By all indications, Tulane strength and conditioning coach Stephanie Sharpe was a well liked person on the New Orleans campus. She would run with head football coach Curtis Johnson after practice, and was a prominent figure in the athletic buildings helping players of all sports out whenever she could.
But word surfaced a few days ago that administration at Tulane had made the decision to dismiss Sharpe from her strength and conditioning position following an incident with a player on the bowling team (yes, apparently the bowling team needs the expertise of the strength staff).
According to the Times-Picayune, Sharpe disciplined the bowler by having them run after being an hour late to practice. Apparently, some people view that from of punishment as too harsh, which led to a parent complaint, and ultimately Sharpe's dismissal.
The university has refused to comment further on it, citing that it's a personnel matter that is being dealt with internally.
As ridiculous as this sounds, there's a lesson to be learned in here and that is anyone that has their hands in how players are being disciplined should take the time to get on the same page with the athletic director, the athletic administration, and the head strength coach as to what is acceptable, and not acceptable. The parameter will be different from university to university, but this type of situation can be avoided if everyone is on the same page.
A number of former players took to Twitter to voice their concern with the hashtag #BringStephBack, which was trending for a majority of the day in New Orleans on Wednesday.
