Judge to Review Report on Basketball Coach Who Allegedly Abused and Forced Religion on Players

  • Share
  • Read Later

Ex-Oakland University women’s basketball coach Beckie Francis asked a Detroit judge Wednesday to release a full investigative report on her termination. The university fired Francis earlier this year, alleging she subjected players to mental and physical abuse, obsessed over players’ weight and imposed her religious beliefs on them.

Francis is now asking for an unredacted copy of that report to help her decide whether to file a wrongful termination suit, the Detroit Free Press reports.  

Francis’s lawyer, Deborah Gordon, told The Oakland Press of Pontiac that the accusation of abuse, “without context, is meaningless,” the Associated Press reports.

School attorneys defended the redacted report, citing a variety of laws which prohibit the university from disclosing information that breaches other people’s privacy. University administrators have not officially commented on why Francis was fired June 12, the same day her husband and school president, Gary Russi, announced his retirement.

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Martha Anderson said she’ll take the week to review the document.

[Detroit Free Press]