Creighton suspends Greg McDermott for asking players to ‘stay on the plantation’
Creighton University suspended basketball coach Greg McDermott on Thursday for asking his team to “stay on the plantation” following a Feb. 27 loss.
McDermott had publicly apologized for the comments Tuesday.
“Specifically, I said: ‘Guys, we got to stick together. We need both feet in. I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can’t have anybody leave the plantation,’” McDermott revealed in a statement. “I realize the pain that my words have caused. For that, I sincerely apologize.”
McDermott said he was trying to rally his team after a 77-69 loss to Xavier and that he immediately recognized his poor choice of words.
Creighton called the coach’s words “deplorable” in a Tuesday statement.
McDermott said Wednesday that he apologized to players individually after the postgame speech and then offered to resign in a Feb. 28 team meeting, but the team wanted to keep him in charge.
McDermott coached the Bluejays to a 72-60 loss to No. 10 Villanova on Wednesday night, but he will not be on the bench for Saturday’s regular season finale against Butler. Assistant coach Alan Huss will be the interim head coach.
Creighton is 17-7 and almost certain to make the NCAA Tournament. It’s unknown if McDermott’s suspension will end before the tournament starts March 18.
“Further sanctions remain under consideration, not all of which will be shared publicly,” Creighton athletic director Bruce Rasmussen said in a statement. “Coach McDermott and our Athletics program must use this incident as an opportunity for growth and learning, as clearly more work needs to be done.”
McDermott has coached the Bluejays since 2010 and led them to five NCAA Tournaments. His son Doug won National Player of the Year in 2014 and has played seven seasons in the NBA for five teams, including the Knicks.
