By Canadian Press

St. F.X. women’s basketball coach suspended after player injured during practice

Feb 1, 2019 | 10:00 AM

ANTIGONISH, N.S. — The head coach of the St. Francis Xavier University women’s basketball team remains suspended as the school’s athletics department investigates an alleged disciplinary incident that injured a player last week.

Lee Anna Osei will miss a second straight weekend of games as her team hosts Memorial University on Saturday and Sunday in Antigonish, N.S.

In an interview Friday, Leo MacPherson, St. F.X.’s director of athletics, said the player suffered injuries after an incident during a practice on Jan 22.

He said the injuries were consistent with what would happen from coming into contact with a hardwood floor.

“There was a bit of swelling and redness, almost similar to what a floor burn, court burn would do,” said MacPherson.

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He said he believes the player was taken to hospital by a teammate the next day as a precautionary measure.

The details of exactly what happened haven’t been released during what MacPherson described as an internal personnel matter.

He said he has spoken to Osei, the player and the team, as part of the investigation which could be concluded “within a few days.”

“It’s been escalated to the senior executive level and I got human resources involved and that’s typically what we are asked to do if there is ever a situation like this.”

MacPherson said the player has since returned to the team and is expected to play against Memorial.

The school’s first area of concern, he said, is for its student athletes, adding that it wants to ensure activities are conducted as safely as possible.

“We treasure the student athlete experience here at St. F.X. and the last thing we want to do is have an environment where a student athlete gets injured in practice,” said MacPherson. “So part of the investigation is learning how did this happen and how can we ensure that the care of our student athletes is our number one priority?”

Osei remains on campus and is not running practices, MacPherson said.

She is in her first year as a head coach at St. F.X., after having coached previously at RISE Centre Academy in Brantford, Ont., where she won the 2018 Prep School Coach of the Year award.

The graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University is a former varsity athlete.

The Canadian Press