A former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball player is accusing her ex-head coach of threats, manipulation, and mishandling her mental health while she was with the program.
Tessa Towers, who spent two seasons with Wisconsin and transferred to Ball State University, recently posted a slideshow style video to TikTok detailing allegations against Badgers head coach Marisa Moseley.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Wisconsin Athletics said, ‘We are aware of comments shared online by former Badger student-athlete Tessa Towers and will be looking into this matter.
‘We care deeply about the physical and mental well-being of all of the student-athletes on our teams, during and after their time on campus.
‘While we would like to share additional context around Tessa’s comments, federal privacy laws prohibit us from publicly addressing the health-related claims made on Tessa’s social media account.’
In the video, which is 14 slides long, Towers alleges that the Wisconsin coaching staff violated her privacy by making her ‘sign a release form for her to access my therapy sessions, or I’d be kicked off the team.’
Former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball player Tessa Towers posted a TikTok slideshow accusing her ex-head coach of abuse and creating a toxic environment
Wisconsin is currently led by head women’s basketball coach Marisa Moseley
Towers also says that she was told by the coaching staff that, ‘if I were to say anything remotely close to thoughts of su!c!de or de@+h to my therapist, i would be kicked off the team.’
The player also claims that the coaching staff, ‘excluded me from traveling to the virgin islands and multiple away trips with the team for no good reason.’
Towers also says that the coaching staff ‘threatened me’ with taking opportunities away from her.
A more concerning allegation from Towers says that, ‘my coach and staff made me get tested for autism (i already have adhd) i told them i didn’t want to but they still forced me.’
She also detailed a situation where a coach kicked her out of practice after another teammate initiated an argument with her.
Towers also says that her coach threatened to kick her off the team if she did not admit herself into a mental hospital.
Additionally, Towers says she was put on a ‘three strike rule’ by the staff and that she was the only person on the team with this policy. She adds that she got her first strike when she forgot to turn in a ‘goal sheet’ on time.
Towers also says she was ‘forced to leave the team mid season by my coach and the staff,’ adding that she would ‘leave my coaches office bawling my eyes out everytime.’
A selection of accusations that Towers made against the Wisconsin staff in her TikTok post
She says, ‘my freshman year of college, i felt like a lab rat for my coaches and staff because they would put me on new medications every other week. i was 17 years old.’
Additionally, Towers claims she was ‘forced to sign multiple ‘agreements’ that only applied to me, and was not official rules of the NCAA rather things that the coaches and staff made up. i was told I had to sign these or else i would be kicked off the team.’
Towers took a leave of absence from the team in her freshman year in 2022, with Moseley saying at the time, ‘Our program fully supports Tessa as she takes this time away. We will always make sure that people come first before basketball.’
Under the initial TikTok post, multiple comments were left by accounts which appear to belong to former players on the Wisconsin women’s basketball team.
That included a comment of multiple emojis appearing to belong to Sydney Hilliard, a player who left the Wisconsin program citing mental health reasons.
Tessa Grady, an injured player currently on the Wisconsin women’s team that has been ‘noticeably absent from the bench in recent weeks’ according to the Wisconsin sports substack BadgerNotes posted, ‘now this sounds familiar! glad we got out of that s*** hole!’
Multiple comments were left by Krystyna Ellew – a former player on the Badgers who transferred the University of Ilinois-Chicago – including one that said ‘but then i thought oh wait I’ve been [through] that too.’
Another former Badgers player, Imbie Jones, commented, ‘i’m glad we are away from that.’
Moseley has compiled a record of 48-68 since taking over the Badgers back in 2021
Across her career at Wisconsin, Towers played four games in total – averaging 2.3 minutes and 1.7 points a game. Since moving to Ball State, she’s played in four games this season – averaging 5.8 minutes and 3.5 points per game, per the athletic department website .
Moseley has put up a record of 48-68 while at Wisconsin. Prior to this, she was the head coach at Boston University.
Moseley has previously made controversial statements, including one during a press conference at Big Ten Basketball Media Day last season wherein she referred to some of her players as ‘run-of-the-mill white’ kids.
‘If you look at my team, we’re pretty much the United Nations. I have the first Indian woman to ever play at the Power 5. I have kids who are Nigerian and kids who are Dominican and kids who are Mexican and kids who are run of the mill white because they’re still there too,’ Moseley said.
She then added, ‘My mom is white, just so nobody is offended. My mom is a white woman from the Berkshires. Very white.’
In a statement after those comments, Moseley apologized saying, ‘Those words do not reflect my thinking or my values. I apologize for the impact they have had.’
