By: Anya Li

Within five months of her hiring at Grambling State University in Louisiana, women’s volleyball coach Chelsey Lucas was fired on July 5, 2022. Just two months before the firing, she cut every player on her roster from the team.

Lucas graduated from Grambling State in 2007, also playing volleyball for the Tigers in her college years. She was a familiar face on campus after being named to lead the team in February. But by April, many athletes, parents, and alumni were angry after she dropped all 19 players from the team. The college’s administration initially supported Lucas’s actions but announced on Tuesday that it fired the coach amid an investigation into her decision.

“The decision was made due to the determination of an internal investigation within the volleyball program,” the school said in a statement.

Grambling State’s women’s volleyball team went 11-17 last season under previous coach Demetria Keys-Johnson, who stepped down in December. Lucas was hired February 14 after compiling a 37-44 record in three seasons at Arkansas Pine Bluff, including an 18-15 mark last year.

According to multiple reports, Lucas’s relationship with the players was tense from the beginning. Reports cited players who speculated that the coach was bitter over an incident that occurred last season when Arkansas Pine Bluff played Grambling State.

Lucas said the school’s administration was not only aware of her roster decisions but that Trayvean Scott, the athletic director, suggested she “get rid of ’em all.” Lucas claimed she met with only 14 players on April 4 and that some were offered the chance to stay.

In a statement, the school called student-athletes a priority but said, “any additional comments will be held until the conclusion of the investigation.”

“As we move forward in this transition and commence a national search for the next coach, all volleyball student athletes who received scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year will keep their scholarships and remain on the team,” Scott said in a statement. “Walk-ons will also continue to hold their roster spot.”

Link to article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/07/08/grambling-state-volleyball-coach-fired/