August 18, 2025
Five former players are accusing their former coach, Maria Moseley, of psychological abuse, mental cruelty, retaliation, and discrimination
Five former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball players filed a federal lawsuit against the school’s former coach, Maria Moseley, its former sports administrator, Justin Doherty, and the Wisconsin Board of Regents on Aug. 15 in the Western District Court of Wisconsin.
According to The Athletic, the five former players, Alexis Duckett, Krystyna Ellew, Mary Ferrito, Tara Stauffacher, and Tessa Towers, are accusing their former coach of psychological abuse, mental cruelty, retaliation, and discrimination. The players are seeking punitive and compensatory damages, as well as attorney fees and a trial by jury.
Per their complaint, “She (Moseley) unconstitutionally toyed with the mental health of her players, including Plaintiffs, as a means of exerting control over every facet of their lives, including retaliating against them based on their protected speech and expressive acts and discriminating against them based on their disabilities or perceived disabilities.”
Moseley, who resigned in March after spending four seasons at the helm of the program, is also being accused of interfering in her players’ mental health treatments, prying into their personal and romantic lives, and threatening players regarding their scholarships and playing time. Doherty, meanwhile, was allegedly made aware of issues by both players and parents and was also involved in removing players from the team.
According to the lawsuit, “medical providers treated a disproportionate number of Moseley’s players for mental health issues,” and “several players required emergency medical treatment or treatment at a mental health facility.”
The lawsuit also alleges that doctors at the university diagnosed several players with “serious mental illnesses and mood disorders and placed them on numerous prescription mental health medications.” In addition, the University of Wisconsin “coerced players, following a mental health incident, to sign broad agreements releasing their medical records if they wished to remain on the team.”
Notably, Moseley never compiled a winning record at the university, going 47-75 overall and 21-51 in Big Ten play. In her resignation from her position, Moseley cited “personal reasons” as the reason she chose to resign rather than presumably waiting for the university to fire her.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Towers, a 6’5″ former center at Wisconsin who now plays for Ball State University, went public with her account in January, posting a video to TikTok in which she detailed various acts of mistreatment from Moseley.
According to the lawsuit, Moseley singled out Towers, which disturbed other players on the team. “Tessa’s teammates found Moseley’s behavior towards their friend and teammate disturbing. Her teammates knew about Tessa’s ADHD and they watched their coach bully her because of it. Then, as they witnessed Tessa’s mental health problems escalating in multiple crises, they observed their coach’s behavior growing even worse. They could do nothing about it since Moseley threatened to reduce their playing time if they visited Tessa in the mental health facility or continued their friendships with her.”
The University of Wisconsin’s athletic brand communications department responded with a statement after Towers went public with her account.
“We are aware of comments shared online by former Badger student-athlete Tessa Towers and will be looking into this matter. We care deeply about the physical and mental well-being of all of the student-athletes on our teams, during and after their time on campus. While we would like to share additional context around Tessa’s comments, federal privacy laws prohibit us from publicly addressing the health-related claims made on Tessa’s social media account,” the university stated.
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