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Former Georgia Tech player accuses MaChelle Joseph of sexual harassment

By Blake DuDonis

COLLEGE PARK, MD - JANUARY 06: Head coach MaChelle Joseph of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets watches the game against the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on January 6, 2011 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - JANUARY 06: Head coach MaChelle Joseph of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets watches the game against the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on January 6, 2011 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /
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The waters of an already murky story grow even darker with this latest development.

Niesha Butler, a former Georgia Tech women’s basketball player from 1998-2001, has accused her former coach, MaChelle Joseph, of a variety of abuses, including sexual harassment.

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In a statement given to CBS46 in Georgia, Butler claims that while on a road trip, Joseph, then an assistant coach, asked her to come to her hotel room. According to Joseph, this type of thing was a common occurrence as coaches would sometimes have private conversations with players about their performance. What happened next, said Butler, was not common.

“While I was in MaChelle Joseph’s room, I was made to feel extremely uncomfortable when she approached me and encroached upon my personal space. I remember being shocked and confused as I was standing up and she moved closer to me,” Joseph wrote in her statement. “She touched me in a very inappropriate way on my outer thigh and my butt.”

Joseph, through her attorney, denied the allegations. “My client, MaChelle Joseph categorically denies that anything like this ever happened. She stands by her statements in the response to the ”Confidential Investigation Report.”

Butler goes on to say that after she rebuffed Joseph’s advances, the coach told her she would never play at Georgia Tech again. Butler then retreated to her room and says she cried herself to sleep.

Following the 2001-02 season, Butler, the former ACC Rookie of the Year, left the school. She did get her degree from the school and moved on to play professionally for several years before transitioning into a broadcast and acting career.

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