A belt-wielding coach and the Jackson (Miss.) public school system have been named in a federal lawsuit filed by three players on the Murrah High School basketball team who claim coach Marlon Dorsey physically and verbally abused them. According to local hearsay, Dorsey was placed on suspension without pay last month and has admitted in the past to whipping his players, but since corporal punishment has been banned in Mississippi since 1991—really, Mississippi?—things aren’t looking very good for him.
But what drives a coach to whip “members of the team with a 5-to-10 pound belt across their buttocks?” Violation of team rules? Dirty play? Backtalk? Nope, just your everyday “[failure] to run plays correctly.” If there’s one way to teach the pick & roll, it’s through assault.
The verbal abuse portion of the suit claims Dorsey was so bold as to “[use] words like “sissy,” “wimp” and “soft” to refer to the players.” That monster.
Kidding aside, a real coach doesn’t resort to violence to motivate or teach players, but, c’mon, sissy? Wimp? If you can’t handle that kind of heat, you really should think about not going near the kitchen.
