Angie Nicholson and Rick Nicholson were both fired from their respective roles as college softball coaches at UMBC. The husband-wife duo was let go over allegations of inappropriate behavior.
It sounds like this was not a one-off incident.
Multiple college softball athletes who played for the Nicholsons spoke out against their former coaches. They exposed an underlying trend of poor treatment.
Angie Nicholson and her husband were fired as college softball coaches at UMBC.
The news broke of the Nicholsons’ ouster on Monday. They were fired on Sunday night after just 18 games in their respective roles at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country. Angie served as the head coach. Her husband, Rick, was an assistant.
According to a report from Edward Lee of The Baltimore Sun, the Nicholsons were dismissed due to allegations of inappropriate conduct. Rick allegedly brushed the chest of two different players in an attempt to swat away insects on two separate occasions.
“When the second player objected to the contact, Rick Nicholson scolded the player, according to one parent. He walked into the dugout and threatened to cut the player, which was overheard and reported by an observer.”
The remainder of the season is now in jeopardy. UMBC canceled its last six games prior to the news. It has already canceled its next three games that were scheduled for this weekend in response to the ongoing uncertainty with the coaching staff.
There is only one remaining assistant remaining who could take over as the interim head coach an she is in her first season with the program. Players are conflicted on how to proceed. As is the university.
Inappropriate behavior seems to be a recurring issue.
Rick and Angie Nicholson coached at Georgia State prior to UMBC. It sounds like their reputation precedes them.
Maren Angus-Coombs of Softball on SI spoke with multiple athletes who played under the married couple in Atlanta. They were not surprised by what transpired in Maryland over the last few months.
Mallory Fletcher said the Nicholsons made her feel suicidal even though she was not. They constantly tore her down to make her feel like she was not the star player she later became at a different program.
“[Angie and Rick] told me I was worthless,” Fletcher revealed to Softball On SI. “They told me no one ever wanted me. I have strong parents, and they were telling me one thing, and then I had these coaches that I had to see every day, and they were telling me these things.”
Rick Nicholson made comments about her body throughout the entire season.
“I wasn’t provocative enough,” Fletcher said. “I wasn’t showing enough skin. He made a statement once that I’m too scared to show my belly.”
The comments made her so uncomfortable that she would order clothes that were a size too big so “they weren’t tight on her butt.” She was always uncomfortable around him because of his remarks.
Mallory’s mother, April, hopes the Nicholsons will never receive another opportunity to coach.
She and her daughter both remembered a time when Rick and Angie Nicholson refused to feed the players after a bad loss, which is in direct violation of NCAA legislation. Mallory had to pay for her teammates to eat with her own personal credit card.
Sophie Mooney, another former athlete who played for the Nicholsons at Georgia State, shared a similar story to Softball on SI. The postgame meals were not up to standard.
“They took us to Arby’s after games because they never planned our meals, and after the second time of eating Arby’s in one weekend, the majority of the team asked if we could get food at the Love’s gas station instead, which afterward we were lectured on how ungrateful we were for not wanting Arby’s.”
Mooney entered the transfer portal after the season and cut ties to both Angie and Rick. Her decision to leave also stemmed from how she was treated. The Nicholsons allegedly forced her to play through an injury and frequently diminished her value as a player in public settings.
Needless to say, Rick and Angie Nicholson are not well-liked by many of their former athletes. This sudden ouster at UMBC does not come as a surprise.