Players 'forgive' fired Doug Wojcik
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- College of Charleston players say they agreed with the dismissal of coach Doug Wojcik after allegations of verbal abuse and they forgive him.
The school released a statement Wednesday saying it was from the members of the team. Wojcik was fired by school president Glenn McConnell on Tuesday.
"We completely and wholeheartedly concur with the findings of the investigation and the actions that President McConnell has taken in this matter," the team statement reads. "We forgive Coach Wojcik and hope that he and his family can move forward in a positive manner from here.
"We are looking forward to putting this behind us and getting back to what we are here to do in the first place -- get an excellent college education and reach our full potential as athletes and as a team on the basketball court."
Wojcik, 50, has apologized to those he offended or hurt emotionally.
Meanwhile, a source has told ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman that administrators have discussed the possibility of bringing back former coach Bobby Cremins on an interim basis for the 2014-15 season.
A 50-page report written by the school contained summaries of interviews with Wojcik, athletic director Joe Hull and 25 others -- including 10 anonymous players and five anonymous employees -- who are current and former players and assistant coaches and college staffers. The report found it likely that Wojcik used degrading and threatening language when talking with players and others at the school.
Wojcik said in the report he was shocked by the allegations and has not had players complain about his treatment.
The players' statement said that while the past few weeks were difficult, they feel they are closer as a team. The players said they would not comment individually about Wojcik.
McConnell also said Tuesday in his statement that the school would not discuss personnel matters.
Wojcik's attorney, Scott Tompsett, did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press. He had said in a statement that the school became so desperate to fire the coach, it had players sign sworn affidavits that he believes contain "materially false statements."
"They will come out at the appropriate time," he said.
Tompsett said he and Wojcik had reached out several times to the school to settle the matter amicably.
"That means a reasonable settlement of the amount owed under Coach Wojcik's contract in return for a full release of litigation claims against the college, its officers and employees. The college did not make a good faith attempt to reach an agreement with Coach Wojcik," the attorney said.
Wojcik has about $1.2 million left on the five-year contract he signed after the 2012 season when he replaced Cremins, who retired. He led the Cougars to a 24-11 season and the final of the Southern Conference tournament in his first season. The team slipped to 14-18 this past season after moving to the Colonial Athletic Association.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
