By Gigi Picard ‘22
Sports Editor
Over the summer, Amherst College received a wrongful termination lawsuit from former men’s lacrosse Head Coach Rashad Devoe. According to the Boston Globe, Devoe was fired one year into his three-year contract because he “verbally mistreated” the lacrosse athletes. The alleged verbal mistreatment occurred after athletes reportedly held a practice outside on an Amherst College green, in violation of the college’s COVID-19 rules. But Devoe, a Black man, felt there was more to the story.
The Amherst College men’s lacrosse team has a recent history of controversy. Prior to Devoe’s arrival, the lacrosse team had been put on probation following a racist incident in March 2020. The incident involved three white players from the team who “chanted the N-word outside a Black teammate’s dorm room,” as reported by the Daily Hampshire Gazette. In retaliation, the victim punched one of the white players, and was “‘immediate[ly] punish[ed],’” according to the Gazette. Amherst College swiftly fired then-coach Jon Thompson and hired Devoe as his replacement, with the expectation that Devoe would rebuild the program by creating a more inclusive team environment.
From the beginning, several Amherst parents considered Devoe’s coaching methods to be unacceptable. The Globe sat down with parents of athletes who claimed Devoe’s style was “overly aggressive, verbally threatening at times, disruptive and divisive.” Further, according to the Globe, Devoe allegedly made a misogynistic comment about female Amherst students. This is a claim which Devoe has refuted.
The lawsuit alleges that there was more to Devoe’s removal than was officially communicated by the school. As revealed by WBUR, “According to the lawsuit, administrators pressured Devoe to reveal the identi[t]ies of three Black athletes who complained about a racist comment made by a lacrosse player, and when he refused, he was fired.” The timing of the termination is cause for speculation because the refusal and removal happened around the same time. The Globe also noted that Devoe said he “reported the alleged discrimination but school officials declined to assure him they would protect him and the students from ‘retaliation and continued discrimination.’”
Amherst College’s director of media communications, Caroline Hanna, responded to Mount Holyoke News on the matter.
“We have reviewed the complaint filed on behalf of Mr. Rashad Devoe against Amherst College and categorically refute the allegations made about the College's decisions and motives in the matter,” she said. Hanna highlighted Amherst College’s values, which are “[promoting] diversity, inclusion, and respect,” adding, “We have a majority minority student body, an increasingly diverse faculty and staff and a community dedicated to the work of inclusion … We are confident that a full legal review of the complaint will support our position that it is without merit.”
WBUR stated that Devoe’s intention with the lawsuit is to regain his position at Amherst College, in which he made $90,000 a year, as well as financial damages. In the wake of this latest controversy, the team is struggling to retain both its players and status. According to the Globe, “players have transferred, parents have expressed outrage and recruits are wary of enrolling in the elite small private liberal arts college.”
This August, following Devoe’s dismissal, Amherst College announced the hiring of former head coach at Colorado College, Sean Woods, as the program’s new head coach. Woods’ leadership may be a deciding factor in the lacrosse program’s future.