🔒‘I had to get out of there’: Dream turns into nightmare at UF for women’s basketball star

MACCLENNY, Fla. – Delicia Washington needed to get out. This wasn’t however her communicative was expected to go.

Washington dominated crossed 2 sports successful precocious schoolhouse astatine Baker County and signed with the assemblage she grew up dreaming astir — the University of Florida. The tiny municipality miss with the large metropolis hoops skills ne'er saw herself anyplace else.

But implicit and over, his comments replayed successful her mind. Over and over, the measurement of her teary telephone calls location picked up.

You won’t bash overmuch aft college.

You’ll beryllium close backmost wherever you grew up.

Loser.

Playing nether erstwhile manager Cameron Newbauer astatine Florida, Washington, a 5-10 guard, said she sank to a atrocious place.

Washington wanted to escape. For her intelligence health, she needed to. She buried those achy memories and acceptable retired for a caller commencement astatine Clemson.

But erstwhile the Independent Florida Alligator elaborate allegations against Newbauer successful a Sept. 27 communicative by Zach Huber, it brought backmost each of those feelings again. Five erstwhile players went connected the grounds with the work astir their clip with the Gators and however turbulent and toxic it was nether Newbauer.

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For Washington, the nationalist revelations by women she knew and knew good dredged up feelings and memories that she’d packed up and enactment distant agelong ago. It was clip to get it out, adjacent though that meant putting her backmost successful an uncomfortable presumption to speech astir it.

Even though she’s blessed present playing arsenic a grad pupil astatine Clemson and for the manager who recruited her astatine Florida (Amanda Butler), Washington said that it was important for her to speech astir her clip with the Gators.

In a way, she wanted to beryllium heard. In a way, she needed to heal and heal publically on with her ex-teammates.

“I held it successful for a agelong time. I didn’t talk connected it due to the fact that I didn’t privation to get backmost successful that signifier of being aggravated due to the fact that I americium successful a blessed spot present ...,” Washington said. “When I started seeing the articles and things, it conscionable made maine like, I conscionable wanted to get it disconnected my chest.”

A section legend

Washington remains 1 of the champion all-around athletes the country has seen, an all-state enactment successful 2 sports, hoops and softball.

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She was a four-year starter for the Wildcats connected the softball field, hitting .447 implicit her career. She drove successful 58 runs and scored 116 times portion playing shortstop and 2nd base. She helped Baker County propulsion disconnected a seismic upset successful 2015 erstwhile it bushed dynasty Plantation American Heritage for the Class 5A authorities championship, 1-0.

But hoops was Washington’s archetypal love. And she was exceptional astatine it.

Washington was electrical connected the level with a hoops successful her hands. During her inferior play with Baker County, she averaged 28.3 points per crippled and was unstoppable. Washington eclipsed the 40-point people 4 times that season. And she had a career-high 51 during a nonaccomplishment to Creekside successful her inferior season. As a senior, Washington averaged 27.5 points each clip out.

Teams knew she was getting the shot and inactive couldn’t dilatory her down. When it comes to girls hoops successful Baker County, Washington and 1996 Baker County postgraduate Kim Gaskins are the names successful Macclenny. Both were selections connected News4Jax All-25 team, a database honoring the champion players of the past 25 years.

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The coaching change

Newbauer wasn’t the manager who built a narration with and signed Washington. That was Butler, a Florida grad herself. The Gators fired Butler aft 10 seasons successful March 2017 aft wrapping up a 15-16 year.

In her spot came Newbauer, who was coming disconnected back-to-back 20-win seasons and NCAA tourney berths astatine Belmont.

Washington said a subordinate from Belmont called 1 of her teammates and told her, “he isn’t who you deliberation helium is,” implying that what players saw aboriginal successful Newbauer wasn’t a existent portrait.

Still, Washington and players astatine Florida were consenting to springiness Newbauer a chance. She said initially Newbauer was benignant and engaging to some her and her family.

Things gradually changed.

Washington wasn’t an end-of-the-bench benignant of subordinate with the Gators. She was an integral portion of Florida’s team, archetypal nether Butler and past nether Newbauer. She earned SEC Co-Freshman of the twelvemonth honors successful 2017, averaging 11.1 points per game. She kept that accumulation going nether Newbauer. Washington started each 30 games successful 2018 and past 19 of 28 the pursuing year.

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On the court, Florida struggled nether Newbauer. During his archetypal 2 seasons successful Gainesville, the Gators went 11-19 and 8-23. They won conscionable 3 SEC games each of those years.

The ‘bad memories’

Outside of the games, things became combustible down the scenes and reached a breaking constituent for respective players. The Alligator communicative painted changeless toxicity from Newbauer to players.

Practices were difficult, Washington said, but not due to the fact that of the strength level. She said that Newbauer’s actions went beyond what’s acceptable from a manager astatine immoderate level. Washington recalled 1 concern wherever Newbauer threw basketballs astatine a player’s head.

Washington said different incidental involving Newbauer came erstwhile helium kicked a shot astatine a subordinate who had precocious had genu surgery. The shot deed the subordinate successful the genu that she’d conscionable had country on.

“One of my teammates didn’t person her hands up connected defense, helium stopped the implicit signifier and made her enactment her hands down,” she said. “And helium grabbed balls and started throwing beside her head. … She conscionable stood there, I’m guessing ‘cause she was intimidated by him. She conscionable stood determination portion helium threw balls astatine her.”

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Washington said Newbauer called her names — “loser is simply a name” — and insinuated that she didn’t person a aboriginal aft college, that she was bound to extremity up close backmost wherever she started successful Macclenny.

Washington said that she ne'er disquieted oregon took discourtesy to the usage of foul connection from coaches astatine the assemblage level. These are young adults successful college, she said, and players don’t shy distant from pugnacious coaching.

But determination was a stark quality successful Newbauer’s usage and code of it and however helium directed it astatine players. It came crossed arsenic mean-spirited, derisive and angry, Washington said.

“Mental abuse. Always conscionable coming location crying trying to fig out, like, however tin I beryllium amended to fundamentally effort to marque him happy,” she said. “But [hearing her ex-teammates’ stories] it conscionable brought backmost atrocious memories, honestly.”

Gradually, players who signed with Florida nether Butler, and adjacent immoderate who signed nether Newbauer, near the program. The Alligator communicative intimated that Newbauer fundamentally forced players who signed nether Butler retired of the program.

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Sydney Searcy, who graduated from Nease, was successful the aforesaid signing people arsenic Washington. She was the archetypal subordinate to transfer, leaving Florida for Morgan State. Another subordinate with country ties, Jalaysha Thomas (she played her freshman play astatine Potter’s House), transferred to LSU aft playing 1 play for Newbauer. Thomas signed nether Newbauer.

Washington said that attraction crossed the committee by Newbauer made each idiosyncratic astir the programme intimidated and acrophobic to talk up.

“Everyone,” she said. “Players. Coaches. Workers connected the staff. Everybody.”4

Then, unexpectedly, Newbauer’s tenure came to an abrupt halt.

Six weeks aft he’d signed a declaration hold with the Gators, Newbauer announced his resignation connected July 16. Newbauer cited idiosyncratic reasons for his departure. He finished his Gators coaching vocation with a 46-71 vocation record. The schoolhouse elevated Kelly Rae Finley to interim caput coach.

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It each comes out

Two months aft his resignation, the Alligator communicative broke.

The Gators past had to face the chorus of allegations asking wherefore they’d widen Newbauer’s declaration astatine $500,000 per twelvemonth if determination were this galore complaints.

In a connection from Florida, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said that determination were times successful Newbauer’s tenure wherever things were brought to the school’s attraction and that they addressed those and added much checkpoints and administrative oversight wrong the program. Stricklin said that “we failed” successful the Newbauer case.

“We arsenic a section person a work to supply our student-athletes enactment for their peculiar programs, their sports. We are going to supply them the champion ambiance possible, and we failed successful this situation. And yet that’s my work for the civilization of this department. I’ll instrumentality work for that,” Stricklin said.

“Had I been alert of everything astatine the clip helium re-signed that I erstwhile we made the declaration extension, I ne'er would person done the declaration extension. I thought things were moving successful a definite direction. Obviously, we weren’t. We didn’t prime up signs and clues and we’ve got to fig retired going guardant however to get amended astatine that and marque definite we cognize what’s going on.”

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To Washington’s mother, Tara, she went done it with her girl perpetually with telephone calls backmost home. But speechmaking it, seeing it, proceeding it each implicit again from different players, too, drove location the constituent of conscionable however wide of a concern it was.

“Nobody should beryllium capable to beryllium treated similar that, but particularly by your manager that’s expected to emotion you and instrumentality attraction of you and bring you in,” she said.

A caller start

Washington said that erstwhile she decided to permission Florida, she was broken, aggravated and hurt. She wanted to postgraduate with a UF diploma. Instead, she made the determination to enactment her sanction successful the transportation portal, uncertain if she adjacent wanted to proceed playing the athletics successful college.

“I called my mom. I was precise upset. I met with the AD. I tried to archer him what was going on. He wasn’t buying it,” Washington said. “Basically, helium conscionable ever tried to enactment similar helium was mislaid successful our concern erstwhile helium truly knew what was going on. So I conscionable had to bash what was champion for me. And I had to get retired of there.”

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Butler, the manager who recruited and signed her astatine Florida, had been hired astatine Clemson successful 2018. The accidental to transportation to play for Butler presented itself, and Washington seized it. She had to beryllium retired the 2019-20 play owed to NCAA transportation guidelines but focused connected academics and moving connected her game. When Washington became eligible to play past year, she was amended than ever. Washington led Clemson successful scoring (16.4 ppg), assists (3.5 apg) and minutes per game. She was 2nd connected the squad successful rebounding (6 rpg). Washington besides earned her bachelor’s grade successful Pan African Studies.

And she’s got 1 play left, with nary intentions connected returning location to Macclenny conscionable yet.

“I’m there, I’m happy, I got things to execute now,” Washington said. “My adjacent extremity is to beryllium ACC subordinate of the year. After that, aft assemblage is over, perceive my sanction successful that archetypal circular [of the WNBA] draft.”

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