From ESPN.com:



The New Orleans Times-Picayune says she had a relationship "with one or more players."

A shocking turn of events to say the least. It'll be interesting to hear what comes of this.

Seems like the story is true. At this point, it's not a matter of if Pokey had a relationship with a former player, but which one.

Very sad for the program. LSU has had to deal with longtime coach Sue Gunter retiring with cancer in the past few years and now this.

Times-Picayune on Chatman

What a shame. She is a good coach and had the job she pretty much always dreamed of. Now she's going out on this note.

As for the team, I'm curious how this will affect their performance.

There are some tawdry details about this situation out there on the internet that I think I'll refrain from passing on. But it sounds like a very messed up situation.

Was it with women who were players at the time, or with former players? I assume the former.

I know i shouldn't have laughed at some of the comments on Deadspin, but i did.

Damn.

Here I thought she was leaving LSU with the possibility of eventually accepting the position as the head coach of the women's basketball program at the University of Michigan.

I hope some school out there shows the guts to hire her

she's a great coach

If she had sex with a current player, I don't think she should coach again. If she got into a relationship with a former player after that player was no longer on the team, that might be a different story. Might.

This really is a shocker. I wonder what made her so abruptly leave the program. If she did have sexual encounters with a former player, would there be such a huge lashing out at Coach Chatman? That's what makes me believe that the relationship with the player was during the season at the time. I'm not into women's basketball nor am I an LSU fan but I am looking at this as an outside observer. Scandals do have a way of breaking out at the worst times possible.

how many straight male coaches have been embroiled in scandals and have lived to coach another day

My sisters and I have had that exact discussion this weekend. Pokey's behavior sounds as if it was inappropriate (not to mention just plain stupid). Having an intimate relationship with one of your players is just not even something that should ever be entertained.

However, given the crazy stuff that is put up with in men's programs, it is also a shame that LSU chose to handle it the way it did. If this were a prominent men's coach who had been going at it with a cheerleader or a woman he was coaching, this might not have turned out the same way. Revenue is something that makes school officials behave differently than they should. If Coach K or Roy Williams were in this position, they would most likely be dealt with out of the eyes of the public. And would not be at risk of losing their jobs.

That said, I do think that a coach should lose their job for this. And I do think that a very promising young coach just saw her career evaporate. She may coach at a less prominent school, but I think she will be verboten to most top schools for some time to come.

I read today that the allegation was made by assistant coach Carla Berry, and that the allegation is that Chatman had a relationship with a now-former player who was on the team at the time it occurred. According to the Associated Press, an LSU official with direct knowledge of the matter said that Chatman was not allowed to be alone with her players after Berry made the allegation in February.

Yes, I read this today too, Joe. I knew it! There's no overreaction to something that blatant at all. I think the reaction was well in line with the allegations, particularly if they in fact turn out to be true.

There are only two facts in this whole mess. #1 - Pokey Chatman has resigned. #2 - Neither Pokey Chatman or the Administration have made further comment. Nothing you read in the papers has come rom an official source. Ms. Chatman has been tried and convicted by the ESPN and the media in general. All this speculation makes me sick - especially the ESPN coverage during the NCAA tournament. Pokey Chatman is a fine woman and a great coach. She does not deserve the wild specilation the media has spawned.

The Lady Tigers are a fine group of young women and the attention should be on their great performance in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament.

I'd say the senior associate AD/senior woman administrator and the university Chancellor are pretty official, as sources go. It is clearly no longer speculation.

Ok this is just playing devil's advocate and maybe a new thought to the plot. What if the assistant coach had tried to pursue a relationship with the player and the player rejected her. Then later had a relationship with Coach Chapman. Could it be that this is a revenge ploy, and a way for the assistant to save face and look like the hero.
Don't misunderstand me if Pokey did have a relationship with a player that is wrong. I don't think any coach should have an type of relationship with a student-athlete whether on their team or not while in school. I work with college athletes as a certified athletic trainer and one does spent an enormous amount of time with the athletes, so I can see how an attachement could happen. But it is our duty as the adult to smash any advances because we are the ones that are to be the role models and need to be the level head in such situation.

As a coach, one is automatically placed in a position of trust, a role of setting the example in a positive way. For Coach Chatman to surrender to her sexual desires is perhaps one of the (if not THE) greatest violation of that trust. I'm sorry that I feel she made her own bed and now had to lie in it.