A text message popped up on my phone on Wednesday afternoon.
“So sickening,” the message read with an included tweet from the Ole Miss women’s basketball account announcing its hiring of Quentin Hillsman as an assistant coach on head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s staff.
The message was from a former player I interviewed many times during a months-long investigation into Hillsman and his treatment of players as the head coach at Syracuse. The investigation led the university to open an internal investigation amid which Hillsman resigned.
I have heard from her from time to time. She most recently texted me during this women’s college basketball season. She felt proud that Syracuse star Dyaisha Fair was an elite scorer and that new Orange coach Felisha Legette-Jack was receiving positive recognition. The former player was finally enjoying watching basketball again — specifically, enjoying watching Syracuse again. She felt relief and joy, which in our conversations about Hillsman in 2021 were not feelings that were expressed much by her or many other women who shared their experiences.
In a 2021 investigation by The Athletic, nine women who had played for Hillsman alleged that he often threatened players, sometimes using vulgar language. One former player told The…
