(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Pitt Head Coach Tory Verdi speaks during a ACC women’s NCAA college basketball media day, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, ,File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Six former players on the women’s basketball team at the University of Pittsburgh have sued coach Tory Verdi and the school over what they call abusive coaching methods and say their efforts to seek help were ignored. Verdi, according to the lawsuit filed Friday, also tried to force players into the transfer portal, putting their scholarships at risk and threatening their academic and athletic futures. Pitt denied the allegations in a brief statement issued yesterday on behalf of both Verdi and the school. The statement said: “The university is aware of these lawsuits and their allegations, which are without merit and will be vigorously defended.” The former players that sued both Verdi and Pitt include Favor Ayodele of Spain, who is now at Grand Canyon University, Raeven Boswell, who left the team but stayed at Pitt to finish her degree, Isabella Perkins, who is now a student at Boston College, Jasmine Timmerson, who is now playing for Davidson College, and MaKayla Elmore and Brooklynn Miles, who had transferred to Pitt for their senior years of college.  The women seek an acknowledgment that the school violated their civil rights under Title IX, which prohibits gender-based discrimination in education, along with the restoration of their school records and reputations, and compensatory and punitive damages. Verdi has struggled over three seasons at Pitt after notching a winning record in seven seasons at the University of Massachusetts.