Chelsey Lucas, a 2007 Grambling graduate, was hired to coach women’s volleyball at Grambling State. However, just 3 months later, the first-year coach was laid off.
Back in February 2022, Lucas was appointed coach of the Grambling State’s volleyball team. But by April, she had become much more of a detested figure than a star graduate. She had cut every single one of the 19 players from the rooster, angering the team, parents, and alumni.
Upon deeper inspection of the team by Grambling States’ administration, they found that there was a reason why Lucas dropped the whole team. It turns out that she was still holding a grudge against Grambling State. Last season, the team against Arkansas Pine Bluff, which Lucas coached at the time, A senior named Sheila Broder’s told Andscape that their team did a chant when they won where “at the end of the chant you say, like, the B-word, 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.” But Lucas took it to heart.
It was reported that in her first meeting with the Grambling State team, Lucas said, “I bet you didn’t expect to see me again. I bet y’all will think twice about who y’all call a b—-.”
Broder’s’ formal teammates tried to break the ice and forget about the whole situation. However, it wasn’t that easy. Broder’s’ teammates might have been able to move on, but it was a whole different story for Lucas.
In early April, Lucas informed all the 12 scholarship players that she wouldn’t be renewing their scholarships. “When I was in there and she told me, my heart completely broke. … I didn’t cry in there, but I did when I left, and it just hurts really bad, the fact that it was snatched away so fast.” said Maurisa Harris, who was a junior at that time.
Once word got out about the meetings in April, the students who got removed, started a petition called Change.org. It called for Lucas’ removal of her job and for the student’s scholarships. This got up to 3,700 signatures, and the Grambling State decided to hire an outside firm so that they could investigate the accusations made against Lucas.
Lucas on the other hand, didn’t comment until she got fired. She claimed that she had offered some of the athletes she met up with to stay.
“The narrative of this team, even when I came in, from the administration, [was] that this was a bad character team. That’s what I was getting, but at the same time I wanted my administration to give me a fair chance to make sure I go in and be able to be the coach for them and evaluate and assess these young ladies on and off the court.” She said.
In a statement, the school said that “all volleyball student-athletes who received scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year will keep their scholarships and remain on the team. Walk-ons will also continue to hold their roster spot..”
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Back in February 2022, Lucas was appointed coach of the Grambling State’s volleyball team. But by April, she had become much more of a detested figure than a star graduate. She had cut every single one of the 19 players from the rooster, angering the team, parents, and alumni.
Upon deeper inspection of the team by Grambling States’ administration, they found that there was a reason why Lucas dropped the whole team. It turns out that she was still holding a grudge against Grambling State. Last season, the team against Arkansas Pine Bluff, which Lucas coached at the time, A senior named Sheila Broder’s told Andscape that their team did a chant when they won where “at the end of the chant you say, like, the B-word, 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.” But Lucas took it to heart.
It was reported that in her first meeting with the Grambling State team, Lucas said, “I bet you didn’t expect to see me again. I bet y’all will think twice about who y’all call a b—-.”
Broder’s’ formal teammates tried to break the ice and forget about the whole situation. However, it wasn’t that easy. Broder’s’ teammates might have been able to move on, but it was a whole different story for Lucas.
In early April, Lucas informed all the 12 scholarship players that she wouldn’t be renewing their scholarships. “When I was in there and she told me, my heart completely broke. … I didn’t cry in there, but I did when I left, and it just hurts really bad, the fact that it was snatched away so fast.” said Maurisa Harris, who was a junior at that time.
Once word got out about the meetings in April, the students who got removed, started a petition called Change.org. It called for Lucas’ removal of her job and for the student’s scholarships. This got up to 3,700 signatures, and the Grambling State decided to hire an outside firm so that they could investigate the accusations made against Lucas.
Lucas on the other hand, didn’t comment until she got fired. She claimed that she had offered some of the athletes she met up with to stay.
“The narrative of this team, even when I came in, from the administration, [was] that this was a bad character team. That’s what I was getting, but at the same time I wanted my administration to give me a fair chance to make sure I go in and be able to be the coach for them and evaluate and assess these young ladies on and off the court.” She said.
In a statement, the school said that “all volleyball student-athletes who received scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year will keep their scholarships and remain on the team. Walk-ons will also continue to hold their roster spot..”
Article Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1658070605903x665797506476225200/Grambling%20State%20fires%20Chelsey%20Lucas%2C%20volleyball%20coach%20who%20cut%20entire%20team%20-%20The%20Washington%20Post.pdf
