Illinois Women's Basketball assistant coach replaced after allegations of player abuse

According to a story by The Daily Illini, former Illinois women's basketball associate head coach Mike Divilbiss has left the program after several accusations of player abuse. Divilbiss recently completed his third season on the Illinois staff after arriving from Wisconsin-Green Bay in the spring of 2012 as part of head coach Matt Bollant's initial staff.

The program issued a press release on Monday morning stating that assistant coach and recruiting coordinator LaKale Malone would be promoted to fill Divibiss' role. The announcement didn't include any details surrounding the departure of the former assistant.

Here's an excerpt from The Daily Illini's story (click here for full article):

The Daily Illini obtained letters addressed to Chancellor Wise that were sent by the families of Jacqui Grant, Taylor Tuck and Taylor Gleason, which detailed verbal and emotional abuse on the part of Bollant and Divilbiss.

The families that spoke to The Daily Illini said they were informed of an internal review of the matter by the Chancellor's office after they sent their letters.

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The letters highlighted that Bollant and Divilbiss threatened to pull players' scholarships, attempted to create division in the team using racism and ignored or minimized injuries.

This is extremely troubling, to say the least. The athletic department is already under fire from national media outlets after the Simon Cvijanovic allegations and this will only make matters worse.

We'll make sure to keep you updated as the situation develops.

UPDATE (6:45pm):

The three letters sent by the players' families have actually been made available by the News Gazette (click here). This is not looking good for Matt Bollant and company.

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