STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Wagner College men’s basketball coach Don Copeland is coming under fire.
According to a report in the New York Post, Copeland, who just two years ago led the Seahawks into the NCAA Tournament, allegedly mistreated players and is currently serving a suspension.
The fourth-year head coach, who was a former player at Seton Hall University and an assistant at Wagner in 2015 and later at Seton Hall before getting the head coaching job at Wagner, is being accused of verbally abusing several players and refusing them water breaks during summer practices.
The school is currently investigating multiple claims which were sent via email to school administrators on Grymes Hill, sources with the knowledge of the situation told The Post.
A source said the 41-year-old Copeland’s behavior is to blame that all but two returning players from last year’s team had entered into the NCAA transfer portal.
Sources sent texts exchanged between former players to the school highlighting those complaints about Copeland with one text saying the coach inflicted “psychological damage” on players.
“A lot of things done there aren’t normal,” one former player said.
In a letter to the Advance/SILive.com, a current player said water breaks were sparse at recent workouts.
“If you’re thirsty, drink your spit,” the player claims Copeland said.
On one occasion, a player tried hiding a bottle of Gatorade, and when Copeland found it he told everyone “to run until the Gatorade is out of his system.”
The email said two players passed out because of dehydration, with one player needing medical attention.
“It has been a difficult decision to write this because I feel scared to speak out, but the behavior has caused significant emotional distress for me and other players on the team,” wrote the player. “In practice he uses a bullying tactic in coaching style, saying cruel things about our upbringing or using harsh or foul/ inappropriate language with the players that just tear us down mentally. Lastly I would like to address our extreme film session, to which we the players refer to [as] a funeral because we know we are about to be mentally bashed and cussed out the whole session.”
A Post source said Copeland would refer to a player who didn’t play up to standard as a “pu-y.”
“He would say, ‘You’re a loser here, you’re going to be a loser in life.’ That’s not coaching anymore,” the source said.
R.J. Greene, a player on last year’s squad which went 14-16, confirmed Copeland’s behavior. Greene said he was called a “pu-y, a bit-, a punk, a vagina. Sometimes he would stand there and point to his private parts,” Greene told the Post.
“I felt like it was disrespectful,” Greene said. “It wasn’t like once in a [while]. Once in a [while] might’ve been tolerable, but it was every single day.”
In July of 2024 — a few months following Wagner’s NCAA Tournament run — the school rewarded Copeland with a 5-year contract. It was the first multi-year contract for a head coach in the history of the Wagner College athletic department.
In March of 2024, Copeland led the Seahawks to their first NEC Tournament title in 21 years, then guided the Seahawks to a 71-68 victory over Howard University in the First Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
After hearing of the claims, Wagner’s Vice President of Athletics Walt Hameline said the school began its investigation immediately and issued this statement: “Wagner College takes student health and well-being seriously. Upon learning of these allegations, we moved quickly to review them. As we continue to do so, we will not comment further on this matter.”