Evansville men’s basketball coach and ex-Celtics star Walter McCarty placed on leave amid a Title IX probe into claims of ‘unwelcome conduct with a member of the campus community’
- Evansville men’s basketball coach and former Boston Celtics forward Walter McCarty has been placed on leave at the school pending a Title IX investigation
- A memo released by Evansville’s president did not specify what McCarty is accused of. The memo was linked to the school’s sexual harassment policy
- President Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz wrote that the school ‘received reports of unwelcome conduct by Coach McCarty since his arrival in March 2018’
- In ‘the last two weeks,’ he wrote, ‘the University received a troubling report about McCarty’s interactions with a member of the campus community’
- McCarty rose to prominence as a member of Rick Pitino’s Kentucky Wildcats teams in the 1990s, winning a national title with the Hall of Famer in 1996
- He was drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks in 1996 before being traded to the Celtics, for whom he played the majority of his 10-year NBA career
- A native of Evansville, McCarty was hired last year before engineering a major upset of his alma mater in November – a win over top-ranked Kentucky
Evansville (Indiana) men’s basketball coach and former Boston Celtics forward Walter McCarty has been placed on administrative leave at the school pending a Title IX investigation into allegations of ‘unwelcome conduct… with a member of the campus community.’
A memo released by Evansville president Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz did not specify what, exactly, McCarty has been accused of. However, Pietruszkiewicz does make it clear that this is not the former University of Kentucky star’s first problem since becoming the Aces’ head coach last season.
‘The University has received reports of unwelcome conduct by Coach McCarty since his arrival in March 2018,’ Pietruszkiewicz said in the memo. ‘We have counseled him about his behavior.
‘In the last two weeks, the University received a troubling report about Coach McCarty’s interactions with a member of the campus community. We have placed Coach McCarty on leave while that incident is being investigated. The University will make a fair and informed decision on Coach McCarty’s status based on the results of the investigation.’
Evansville (Indiana) men’s basketball coach and former Boston Celtics forward Walter McCarty has been placed on administrative leave at the school pending a Title IX investigation into allegations of ‘unwelcome conduct… with a member of the campus community’
The memo, written on Evansville’s website, was linked to the school’s sexual harassment and misconduct policy.
Assistant coach Bennie Seltzer will serve as the Aces’ interim coach during the investigation, which will be conducted by a national law firm.
McCarty rose to prominence as a member of coach Rick Pitino’s Kentucky Wildcats teams in the 1990s, winning a national title with the Hall of Famer in 1996.
Following that, McCarty was drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks in 1996 before being traded to the Boston Celtics, for whom he played the majority of his 10-year NBA career. He has also served as an assistant coach for the Celtics, Indiana Pacers, and the University of Louisville during Pitino’s tenure with the school.
McCarty was drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks in 1996 before being traded to the Boston Celtics, for whom he played the majority of his 10-year NBA career
A native of Evansville, McCarty was named the Aces’ head coach last year, and started this season off with one of the biggest wins in school history: a 67-64 of his alma mater, top-ranked Kentucky.
Since then the Aces have suffered defeats to middling teams such as Southern Methodist, East Carolina, George Washington and Jacksonville, and now stand at just 9-4.
Title IX is a federal law and part of the Education Amendments of 1972, declaring: ‘No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.’
A Title IX investigation examines accusations of domestic violence, gender discrimination, stalking, harassment and any other gender-based crime. Schools are required to initiate a Title IX investigation immediately upon receiving any notice of such a violation, and all Title IX probes must be conducted independently of a legal inquiry.
Evansville is a small Methodist college located in Southern Indiana along the Ohio River, just across the state line from Kentucky.
A native of Evansville, McCarty was hired last year, and started this season off with one of the biggest wins in school history: a 67-64 of his alma mater, top-ranked Kentucky (pictured)