Chelsey Lucas, a 2007 Grambling graduate and recent Grambling State volleyball coach, was fired after cutting all 19 players from the roster. Grambling State, which initially supported Lucas’ actions, fired her nearly a month ago.
“The decision was made due to the determination of an internal investigation within the volleyball program,” the school stated.
Demetria Keys-Johnson, Lucas’ predecessor, worked as the women’s volleyball coach at Grambling State. The team went 11-17 last season under Keys-Johnson’s wing. She later stepped down to take another position. After achieving a 37-44 record in three seasons at Arkansas Pine Bluff, Lucas was hired February 14.
The Grambling State players didn’t have a good relationship with Lucas even before she became the women’s volleyball coach. Players stated that Lucas held a grudge over an event that happened last season.
“When we played them at home and we beat them, our school has like this chant, but at the end of the chant you say, like, the B-word,” Sheila Borders, a senior at Grambling State, informed Andscape, a pop-culture and sports media owned by ESPN. “I guess she thought I was calling them B-words, but, like, the whole school says it. They say it at basketball games and football games. It’s nothing personal.”
According to Monroe News-Star, Lucas held three practice sessions after her first meeting with the Grambling State players. These sessions were mainly “punishment-related running” and not volleyball drills.
Lucas supposedly called individual meetings with the players on April 4, in which she told the 12 scholarship players that she wouldn’t renew their scholarships for the next season. In addition, seven walk-ons were told their spots wouldn’t be renewed. Lucas also told four former scholarship players that they could remain on the team as walk-ons, but all four declined.
The administration at Grambling State supported the decision. Athletic Director Trayvean Scott said that “Just as the transfer portal empowers student-athletes, our coaches are also empowered to make the decisions they deem necessary to advance their programs.” Because of this, the players went to find new programs in a rush, some short of the credits needed for graduation.
After the meetings, players who were cut started a change.org petition that called for Lucas’s job, and for the school to restore their scholarships. The petition got more than 3,700 signatures. Grambling State said a few weeks later that they hired a firm to open an investigation into accusations involving Lucas. That same month, Stephen Smith for ESPN then made the situation more intense in a segment on “First Take.”
Lucas did not publicly comment on anything until her firing. She told KSLA that she was not allowed to speak of the situation to the media.
“As we move forward in this transition and commence a national search for the next coach, all volleyball student-athletes who received scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year will keep their scholarships and remain on the team,” athletic director Scott said. “Walk-ons will also continue to hold their roster spot.”
“The decision was made due to the determination of an internal investigation within the volleyball program,” the school stated.
Demetria Keys-Johnson, Lucas’ predecessor, worked as the women’s volleyball coach at Grambling State. The team went 11-17 last season under Keys-Johnson’s wing. She later stepped down to take another position. After achieving a 37-44 record in three seasons at Arkansas Pine Bluff, Lucas was hired February 14.
The Grambling State players didn’t have a good relationship with Lucas even before she became the women’s volleyball coach. Players stated that Lucas held a grudge over an event that happened last season.
“When we played them at home and we beat them, our school has like this chant, but at the end of the chant you say, like, the B-word,” Sheila Borders, a senior at Grambling State, informed Andscape, a pop-culture and sports media owned by ESPN. “I guess she thought I was calling them B-words, but, like, the whole school says it. They say it at basketball games and football games. It’s nothing personal.”
According to Monroe News-Star, Lucas held three practice sessions after her first meeting with the Grambling State players. These sessions were mainly “punishment-related running” and not volleyball drills.
Lucas supposedly called individual meetings with the players on April 4, in which she told the 12 scholarship players that she wouldn’t renew their scholarships for the next season. In addition, seven walk-ons were told their spots wouldn’t be renewed. Lucas also told four former scholarship players that they could remain on the team as walk-ons, but all four declined.
The administration at Grambling State supported the decision. Athletic Director Trayvean Scott said that “Just as the transfer portal empowers student-athletes, our coaches are also empowered to make the decisions they deem necessary to advance their programs.” Because of this, the players went to find new programs in a rush, some short of the credits needed for graduation.
After the meetings, players who were cut started a change.org petition that called for Lucas’s job, and for the school to restore their scholarships. The petition got more than 3,700 signatures. Grambling State said a few weeks later that they hired a firm to open an investigation into accusations involving Lucas. That same month, Stephen Smith for ESPN then made the situation more intense in a segment on “First Take.”
Lucas did not publicly comment on anything until her firing. She told KSLA that she was not allowed to speak of the situation to the media.
“As we move forward in this transition and commence a national search for the next coach, all volleyball student-athletes who received scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year will keep their scholarships and remain on the team,” athletic director Scott said. “Walk-ons will also continue to hold their roster spot.”
