Numerous former players have accused Oregon State’s women’s volleyball coach of abusing them, some to the point of contemplating suicide.
Division 1 collegiate sports are highly competitive, and competing at that level in any sport requires coaches to drive their players. The line between being demanding or abusive can somtimes be blurry.
But, “Athletes and others with ties to the program told The Associated Press that the head volleyball coach at Oregon State University runs an abusive program that has seen 11 players quit or transfer since 2016 and two team members contemplate suicide, with one attempting an overdose,” ESPN reported on Thursday, November 5, 2020.
“In interviews with the AP and complaints made to the university, they said that Mark Barnard, who has led the program for five years, pits players against each other in team meetings, threatens to revoke scholarships for struggling players and pushes team members past health warnings in practice as punishment. …
“Players, parents and others close to the program described a pattern of Barnard promising four-year scholarships during recruiting but then producing letters of intent that covered only one year, which they called a pointed way to remind team members that they were expendable.” But, the AP article says, “The practice of manipulating scholarship terms isn’t unheard of in Division I volleyball.”
Even so, “There’s an inherent power imbalance between a coach and an athlete, and that just comes with the territory,” said Bill Kerig, founder of the website Great Coach. “When a coach actively seeks to further exacerbate that power imbalance using scholarships as a weapon, that’s a huge red flag.”
Another toxic element in the OSU controversy is this fact: “Former NCAA executive Ed Ray, who was roundly criticized for his role in the NCAA’s handling of the Penn State sex-abuse scandal, served as OSU’s president for nearly 17 years until his retirement last month.” That coincides with Barnard’s entire tenure at OSU as assistant and head coach.
Barnard, an Australian, was assistant coach for his country’s 2000 Olympic team, and then was assistant coach at OSU for 11 years before being hired to replace the retiring head coach. He has compiled a losing record at OSU, going 53-73 and with his teams twice finishing in last place in the PAC-12 during his 5 seasons as head coach.
The university has defended its program and disputed the allegations, but declined to make the coach available for media interviews. Read details of the players’ complaints and experiences, and the university’s investigations and responses, here and here.
Photo below: OSU volleyball coach Mark Barnard during a practice session
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