Toxic abuse alleged inside Purdue-Fort Wayne women's basketball: 'It was brutal'
INDIANAPOLIS — After each berating, Chelsea Driver said she would hide in an office in Hilliard Gates arena. As the head athletic trainer for Purdue-Fort Wayne's women's basketball team, Driver said she soothed herself by cutting after each of coach Niecee Nelson's verbal tirades, making wounds so deep on her right hip that the team doctor would sometimes have to stitch them up.
She would try to rationalize the chaos around her, she said. This must just be the way Division I basketball is: filled with bullying and mental abuse. Athletes forced to play with injuries. Players who aren't in shape shamed. Teammates mocked for depression and anxiety. Food and medical care withheld.
It was brutal.
And Driver, who recently spoke to IndyStar exclusively, wasn't the only one suffering. She wasn't the only one with serious and troubling complaints of alleged toxic abuse inside Nelson's basketball program.
In all, 22 people — 14 players, six parents, an assistant coach and an athletic trainer — spoke out against Nelson in a 71-page document sent to Purdue University officials in May.
The document, compiled by Martin Greenberg, an attorney hired by players and parents, was obtained by IndyStar in October. It alleges mental and physical abuse by Nelson, along with NCAA violations since she was hired as head coach. The document demands an independent investigation of Nelson and her staff.
"The number of girls and parents that are coming out, it just doesn't stop. The injury to these kids is untold," said Greenberg. "I convinced two girls not to commit suicide. That's how painful this was."
Nelson and Purdue's president Mitch Daniels refused interviews for this story. Nelson, however, sent a statement denying all allegations.
"While I respect these women and their right to speak out, I deny that I have ever physically, mentally or emotionally abused any player in our program," Nelson wrote. "I fully understand my obligations as a coach and as an educator to provide the services that these student athletes require to keep them physically and mentally healthy."
The cutting soon wasn't enough
Driver had been told when she took the job in 2015 that Division I was different from lower levels of college sports, that it was more intense. It was.
There was the player who sprained her ankle, a severe sprain, a second time, Driver said. Nelson pressured her, Driver said, to contact the team doctor to inject Lidocaine into the player's ankle so she could play and not feel any pain. Lidocaine is one of many local anesthetics listed as restricted in most cases by the NCAA, according to its most recent banned-substances list.
There was the time, Driver said, when Nelson asked her to think of any excuse she could to get a specific player to break a team rule so Nelson could "finally kick her off the team."
If an athlete woke up vomiting or had a fever, Nelson mandated they report in person to Driver by 6:30 a.m. "to see if they were lying or telling the truth," Driver said. Nelson rarely believed them, Driver said. Most of the time, players still had to practice.
It was all too much to take. And the cutting, for Driver, soon wasn't enough.
Within four months of working in Nelson's program, starting the 2016 season, Driver said, she suffered chest pains and went to the emergency room. Three days later, she took personal time off for mental health.
"I used to have nightmares," said Driver, now athletic trainer with Bryant & Stratton College in Wisconsin, "that she was stoning me to death with medicine balls."
In January 2017, seven months after meeting Nelson, Driver tried to take her own life, she said. In February, she submitted her resignation, but the aftermath of what she called intense abuse lingered.
Driver said she self-harmed again inside her apartment. Her family made the 2-hour drive from Greenwood to Fort Wayne to get Driver and take her away from the turmoil.
"She destroyed me," Driver said.
'Get over it'
Greenberg, a Milwaukee-based attorney and founder of the National Sports Law Institute, was hired last year by eight former and current Purdue-Fort Wayne players and their parents to look into what was happening in Nelson's program.
For the past two decades, Greenberg has worked on 20 major sports abuse cases, many of which resulted in the firing of coaches. Among them: Penn State's gymnastics program, Auburn's softball team and the Rutgers swimming program.
The Purdue-Fort Wayne basketball case is staggering, Greenberg said, and "the largest in number of parents and athletes coming out and making claims of mental and physical abuse" that he's been part of.
This is not the first time Nelson, 41, has been accused of wrongdoing. In February 2019, Nelson was placed on administrative leave after an anonymous source made allegations of abuse in her program. She was brought back after the university said its investigation found no abuse.
Greenberg reached out to dozens of people who have been connected to Nelson's program since 2016 and said he listened to hours upon hours of stories.
The result was the compilation of the 71-page document sent to university officials, which is a first step to encourage Purdue to "do the right thing," said Greenberg. If that doesn't happen, he said, further legal action may be taken.
So far, Greenberg said he has been told the university is looking into the matter via its attorney Kathleen Anderson. IndyStar reached out to Anderson, but did not receive a response.
As of January, "silence. No change," Greenberg told IndyStar, regarding any response from Purdue.
Among the allegations in the document sent to Purdue officials: Nelson mocked players for depression, forced them to play through injuries, pressured them to go on medications, such as antidepressants, called them out of shape and fat, withheld medical care, denied them food as punishment, didn't allow players to see a psychologist without a coaching staff present and once told a player to "get over it" after a sexual assault.
The NCAA declined to comment on whether it has received complaints about Nelson.
"All public information regarding infractions cases can be found on our website, but we do not comment on specific individuals," Stacey Osburn, spokeswoman for NCAA, wrote in an email to IndyStar. An NCAA website search found no infractions under Nelson's name.
IndyStar filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the U.S. Department of Education, asking for details on two Title IX complaints at Purdue-Fort Wayne in 2016, just two months after Nelson signed her contract. Neither complaint involves Nelson.
So far during Nelson's tenure, three former players have been referred to mental health services after self-harming behaviors, including cutting and overdosing, Greenberg's document alleges. Several others either attempted or contemplated taking their own lives, it alleges.
In the end, the document says, 14 players and as many as four coaches have left the Purdue-Fort Wayne program, or been forced out in the past three years.
'Death by a thousand paper cuts'
Parents of players say their daughters' lifelong love of basketball was stripped from them and many considered quitting or did quit. But worse, their self-worth, confidence and well-being were put in jeopardy.
It was like "death by a thousand paper cuts" said Jeanie Hughes of Nelson's treatment of players. Her daughter Jazzy Hughes transferred from Purdue-Fort Wayne in June after one season with Nelson to play at Division II Colorado State-Pueblo.
"She's a master manipulator and abuser. I will give her that," said Jeanie Hughes. "She slowly does these things that just creeps into your world and destroys it."
Purdue University president Mitch Daniels, who received the 71-page document, declined an interview request from IndyStar through Tim Doty, director of public information at Purdue.
"As this is a matter on the Fort Wayne campus, they have reviewed it and can better answer your questions," Doty wrote in an email.
When IndyStar reached out to Nelson, the assistant athletic director for media services Derrick Sloboda, asked that IndyStar "email some specific questions so Niecee can reply and provide her perspective."
IndyStar responded that an in-person or telephone interview was preferred, without questions supplied to Nelson beforehand.
"Given the student and healthcare privacy issues that are likely to arise in any Q&A on this matter, we think it is best to not make individuals available for interviews," Sloboda wrote in an e-mail. "However, coach Nelson can and will provide a statement and it would be fair and responsible to understand what she is responding to."
IndyStar sent Nelson a list of questions. She responded two days later in a statement, not specifically responding to each question, but crafting the response more as a letter.
"Dear Dana, Thanks for giving me the opportunity to comment on your and attorney Greenberg's story. Let me begin by stating that I am deeply committed to the women in our program," Nelson began the statement. "I understand it is my job to enable them to reach their fullest potential as women, students and basketball players."
Nelson said she was aware of the allegations made by "some of the women" who have played for her. She said that she only has her players' best interests at heart.
'This was insanity'
Michelle Nicholls, a starting junior guard for Nelson last season, said her lowest point came on a blustery February morning when she ran out of the locker room, burst through the gym doors into the parking lot and met the dark, snowy air.
She said she walked around aimlessly in basketball shorts and a T-shirt and sobbed into the stillness. She finally fell into a pile of snow, she said, and sat crying for more than an hour.
Nicholls knew what this was by now. Another panic attack. She said she had never had one until she came to Purdue-Fort Wayne to play for the Mastodons, to play for Nelson.
Nicholls' mom, Jacinta Peretini, said she knew what was happening, too. The past few months had been filled with distraught phone calls with her daughter, she said; Nicholls relaying mental mind games and emotional abuse she said were being handed out by Nelson.
On this morning, Feb. 27, Nicholls had just been screamed at in the locker room by Nelson, Nicholls said.
On Facetime with her daughter, Peretini said, she watched her daughter sit down in the snow shivering and then, she watched her scoop snow into her hands and pile it onto her head.
"I have never had a coach," Nicholls recently told IndyStar, "that has mentally and emotionally made me suffer like she did."
Nicholls left after one season and now plays for Central Methodist University. She hasn't forgotten how bad it was with Nelson, though, she said. That's why she came forward with other players to work with Greenberg -- to try to stop the abuse.
A pattern of practice
Greenberg received a call in February 2020 from Jeanie Hughes, asking if he'd be willing to look at what was going on inside Purdue-Fort Wayne women's basketball program.
To take a case, Greenberg said, he has to to determine if there is a "pattern of abuse."
"Some of these things, there is an isolated incident that I don't consider abuse. It happens, I mean it's sports," he said. "Other times, it is crossing the line where there is a pattern of practice. In this case, it is not an isolated incident. It is a pattern of practice."
Greenberg started reading statements from players and parents and talking to them. He said he was astounded by what he read and heard.
The overarching theme, he said: Certain players are targeted by Nelson and, when they are, it's vicious.
"Niecee is known for having favorites on the team," Greenberg's document to university officials alleges. "If you are her favorite, she will not pick on you. She will praise you all the time. If you are not her favorite, she will bully you to the point of depression."
Nelson, who has played and coached college basketball for 25 years, wrote in her letter to IndyStar: "I certainly understand how some players can perceive that others are 'favored.' I presume those feelings exist in every competitive sport. As a head coach, I recognize that part of my job is to make sure each member of our program feels valued, even if some earn more accolades or playing time than others."
As for bullying, Nelson said, "the words attributed to their experiences — for example bullying and weight shaming — are designed to inflame and bear no resemblance to the experiences provided in our program."
Hundreds of allegations of bullying, weight shaming and more over four seasons under Nelson are outlined by players and parents in the 71-page document. Among them:
- After a player had been in an abusive relationship and physically battered, "Nelson aggressively told her to 'get over it.'"
- Nelson mandated that a player get medication for bipolar/depression and "change" over the next two weeks. A week passed, according to the player, and Nelson decided that the player was not mentally stable and kicked her off the team.
- A player was told by Nelson, in front of the team, that she was getting fat and that it was her fault they lost games. When the player hurt her back, Nelson said "she was faking her injury and was told to get back on the line and run."
- Nelson held one player, who was trying to leave the program, behind doors for 45 minutes "bullying" her. She was crying and begging to leave but was not allowed.
- After deciding one player had psychological problems, Nelson "tried to force her to get medication so she would be the type of athlete that Nelson wanted her to be. Nelson mandated (the player) go see a psychologist. (The player) was forced to pay for it out of her own pocket. (The player) declined to take the medication and was kicked off the team."
- Nelson breached confidentiality rules when she revealed to the team that a player had seen a mental conditioning coach and a sports psychologist. "Nelson came up to (the player) and stated she just wants her to smile and have fun."
- "Nelson used food as a manipulation tool. After the girls lost a game, she would not feed them dinner until 9:30 or 10 p.m. On more than one occasion, it was after 11 p.m. The girls get only breakfast and then play a game at 2 or 3 p.m. with no snacks or protein drinks available to them prior to a game."
- One player was pressured by Nelson to change her major from pre-med because it was too demanding and took too much of her time.
- One player who later transferred said: "The night before a game my teammate and I got ice cream from Target and when we got back on the bus, (Nelson) asked to check our bags. She then came up to me in front of everyone and said, 'Don't come to my office complaining about playing time anymore.' She berated me in front of my teammates about my diet as well."
- A player said: "Physically we were punished every day, running until we couldn't anymore. Mentally, she pushed buttons on every single player's mind. Mentally, we were all drained, there was always someone depressed or crying each day."
"This is so obvious that there is abuse here," Greenberg said. "I can't understand what these administrators are doing."
'Playing mind games'
Inside the locker room after a 58-57 Purdue-Fort Wayne win against Omaha in January 2020, a video shows Nelson running in, joyous, screaming and slapping hands with players.
"YES! LADIES!" she screams. She does a handshake routine with a player and then dances a little. "Yes. That is the way to believe until the very end. Good effort."
All the players are in a circle around her. Nelson starts giving hugs to each of them, every one of them except Jazzy Hughes. She looks right at Hughes and passes her by.
When the video was posted to the team's Facebook page that night, viewers noticed and commented about Hughes not getting a hug.
"I started to process it," said Hughes. "That was pretty crappy for her to do. But that was her... playing mind games."
When the team got to the airport, Nelson grabbed Hughes and made her pose for a photo of the two of them together, Hughes said. Nelson posted the photo in a comment on the Facebook video writing: "Jazzy got her hug! can't believe I missed her the first time around!!"
"You are a narcissist," Hughes said she remembers thinking. "She cares how people view her. She doesn't care how she treats anyone."
That Nelson thinks her behavior is typical or OK shows how far from reality she is, Hughes said. Hughes' family isn't new to college athletics. Hughes' dad, Jeff, played football at New Mexico State. Her mom played softball at the University of Arizona.
After playing at a junior college in Arizona, Hughes visited Purdue-Fort Wayne in summer 2019.
"It kind of almost seemed like too good to be true, everything I wanted basketball-wise, school-wise, coaching-wise. I was excited," she said. "Things kind of changed after our first couple of scrimmages and first preseason games."
Hughes can't pinpoint exactly how her relationship with Nelson went sour.
"No matter what you did, you could not please her," she said. "I honestly just felt like she hated me as a person."
One time, Nelson had a nutritionist talk to the team. Nelson didn't like that Hughes ate the keto diet, Hughes said.
"She chewed me (out) for that one," Hughes said. "She called me out for being unhealthy, said that's why I'm out of shape, why I can't do anything. That's where it came to the point where I don't want to be here anymore."
In response to the IndyStar's inquiry in November, Nelson said she couldn't talk about individual players or allegations because of privacy issues. In regard to allegations of withholding medical care and weight shaming, she wrote:
"I rely on medical professionals to make medical decisions regarding students in our program. I have never and would never withhold medical care or cause a woman to feel ashamed of her appearance. We provide several opportunities each year for student-athletes to learn about nutrition, including cooking and food preparation. When our staff, nutritionists or doctors discuss food and nutrition, we do so in the context of performance (on court and in the classroom) and not anyone's physical appearance."
Hughes said Nelson's behavior quickly escalated to unbearable. She would call her mom crying almost everyday, she said.
"It was just to the point where I dreaded each and every day," she said, "just because I knew it was going to be the same thing."
Hughes said the way Nelson treated her was bad enough that other players on the team would check to make sure she was OK.
After the school year, Hughes left Purdue-Fort Wayne for Colorado State-Pueblo for her senior season.
"I cannot tell you how good it feels to be here not having someone over your back," she said. "It's literally like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders."
'In a better place'
Before coming to Purdue-Fort Wayne, Nelson had coaching jobs at Wyoming and San Diego. She had big shoes to fill when she came to Purdue-Fort Wayne, following the winningest coach in program history, Chris Paul.
Paul left Purdue-Fort Wayne in 2016 after 11 years. When he entered his final season, he had a 118-172 career record.
In Nelson's five seasons at Purdue, the team's record is 21-106, with a 0-12 record for the 2020-21 season as of Jan. 19. Her contract, which expires March 31, includes a $115,000 salary with $28,000 in possible bonuses for her team's on-court and academic performance.
Some players told IndyStar they believe Nelson's alleged abuse is the direct result of her poor record, which she doesn't take responsibility for. Instead, she takes her frustrations out on players.
Greenberg, who got into the legal specialty of bullying and abuse after his grandson was bullied, said there are no excuses. The lasting effects of this type of abuse are immeasurable.
"The kids are punished. Their minds will feel the effect of this for years," he said. "Now who has to feel the effect of this is the coaches and administrators who let it happen. They have to feel it."
Nelson said that while she denies that she has "abused these women," she "does not intend to dismiss their perspective."
"I take very seriously what they, their parents and their attorney have written about me. I have and will continue to reflect on those statements and learn from them," she wrote in her letter to IndyStar. "As I enter my fifth year as a Division I head coach, I strive to be an effective leader, teacher and mentor to women who will meet their fullest potential in the classroom, in the community and on the court."
Driver said she learned many things in her short time under Nelson. The biggest: be willing to get out.
"I learned you don't need to suffer through something," she said. "Looking back, I should have stepped away a long time ago. I had too much pride; that's the way I am. I was too protective of the team."
Three years after leaving Nelson and the program behind, Driver said she still hasn't healed entirely.
"Long-lasting effects, for sure," she said. "But I'm in a better place."
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via email: dbenbow@indystar.com.
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