A Maryland assistant women's basketball coach resigned Friday, the university said, following his suspension after a player he coached at Xavier accused him of groping her.
The school released a statement from coach Brenda Frese about Bryce McKey, hours after his arraignment in Kentucky.
"It is best that Bryce tend to his personal matters and step away from coaching at this time," Frese said. She had announced his hiring for her staff in April, after he served four years as an assistant coach at Xavier in Cincinnati.
Earlier Friday, a Kenton County, Ky., prosecutor said McKey's attorney entered a not guilty plea for him on a charge of third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8.
According to a sworn affidavit, the Xavier player, who remains on the Musketeers, said McKey asked her to come to his home in Covington, Ky., in May. She said during the evening, he repeatedly touched her inappropriately.
She "states her relationship with McKey has strictly been a coach/player relationship and she wanted no romantic involvement and his actions were not welcomed," according to the affidavit. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who may have been sexually abused.
GYMNASTICS
Mikulak closes in on three-peat
Sam Mikulak raced to the early lead at the U.S. men's gymnastics championships, posting a score of 92.000 to close in on a third consecutive national title.
The 22-year-old Mikulak began the night with a smooth 15.1 on pommel horse and took off from there. His 16.250 on parallel bars marked the highest score in championship history under the new scoring system.
