Hamline basketball coach, 14 players suspended

Hamline University has suspended men’s basketball coach Nelson Whitmore after a player was accused of punching a woman on New Year’s Eve in the hotel where the team was staying in Spokane, Wash.

One of his players, 18-year-old Eugene Lawrence III, appeared in Spokane County Superior Court Wednesday facing a second-degree assault charge.

Steve Bray, of Portland, Ore., said his 20-year-old daughter said she was punched in the face after she got in an argument with Lawrence at the team’s hotel. She was there visiting another Hamline player she knew from high school.

KXLY in Spokane reported that Lawrence and other members of the team allegedly refused to escort her to the hospital because it was past curfew.

She was released from the hospital following surgery for a broken jaw, and Lawrence was released from custody after posting a $5,000 bond.

The university said the school forfeited Saturday’s game at Gustavus Adolphus.

The StarTribune reported that 14 players have been suspended for “various unspecified lengths.”

Whitmore is in his sixth season as the Pipers’ head coach. The Associated Press left messages after-hours at his office, and they were not immediately returned Friday.