The captain of Florida International's women's basketball team, junior guard Destini Feagin, claims that head coach Marlin Chinn suspended her for four games for "violating team rules" after she used a teammate's food card. Feagin claims that the suspension's harsh length is a result of her not having sex with the coach, which we suppose you could make a team rule, but it's likely not enforceable.
Feagin claims that Chinn started moving in on her soon after he was hired by the school last year, and relayed a long list of accusations to the Miami Herald. These allegations include text messages, an illegally taped phone call, as well as face-to-face comments that went way the 'f' overboard. The Herald's article listed the following complaints as told to them by Feagin:
“I noticed he had a sexual attraction for me when he started saying perverted things to me,’’ she said. “Commenting on my looks, my body, frame, my breasts, my behind. The way I smile. He would go into detail what his sexual thoughts were.
“He didn’t come out and say what his intentions were at first, but he gave me hints,” she said. “He said little things that alerted me. Then, he came out and told me how he felt about me.”
As we said five seconds ago Feagin also claims that the coach sent her texts, which (if true) would be tougher to deny:
Feagin showed The Herald screen shots of text messages she said were from Chinn (each screen shot from Feagin’s iPhone had “Coach Chinn” in the contact spot at the top of the screen.).
A series of texts stamped July 15 read: “Hey Sista!!! I ain’t seen u in a while!! Got to put my Good Eye on u!!” with four eye emojis.
A text stamped Dec. 18 read: “I want you to have so much more to offer ANYONE that wants to be a part of u after they get pass how good ur face and body looks!!!"
Perhaps the worst allegation was that the coach gave her $600 to pay off a debt, and insinuated that she could pay him back by sleeping with him:
“He took me to the bank, gave me $600 in cash,” Feagin, 22, said. “I went to pay the debt on my account. The day after I received the money, he called me. I said ‘Coach, how could I ever repay you?’ I was thankful, showing gratitude, humbleness. I really appreciated that. He said, ‘You will pay me back. In other ways.’ He said that six times. It’s vivid in my head.”
Feagin said a few weeks later, the week of Jan. 18 as the team prepared for home games against Texas-San Antonio and Texas-El Paso, Chinn asked about her personal life. Feagin said when she casually complained about men, he replied with, “Oh, yeah, if I had it my way, you’d be my girl. If I was in school, you’d be my girl.”
After practice, Feagin said, she went back to Chinn’s office to clarify what he meant and he said, “I have sexual fantasies about you.”
She said during road trips she began receiving wee hours phone calls asking her to come to Chinn’s room; claimed he once grabbed her posterior in a hug the morning of the Feb. 6 home game against Middle Tennessee State; and once in front of assistant coaches, as she got on a bus, heard him say, “Oh, when you going to let me get some of that candy?”
“I had no candy in my hand whatsoever,” Feagin said. “At that point, I knew, these coaches know. They have to know. Maybe they’ll say something to help stop the situation. I felt powerless. I felt like I couldn’t tell anybody because he would use basketball against me. And he knew how much I wanted to play.”
She also taped a phone conversation she had with the coach to talk about her using her teammate's card, and played the recording for the Herald:
On the recording, which Feagin shared with The Herald, Chinn is heard saying of himself, “Married. Kid on the way. Attracted to a woman I have, No. 1, no business being with because I’m coaching her. I’m putting everything on the line because of how I feel about you.”
During the same conversation, Chinn tells Feagin, “When you decide that we lay down together, I want you to want it more than I do. And I’m not going to force you to do that. But that’s how I’ve always been. I’m not going to push you.”
The school is currently conducting an investigation, and coach Chinn will be suspended until it concludes. Meanwhile he's probably on shaky ground anyway as the team is 4-23 and sitting in dead last in Conference USA.
[via Miami Herald, AP/ESPN]
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com
