Georgetown has placed women’s basketball Coach Keith Brown on administrative leave, along with assistant coach Tim Valentine, following complaints of unprofessional conduct and inappropriate language.
The concerns were raised by players on the eve of Brown’s second season as head coach of the Hoyas and were first reported Monday night by WJLA (Channel 7). Georgetown’s assistant vice president for communications, Stacy Kerr, confirmed the circumstances that led to the university’s actions in a statement.
“Two weeks ago, concerns were raised regarding unprofessional conduct and the use of inappropriate language in coaching the Georgetown University women’s basketball team,” Kerr said in the statement. “Georgetown takes very seriously any allegations of misconduct and the university has an established review process that carefully investigates such cases.”
The allegations are being investigated by Georgetown’s Institute of Diversity, Equality and Affirmative Action, in conjunction with outside counsel. As is customary in such cases, the subjects of the investigation, Brown and Valentine, are on paid administrative leave.
In the interim, the women’s basketball team, which is scheduled to open its 2013-14 season on Nov. 8, will be led by assistant coaches Krystal-Reeves Evans and Kenya Kirkland. All practice and conditioning sessions for the team are expected to continue as planned.
“The investigation is ongoing, and no conclusions have yet been reached,” the statement continued.
Brown was named head coach of the Hoyas’ in May 2012 after serving as the top assistant and head recruiter for the previous five seasons. Within weeks of his appointment, he hired Valentine, a former assistant at Elon University in North Carolina.
Last season, Brown’s first at the helm, Georgetown finished with a 15-16 record. The squad was projected to return eight players this season and add six freshmen recruits.
In the statement, Kerr noted that Georgetown’s athletics department adopted a new policy in June, “Maintaining Respectful and Professional Relationships with Student Athletes,” and required staff members to attend training sessions to ensure they understood its principles regarding appropriate behavior between coaches, trainers and student athletes.