Mike Bozeman, the man who blamed transgender player Kye Allums for his team’s horrific 2010-11 season, has been fired as the head coach of the George Washington women’s basketball team. Bozeman has been replaced by Notre Dame assistant coach Jonathan Tsipis, whose team lost in the national championship this year.
Bozeman was a complete disaster as head coach of the Colonials. The team had been to the postseason each of the previous 18 seasons, going to the Sweet 16 the two years prior to his tenure. Bozeman single-handedly destroyed the program, leading them to a combined 25-61 in his final three seasons. In no three seasons did he predecessor, Joe McKeown, have half the number of losses Bozeman's team suffered.
Mike Bozeman, the man who blamed transgender player Kye Allums for his team’s horrific 2010-11 season, has been fired as the head coach of the George Washington women’s basketball team. Bozeman has been replaced by Notre Dame assistant coach Jonathan Tsipis, whose team lost in the national championship this year.
Bozeman was a complete disaster as head coach of the Colonials. The team had been to the postseason each of the previous 18 seasons, going to the Sweet 16 the two years prior to his tenure. Bozeman single-handedly destroyed the program, leading them to a combined 25-61 in his final three seasons. In no three seasons did he predecessor, Joe McKeown, have half the number of losses Bozeman's team suffered.
He also handled the coming-out of Kye Allums horribly. Instead of rallying the team around Allums, he blamed his trans player for his terrible season two years ago. He said this before the season:
Do I think it was a difficult situation? I think so. But I think it was difficult for Kye, too. We've moved on, and this season is not about rebounding from that. This season is about displaying the skill and the discipline that's necessary to be a successful program.
It was not difficult because Allums was transgender or because he came out publicly. It was difficult because I believe Bozeman is married to his transphobic religion, and because he showed no leadership. A good coach rallies his team around diversity; Men like Bozeman use differences to divide their teams.
We'll have to see where he ends up as a basketball coach, if anywhere. For now, good riddance to a man who couldn't fully embrace an athlete struggling with his gender identity.
