Evansville’s McCarty on leave amid Title IX probe
Evansville coach Walter McCarty has been placed on administrative leave pending a Title IX investigation, the school announced Friday.
The school also sent out an internal campus memo detailing the timeline of possible Title IX violations.
“The University has received reports of unwelcome conduct by Coach McCarty since his arrival in March 2018,” school president Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz said in the memo. “We have counseled him about his behavior. In the last two weeks, the University received a troubling report about Coach McCarty’s interactions with a member of the campus community. We have placed Coach McCarty on leave while that incident is being investigated. The University will make a fair and informed decision on Coach McCarty’s status based on the results of the investigation.”
Evansville has hired a national law firm to conduct an independent investigation. Assistant coach Bennie Seltzer will serve as interim head coach during McCarty’s absence.
McCarty was hired by the Purple Aces in 2018 after spending six seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA for the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. He also spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Louisville under Rick Pitino.
McCarty won a national championship as a member of Pitino’s 1996 Kentucky team before being drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks. McCarty played for four different franchises during his 10-year NBA career.
Earlier this season, McCarty led Evansville to a victory at Kentucky, one of the biggest upsets in recent college basketball history.