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LSU runs under a cloud

Allegations of 'improper contract' between resigned coach and a former player follow Final Four team.

April 01, 2007|Lance Pugmire | Times Staff Writer

BATON ROUGE, LA. — Late-morning sunlight slips through the giant oaks on the quad of Louisiana State University. A woman is poring over the pages of a book, undisturbed by the babbling fountain nearby. A handful of students on bicycles lazily crisscross the area, maneuvering through a series of pebble-covered benches as they head toward class.

It is the veritable picture of calm. Across campus at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, home of the Lady Tigers, it is a far different story.

The LSU women's basketball team, known for an unyielding defense, is in its fourth consecutive Final Four and faces Rutgers today. But the players have been living with turmoil, a remnant of March 7, the day their well-liked head coach abruptly resigned.

Pokey Chatman, 37, a former LSU All-American point guard who went on to coach the Lady Tigers to a jaw-dropping 90-14 record in just under three seasons, is accused of having "improper contact" with a former player.

The stinging allegation also has shock force: her accuser, the one who went to university officials and whose timing has been questioned while triggering ugly whispers, is assistant coach Carla Berry, a longtime close friend.

The cost to Chatman, if not the team, is gut wrenching.

"Her great career has been reduced to one thing people will remember about her," said Craig Guidry, a 20-year-old student here. "It's been reduced to a pile of rubble."

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Chatman has kept her personal life private. Now, however, there is talk, the usual talk in a case like this -- that she is a lesbian, a sensitive issue not only in this strongly Catholic city but also in sports. That Chatman allegedly had a relationship with a former player has triggered even stronger reactions.

"We still aren't knowing everything that went on, but if the allegations are true, it is a terrible abuse of power and a bad mark on the women's game," said Kara Lawson, a guard for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs who was an All-American at Tennessee and is an ESPN analyst for this Final Four.

Although an LSU official said the resignation is "not a lesbian issue" but rather a "coaching behavior" situation, the case has drawn attention to that very issue.

"It's a loaded issue; certainly there are a lot of stereotypes out there about women's basketball -- a pervasive stereotype," Lawson said.

"Again, to pass judgment on this without knowing the whole story is a dangerous thing, but if it's like a teacher-student relationship in college or high school, we see cases like that all over the country. It's not right, but it's something that happens a lot. I can tell you as a player, that I've personally never seen anything remotely close to this: in high school and the collegiate and pro levels."

LSU officials have refused to give any more details, now that Chatman has resigned, which, of course, has fueled speculation.

Even Lawson said her WNBA peers are "talking about who [the player] could have been."

The chancellor and athletic director have not identified the former player allegedly involved, and won't even say if the alleged contact took place while that player was still on the team.

The distress of losing their coach just as the NCAA tournament was about to begin could have devastated the team.

Not these players, who have been true to their motto: No mental clutter.

"Since we found out Coach was stepping down, we put it behind us. We came together like sisters. We duked it out," said junior Sylvia Fowles, the dominating center often described as the female version of LSU great Shaquille O'Neal.

If anyone could be said to have taken up the gauntlet for Chatman, it is Fowles. On Monday, she had 23 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots in the 73-50 dismantling of top-seeded Connecticut. It was a tour de force, not only for Fowles but the whole team.

Guard Erica White said they knew that to get to the Final Four they would have to overcome the off-court drama.

"We weren't going to be distracted," she said. "I knew as soon as things started happening in the tournament that this team was focused. It's how we were built. We're a resilient group."

Said guard Allison Hightower, "No mental clutter. We've really been taught that" by Chatman.

It was Hightower's three unanswered three-pointers with 3:46 left in the first half that expanded LSU's lead over the Huskies to 34-17. Yet she concedes she was hit hard by Chatman's departure. Chatman had won an intense recruiting battle for the All-SEC freshman from Arlington, Texas.

"We've known from the beginning of the season we could do this, so even though this happened, we've said, 'Let's go ahead,' " Hightower said.

Fowles said Chatman's resignation brought the team closer together.

"We're going to be all right with what's going on," said Fowles. "We have no control over it. You can't dwell on it, or it'll bring you down."

She also said Chatman has maintained telephone contact with her and several other players.

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