High Post Hoops
Fansided

[UPDATED] Georgia Tech head coach MaChelle Joseph placed on leave

By Blake DuDonis

CORAL GABLES, FL - JANUARY 17: Head coach MaChelle Joseph of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets questions the game official after a foul call in favor of the Miami Hurricanes on January 17, 2013 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
CORAL GABLES, FL - JANUARY 17: Head coach MaChelle Joseph of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets questions the game official after a foul call in favor of the Miami Hurricanes on January 17, 2013 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Yellow Jackets will be without their head coach for the foreseeable future. 

Georgia Tech announced on Wednesday that women’s basketball head coach MaChelle Joseph has been placed on administrative leave, effective immediately.

Assistant coach Mark Simmons will take over head coaching duties in the interim as the team prepares to play at Miami (FL) on Thursday.

“Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball Head Coach MaChelle Joseph has been placed on administrative leave by the school. Assistant coach Mark Simons has been tabbed as the acting head coach. Georgia Tech will not comment on personnel matters,” the school said in a press release.

A legal representative for Joseph released this statement to High Post Hoops via email Thursday:

“Head Women’s Basketball Coach MaChelle Joseph was suspended yesterday without explanation from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Given that the school has failed to provide any explanation to Coach Joseph, her agent, or her lawyers, despite repeated requests, we are left to conclude that this is the latest, and most serious, action in a string of ongoing retaliation that she has suffered for raising concerns about gender equity issues in the Athletic Department. Coach Joseph, who has served at Georgia Tech for over 15 years, and is the winningest coach in the history of Georgia Tech Women’s Basketball, can conceive of no action by her that would warrant such a drastic and punitive measure. Coach Joseph intends to take whatever steps are necessary to defend her reputation and return to coaching her team, which is currently poised to earn a much coveted berth in the NCAA tournament.”

More from High Post Hoops

Joseph is in her 16th season as the head coach at Georgia Tech and has seen varying levels of success. The peak came in 2012 when the team finished 26-9 and made a run to the Sweet Sixteen. Since then, however, the Yellow Jackets have made the NCAA tournament just once and have never finished higher than 7th in the conference.

Overall, Joseph is 311-201. This season, the team is currently 17-10 and 7-7 in the ACC.

Though unsure how long Joseph will be on leave, the team will be lead by a veteran assistant in Simmons. In a career that has spanned over 35 years, Simmons is in his second stint at Georgia Tech after serving as an assistant there from 2006-08. He returned after coaching at Michigan State from 2012-17.

The team will wrap up their regular season at Miami (FL) before taking on Florida State at home. The ACC tournament will be in Greensboro, NC and begins on March 6.

Love our 24/7 women’s basketball coverage? Join our Patreon now and support this work, while getting extra goodies and subscriber-only content for yourself.

Home/ACC