A University of Maryland women’s basketball assistant coach has been suspended indefinitely after he was charged with sexual abuse against a player he was coaching at Xavier University in Cincinnati.
Bryce McKey was scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning in Kenton County (Ky.) District Court on a misdemeanor charge of sexual abuse in the third degree stemming from a May 2 incident, The Washington Post reported Thursday night.
Neither McKey nor his attorney appeared in court Friday morning, multiple Cincinnati media outlets reported. The appearance was rescheduled for Sept. 8.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported McKey must stay away from the alleged victim by 500 feet and may not contact her by any means. SB Nation reported Friday morning that another Xavier basketball player has accused McKey of sexual abuse.
McKey allegedly took the Xavier basketball player, whom he had recruited since grade school, to his home in the Cincinnati suburb of Covington, Ky. According to a June 30 complaint filed in Kenton County, McKey touched the alleged victim inappropriately several times. Later in the evening, as the alleged victim was about to leave McKey’s home, McKey asked for a hug, pulled her close to him “and she felt he was trying to kiss her at which time she pushed him away and left the residence,” according to the complaint reported by The Post. The alleged victim also claimed that McKey offered alcohol to her and offered through a mutual friend to pay her not to pursue charges.
The alleged incident occurred 10 days after Maryland announced McKey’s hire and before he relocated to College Park, Md. Another Xavier women’s basketball player who arrived at McKey’s house later that night also alleged sexual abuse by McKey but has not pressed charges, The Post reported Thursday night.
Joseph Feldhaus, general counsel for Xavier, told The Post the school is not investigating McKey for the alleged incidents. McKey had coached at Xavier for four years.
“What I have been informed about the matter, is that the alleged incidents occurred after Bryce McKey left Xavier’s employment,” Feldhaus told the newspaper. “So he’s not an employee of ours. No one has ever told us that any incident occurred while he was employed by us.”
The parents of the alleged victim authorized her attorney to contact The Post in hopes of preventing a similar situation from occurring again, the newspaper reported.
As of Friday morning, McKey has not commented publicly on the allegations.
