N.C. Central basketball players' scholarships not renewed, accuse coach of abuse

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Some local basketball players on North Carolina Central's women's team said they and several of their teammates had their scholarships suddenly revoked.

They told Channel 9 they immediately took their concerns to school leaders and their coach.

Dawne McCain, whose daughter Deja McCain had her scholarship snatched last month, said this is bigger than basketball, it’s about doing the right thing.

McCain, a junior center who attended Ardrey Kell High School, wasn’t the only N.C. Central player to have her scholarship taken away.

Dawne McCain said before her daughter was cut, she and several other players made allegations of verbal and mental abuse from head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom.

“I looked and I searched to see if there was ever a coach who released nine players. I could not find one,” Dawne McCain said.

Dawne McCain said several players met with the school’s athletic director about those claims.

“Once those girls had that meeting, people knew,” Dawne McCain said. “The girls had been crying out, ‘We are being abused.'”

Forward Alyssa Thompson, who played high school basketball at West Mecklenburg High School, said she was abused too.

“She called me worthless and she told me and my whole team were going to be losers in life because we're losers on the court,” Thompson said.

N.C. Central officials told Channel 9 they can't comment on a "confidential personnel or student matter."

They also said allegations involving the health and well-being of any member of the NCCU community are “taken seriously.'

Last week, the university reinstated several of those scholarships, but Dawne McCain said her daughter is done with the school.

“Even though you replace the money, you cannot replace things that were lost from the mental abuse and the emotional abuse,” Dawne McCain said.

Based on NCAA rules, it is up to the coach if they want to renew a scholarship.

Full statement by N.C. Central officials: "We are committed to the academic success of all our students, including student-athletes who were part of the women's basketball team during the 2017-2018 season, but who will not be returning next year. The university has reallocated resources for the seven students who are not graduating."

Cox Media Group