Former MTSU volleyball coach accused of emotionally abusing players

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WSMV) - The former women’s volleyball coach at Middle Tennessee State University is accused of emotionally abusing his players, according to the university’s investigative memo WSMV4 Investigates obtained. The memo was based on interviews from the 2024 team. WSMV4 Investigator Courtney Allen talked to two players on that roster anonymously about their experiences.

“I have not been the same player I was since high school,” one player said.

The volleyball players WSMV4 Investigates spoke with said they felt on edge their entire collegiate careers.

“Comments that he made are things that you can’t really come back from,” a second player said.

They are referring to their former coach at MTSU, Chuck Crawford. Crawford resigned in February after the university investigated a complaint against him.

The university found Crawford ‘created an environment of fear and intimidation through threats to cut players, misuse of privately shared information, the severe and pervasive use of degrading language, and other objectively offensive behaviors indicative of emotional abuse.”

“It was 100 percent a place where you just got there to survive,” one of the players said. “You did anything to continue to keep your scholarship.”

MTSU investigated similar allegations against Crawford in 2019. The players said they wish they knew about those allegations when they were recruited.

Crawford said in an email Monday afternoon, “I held high standards of excellence in the classroom, on the court, and in the community. I have never shied away from my failures and have always been completely honest. While I am not perfect, I have always conducted myself with integrity.” Crawford’s full statement can be found later in this article.

While the university has hired a new head coach, the players we talked to still felt it was important to address the team’s past.

“We all spoke up in this report to ensure no other girl had to go through this experience we had to go through. I just don’t think the community knows enough about what happened.”

We have learned that Crawford now works at a volleyball club in the area. That club told WSMV4 Investigates that it had no comment on MTSU’s findings.

The investigative memo can be found below:

Here is Crawford’s full statement:

“I have dedicated my life to education and to helping young people grow and develop. My resignation from MTSU allows me to focus on my family. I am confident in who I am and what I have accomplished throughout my career and my time at MTSU. Unfortunately, some players and families have consciously chosen to hurt me and my family, seemingly forgetting all the times I was there for them, both in the past and more recently.

I have saved a choking player’s life, driven five hours round trip in a snowstorm to pick up a player involved in a car accident, and comforted a player whose mother asked me to inform her daughter that her boyfriend’s mother was dying of cancer. I have held players who were devastated by injuries, like the one who buried her face in my chest after tearing her ACL for the second time, and I have looked into the eyes of a player learning that her athletic dreams were over due to injuries.

I have remained loyal to full scholarship players who struggled to make the starting lineup, choosing not to cut them. I have shown understanding to players who faced challenges with alcohol and to those who earned a GPA of 1.5 while their teammates maintained GPAs ranging from 3.3 to 4.0. I put everything on hold for a player who arrived to MTSU battling serious mental health issues, and today she is a stronger, healthier young woman than when she arrived. I honored my commitment by redistributing scholarship funds to ease the financial burden of college for both starters and non-starters.

I held high standards of excellence in the classroom, on the court, and in the community. I have never shied away from my failures and have always been completely honest. While I am not perfect, I have always conducted myself with integrity. One of the greatest compliments I received during my time at MTSU came from a senior parent in 2023, who said, “We gave you a little girl, and you gave us back a woman.”

Despite my efforts to communicate my experiences and the mountains of evidence in emails and audio recordings proving that several players and their parents have embellished, twisted my words, or outright lied, it often seems futile. People will pass judgment even though they have not been part of the program or know me personally. In today’s world, all that matters to people are the accusations, not the truth.

I inherited a team with a 5-20 record and a GPA of 2.5, and I developed strong, confident young women who defeated top-25 opponents and maintained a team GPA of 3.6 or higher for eight years, achieving a record of 21-10. I played a role in helping young girls realize their dreams of becoming doctors, pilot, teachers, nurses, and professional athletes.

Regardless of what a few players and their parents may say, I am proud of the impact I made during my time at MTSU. They are the ones who must look at themselves in the mirror for the rest of their lives and own their lies and deceit, knowing that they willing hurt me just because they could. I’ll take comfort in knowing I positively influenced so many young women."

Statement from Director of Athletics Chris Massaro:

“We have made a change with our head coach, and the culture of our volleyball program was a big part of our interview process for hiring a new head coach. Alexa Keckler will start on Monday, March 17, and our full expectation is that she and her yet-to-be-hired staff will fully abide by policy 90. We are excited to bring her on campus, and I am confident she will develop a great culture.”