WICHITA, Kan. — Gregg Marshall and Wichita State are expected to part ways by the end of this week, according to two national media reports late Tuesday evening.
Marshall, who took WSU to the 2013 Final Four and is the winningest men's basketball coach in school history, has been the subject of an ongoing investigation into allegations of physical and verbal abuse of players and staff members. According to records obtained by The Wichita Eagle, WSU hired St. Louis-based law firm Tueth Kenney on Aug. 25 to conduct an investigation that has now stretched past 10 weeks.
Stadium's Jeff Goodman first reported Marshall was expected to be out at WSU, citing multiple anonymous sources. CBS Sports reported it had a source who confirmed Goodman's story.
The Eagle could not confirm the reports after speaking with several people connected with the WSU men's basketball program and athletic department. The consensus among the sources was that Stadium's report could ultimately be true, but no one from WSU could confirm that Marshall's fate had been sealed as of Tuesday evening.
Marshall was not at the team's practices on Monday or Tuesday, a WSU spokesperson told The Eagle. It's not known if Marshall's absence was related to the investigation. When asked if Marshall had been suspended, the university spokesperson said that "Coach Marshall has taken a few days off for personal reasons."
The timing comes just two weeks before WSU is scheduled to begin its 2020-21 season on Nov. 25 against Utah State in the opening round of the Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D.
If Marshall is not on the sidelines then, it is likely WSU would promote from within. Isaac Brown, who has been with WSU since 2014, is Marshall's most-experienced assistant coach and former Shockers are already lobbying for him to get the job if it becomes open.
Allegations against Marshall went public in an Oct. 9 report by Stadium when former player Shaquille Morris claimed that Marshall struck him twice during an October 2015 practice and that he saw Marshall choke former assistant coach Kyle Lindsted during a practice from the 2016-17 season. Teammate Ty Taylor confirmed Morris' story in the Stadium report.
Five other players besides Morris and Taylor from WSU's 2015-16 team have independently confirmed to The Eagle that Marshall hit Morris, while eight others from the 2016-17 team have confirmed to The Eagle that Marshall put his hand around Lindsted's throat.
Marshall, who did not return a text message from The Eagle on Tuesday night, has staunchly denied the allegations.
"In response to the allegations put forward in the media, I simply state unequivocally that I have never physically struck a player or colleague," Marshall previously wrote in a statement to The Eagle. "Allegations claiming otherwise are false."
Stadium's report does not specify if WSU is planning to fire Marshall with cause or if Marshall is expected to resign. Marshall, 57, is paid $3.5 million in base salary on a contract that automatically renews unless WSU provides him written notice stating otherwise.
As written in his contract with WSU, a "good cause" firing could be "reasonably determined by the President of the University, in consultation with the AD, an act of dishonesty or discreditable conduct by Mr. Marshall that is inconsistent with the professional standards expected of a head coach of an intercollegiate sports team that results in material injury to the reputation of Wichita State University, the ICAA or the Program and/or conduct that offends public decency or morality as measured by the community standard prevailing in Wichita and the State of Kansas."
According to the contract, no termination for alleged "good cause" will occur without first giving Marshall a written notice of the "good cause" actions alleged and an opportunity to be heard.
If WSU fires Marshall without proving "good cause," then it would be obligated to pay Marshall either $15 million or the amount remaining under his contract, whichever is less.
While multiple former WSU basketball players have defended Marshall, none of those public supporters were with the Shockers during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons when the coach allegedly engaged in physical abuse that triggered the investigation.
Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Landry Shamet — three of Marshall's most famous alums who all reached the NBA — have not publicly commented on the allegations. Neither have multiple other players who were all at WSU for one or both of the alleged incidents and are currently playing professional basketball overseas.
According to Stadium's reporting, which cites Morris and Taylor, Morris fouled Zach Brown hard and caused Brown to land awkwardly on his back. Morris told Stadium that Marshall struck him on the left side of his face "with a punch" right after the play. After a heated exchange, Marshall kicked Morris out of practice and told him to go on the opposite court and "roll on the court until practice is over.'
Morris refused and began walking away when Marshall struck him again. Morris told Stadium that Marshall hit him over his right shoulder and "hit me in my jaw." The five players who spoke with The Eagle on background said they saw Marshall punch Morris in the back of his head, in the neck.
The second alleged incident occurred during a practice in the 2016-17 season when Marshall became frustrated with a player he considered a post player was going through drills for wing players. When Marshall ripped into the player, Lindsted stood up for the player and eight players told The Eagle that they saw Marshall put his hand around Lindsted's throat in anger and squeeze.
"I looked over and saw coach Marshall choking him," Morris told Stadium. "Then people started deescalating the situation, trying to calm him down."
Lindsted was an assistant at WSU for three seasons starting in 2015-16 and left in the spring of 2018 for an assistant coaching position at Minnesota, where he still coaches. When reached by The Eagle, Lindsted declined to comment.
In a statement released to the press, Marshall has defended his coaching style while admitting "it isn't for everyone."
"Many players thrive in the system we have created and are energized by our team culture," Marshall wrote in the statement. "For those players, I am a motivator, a pusher, someone who can tap into their greatest potential. For others, I can be demanding, harsh or strict. I don't argue with those descriptions.
"What I am not is demeaning or abusive. I have deep respect for all my players. I believe unequivocally in their value as athletes, as students, and as people. Any portrayal of me to the contrary is wrong."
Multiple players have defended Marshall's coaching style on social media, but again, none were Shockers during the two seasons in question.
Marshall has also had his fair share of public support from wealthy donors.
In an Oct. 22 letter to the editor published in The Eagle, Tom Devlin, who developed and sold Rent-A-Center, voiced his support. "I, along with many others," Devlin wrote, "stand united in support of Gregg Marshall."
In a full-page advertisement published last Wednesday in The Eagle, a group of 179 people calling themselves "Shockers for Gregg Marshall" signed their name and pledged support to Marshall for his "sterling character" and said "we'll be rooting for Coach Marshall and the Shocker team for years to come."
The petition included a pair of high-profile basketball players in Xavier McDaniel and Aubrey Sherrod and many of WSU's wealthiest donors, including Devlin, Bob Geist (of Pizza Hut fame) and Al Higdon, a partner in a successful advertising company.
"Coach Marshall has been an important part of the Wichita community for more than a dozen years, and we just feel that he does a great job with not only the team on the court, but also we've watched him helping student-athletes all that time," Higdon told The Athletic. "He's been an integral part of the community with not-for-profit leadership. We just want to make sure that he knows that we've got his back."
