Former Players Sue Pitt, Women’s Basketball Coach, Alleging Abuse

Six former University of Pittsburgh women’s basketball players sued the school and its basketball coach Tory Verdi. 

The six individual suits were filed in the U.S. district court for the western district of Pennsylvania on Feb. 6. Each plaintiff—Isabella Perkins, Raeven Boswell, Brooklynn Miles, Jasmine Timmerson, MaKayla Elmore, and Favor Ayodele—is represented by the same attorney, Keenan Holmes, and is alleging a pattern of “emotional and psychological abuse” and Title IX violations. Plaintiffs are requesting relief in the form of a declaration from the university and Verdi that players’ rights were violated, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees. 

Each suit—which Front Office Sports obtained copies of—details similar allegations against Verdi. The suits also allege Pitt was aware of Verdi’s behavior and had a “deliberate indifference to that misconduct despite clear notice, observable harm, and repeated opportunities to intervene.” 

“The University is aware of these lawsuits and their allegations, which are without merit and will be vigorously defended,” a university spokesperson told FOS. 

In more than one lawsuit, an instance following a practice in 2023–24 is detailed in which Verdi allegedly told the team: “Every night I lay in bed I want to kill myself because of you.” Verdi allegedly told international players, “We speak English here,” when they chose to converse in their native language. On another occasion, Verdi allegedly told an international student athlete to “go back home because ICE is coming,” according to multiple lawsuits. 

Players allege reports of Verdi’s misconduct were reported to university staff, including assistant athletic director Jennifer Tuscano and assistant vice chancellor of compliance, investigations, and ethics Laurel Gift. Despite these reports, players allege the university failed to intervene. 

Additional allegations include Verdi “intentionally created and exploited racial division among team members, contributing to hostility, mistrust, and psychological harm within the program.” Miles’s suit alleges she observed “players of color were often subjected to harsher discipline, less patience, and fewer opportunities than similarly situated white teammates, compounding the emotional harm already present within the program.” 

Miles also detailed a specific occasion during last season in which Verdi allegedly “pitted white players against Black players by claiming that players ‘hung out’ with other players who shared the same race, weaponizing race as a tool of division and control.”

Verdi spent a year at Columbia (2004–05) before being hired by Eastern Michigan (2012–16), and then Massachusetts (2016–23). He took over the Pittsburgh women’s basketball program in 2023 and has accumulated a 29–60 record in three seasons.