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Ex-Green Bay player details ugly accusations against coach Brian Wardle

Brian Wardle

Green Bay coach Brian Wardle directs his team during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin won 65-54. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

AP

The accusations against Wisconsin-Green Bay head coach Brian Wardle are continuing to stack up, as two players and their families have spoken out against him.

But it wasn’t until Monday night, when the Green Bay Press Gazette finally had a chance to speak with former walk-on Ryan Bross, that the extent of the accusations really came to light.

And frankly, if the accusations that Bross lays out prove to be true, this could end up being a fireable offense.

Bross stands 7-foot-1, but he was a walk-on with the Pheonix this season, meaning that he was only playing for the potential of earning a scholarship down the road, paying his own way for school. Bross wanted to pursue a human biology degree, but Wardle wouldn’t allow him to take the classes that he needed to as a freshman -- chemistry and biology -- because they could end up interfering with basketball later on in his career.

Again, Bross wasn’t on scholarship. He was paying for his own education.

Wardle also repeatedly told Bross, who is quite religious, that the best way for him to play better would be if he slept with a girl that he was interested in, while also using gay slurs directed at Bross.

But by far the worst allegation is that Wardle forced Bross to continue running hill sprints, despite the fact that he had diarrhea, until Bross defecated in his shorts. From the report:

Bross said it was at that point that he couldn’t control his diarrhea and soiled his pants.

“I got down to the bottom (of the hill), and Wardle told me I was a piece of s--- and that he had never seen such a big p---- in his life and that I was the biggest piece of s--- he had ever seen,” Bross said.

When asked whether he believed Wardle knew that Bross had soiled his pants, Bross said yes because it was visible in his white shorts.

Bross said he wanted to return to his dorm room but his keys were at the Kress Events Center. He said assistant coach Chrys Cornelius drove him back to the athletic center in a recreational utility vehicle but that no one offered him a change of clothes or even a towel before entering the building.

“So they made me walk through the Kress Center in front of 20 people, and I had to walk through there and go get my keys and get changed before I could go back to my room,” Bross said. “I felt humiliated. I felt like they didn’t care about me, that there were 20-some people that saw me — girls, guys. I felt terrible. I felt like I let down the team and everyone down, and the coaches kept reminding me and telling me. They told me what a piece of s--- I was; that I was terrible.”


Wardle has the support of the parents of other members of the team, including the father of star center Alec Brown, and he also has the backing of the program’s boosters. Wardle has cooperated with the independent investigation, and issued this statement to the paper:

“I can assure you the well-being of my players is foremost in my mind at all times. I cannot comment on the specific allegations under federal privacy laws. I can say the version of events you are reporting is inaccurate. I have fully cooperated with the independent investigator, as have our players and coaches. I fully expect the eyewitnesses to these allegations you are reporting will contradict the version you are reporting.”

I would not be surprised if Wardle loses his job over these accusations.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.