South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley has filed a defamation lawsuit against Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk for accusations he made about her after a game last month.
Sterk accused Staley of promoting a hostile and negative atmosphere and said Missouri players were spit on and had racial epithets hurled at them by South Carolina fans after the Gamecocks' 64-54 victory on Jan. 28.
In the suit, filed Thursday in Richland County, South Carolina, Staley cites Sterk's "false, defamatory and reckless" statements. Staley is seeking damages not to exceed $75,000.
Sterk made his comments Jan.