Wichita State investigating its basketball coach after allegations of hitting players and choking an assistant, and more sports news

Wichita State is launching an investigation into head coach Gregg Marshall’s actions after allegations of misconduct. The allegations include punching a player, choking an assistant coach, and using racial and ethnic slurs targeted at athletes.

Stadium basketball Insider Jeff Goodman wrote that more than 30 former and current members of Wichita State’s basketball program spoke about out the incidents.

One of those former players was Shaq Morris, who told Stadium he was punched twice at a practice in 2015 by Marshall.

Since it’s an ongoing investigation, all of these things would need to be confirmed, but it’s a bad sign for Marshall that more than 30 people are verifying these stories.

In 13 seasons, Marshall has turned the Shockers into an elite mid-major program. Wichita State went from 11 wins in his first season to recording four 30-win seasons in five years from 2013-17.

All of the on-court success goes out the window if the allegations are proven true, and Marshall will likely be unemployed. Six scholarship players transferred in the spring, and that’s often a sign of a toxic culture, but Marshall doesn’t seem too worried about the investigation.

“I’m aware the university conducted interviews and I fully participated in the process," Marshall told The Athletic. "I look forward to having it wrapped up as I continue to focus my energy on our team.”

According to The Athletic, Marshall’s incidents didn’t just involve players and coaches. He did not like if anyone parked in his parking spot, so he would double park behind anyone who did. One time he couldn’t get there fast enough, so he followed a student who was in his spot and eventually cut the student off at an intersection before yelling. After having back and forth words, Marshall tried to punch the student through the driver’s window.

The Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots have made the most schedule adjustments this season due to COVID-19, but both teams received good news Friday.

ESPN reported that the Titans and Patriots had no new positives after the latest round of testing.

This puts the Patriots on track to play Monday against the Broncos, and the Titans will play the Bills on Tuesday. Both games were originally scheduled for Sunday but were moved after players tested positive for COVID-19.

For New England, it’s the second consecutive week the team is playing on Monday night. Last week quarterback Cam Newton tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the game against the Chiefs, and now the Patriots are expected to be without reigning Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore.

When you combine the impact of opt-outs and players missing games due to COVID-19, the Patriots have arguably been impacted more than any team.

The Titans are hoping for some normalcy after a wild past two weeks where 12 players and nine staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. When the team plays Tuesday, the roster will look drastically different. Adam Humphries, Corey Davis, Jeffery Simmons, Kristian Fulton and Daquan Jones are among those on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. They’re all starters or play a good amount of snaps.

If Tom Brady were a rookie or a young starting quarterback, then maybe his late-game mistake would’ve made more sense. It could’ve been chalked up as simply a rookie mistake, but that’s not the case with a 21-year veteran with six Super Bowl rings.

Trailing by one with no timeouts, Brady forced a pass into tight coverage on fourth down. Only 33 seconds were left on the clock and the Buccaneers turned the ball over, but Brady appeared confused.

Head coach Bruce Arians said Brady knew what down it was. Maybe Arians communicated the situation beforehand and Brady forgot.

Chalk this up as another weird thing that’s happened in 2020. One of the most clutch quarterbacks and winners that football has ever seen simply forgot the situation.