley and Doherty. Moseley is the perpetrator of coercion and mental/verbal abuse. Doherty, with the desire to protect the institution, and Moseley over the victims. It's hard to read through the accusations.
And fans do need to remember that at this point, they are just accusations, and while five players and a long line of reports back them up, the process needs to play out. It does feel like a "where there is smoke, there is fire" situation; the next steps are for this to proceed through the legal system.
In the meantime, though, Wisconsin should not sit on its hands and act like there aren't reports and allegations hanging over the department. The problem for Wisconsin according to the civil lawsuit is that of inaction. Now, if they continue to respond with inaction, they are only validating those exact concerns.
They need to take these seriously and respond accordingly. This isn't a time to protect the brand or hide the perpetrators; this is a time to come forward and admit mistakes. The silence is truly deafening as fans wonder why the university didn't act at the time and now is not acting, even to release a statement.