Former Marquette women’s basketball head coach and university alumnus Carolyn Kieger is facing allegations of alleged player harassment and trauma, according to a recent article published by Onward State.
Onward State, Penn State’s independent student media website, published a story Monday detailing former Golden Eagles and Nittany Lions players over their experience under Kieger, who coached the Golden Eagles from 2014 to 2019.
While some student-athletes spoke anonymously, former Marquette players Amanda Maqueia, Allazia Blockton and Danielle King spoke outwardly of abuse they received during their time with the program.
Blockton said in an interview with Onward State that Kieger brought a negative presence and made it so players didn’t want to play for her. She is the program’s all-time leading scorer, with 2,204 points, and was the 2017-18 Big East Player of the Year.
As noted in the article, King said Kieger dismissed depression and suicidal thoughts that the former Marquette guard was suffering from.
Kieger is the current women’s basketball head coach at Penn State, and was the fifth head coach in Marquette’s program history. She won two Big East regular season championships with Marquette and made three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2017-19.
Penn State sent the following statement to the Marquette Wire regarding the allegations:
“Penn State and Penn State Athletics takes seriously any allegations of misconduct, and any reports are thoroughly reviewed. In addition, Intercollegiate Athletics conducts annual student-athlete surveys of its programs, as well as exit interviews with student-athletes and staff members departing their respective sport programs. Based on direct feedback from student-athletes, Coach Kieger and the women’s basketball staff provide a positive and inclusive environment with a focus on their development on and off the basketball court.”
“The well-being of our student-athletes is our top priority in Marquette Athletics, and we take any allegation of misconduct seriously,” a Marquette University spokesperson wrote to the Marquette Wire in an email. “We work closely with our coaches and staff to cultivate environments where student-athletes can develop and mature while performing at the highest level.
“We recognize that the pressures of being a student-athlete are perhaps higher than ever, and Marquette Athletics has added mental health and student success resources for all student-athletes.”
This story is still developing.
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at [email protected] or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.
