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Wazzu issues statement on ex-player’s ‘abuse’ accusations

Following up on the story that Marquess Wilson, who has left the Washington State football program, claimed in a statement that he and other players suffered “physical, emotional and mental abuse” at the hands of the Wazzu coaching staff, WSU athletic director Bill Moos has released a statement somewhat addressing the situation.

In the release, which the school was "[i]n response to numerous requests regarding Washington State University football,” Moos seemed to dismiss Wilson’s accusations as the university has “procedures in place... to monitor student-athlete welfare.”

While we’re quite certain this isn’t the last of this story, here’s the text of the statement, in its entirety:

“It is unfortunate that Marquess has chosen not to go through the weekend and have the subsequent visit with me as we had discussed last Tuesday. I was hopeful to provide additional guidance if he was willing to meet the standards that have been set by Mike Leach and his staff in their effort to establish a competitive football program at Washington State. Unfortunately, during times of coaching transitions, departures are not uncommon.

“We have procedures in place that were developed to monitor student-athlete welfare in all of our sports programs. We will continue to follow those procedures and modify them if needed.

“I believe I join many Cougars in wishing Marquess well in his future endeavors. WSU athletics plans no future statement at this time.”