Spring Break
Women's Basketball Players Involved In Fight
Chris Licata
Issue date: 10/26/05 Section: News
Four UConn women's basketball players and a UConn football player were involved in a 12:06 a.m., Oct. 9 altercation at Hilltop Apartments' French Building. The altercation involved senior Barbara Turner, sophomores Brittany Hunter and Mel Thomas and freshman Renee Montgomery - the football player was junior Donald Thomas, according to a UConn Police incident report.
According to the incident report the basketball players were attending a party thrown by sophomore Harold Stanback, of the football team, when Turner and Sheena Crossen, 20, of Harrisburg, Pa. allegedly got into a fight. Crossen, who was identified by Turner, Hunter and Thomas in the incident report to be the girlfriend of sophomore, football player Danny Lansanah, allegedly kicked out the screen of a window in French 102 and proceeded to charge at Turner. The two began to fight and Lashawnda Holland, 20, of Capitol Heights, MD - girlfriend of junior football player Jahi Smith - struck her with a bottle leaving a large bump and drawing blood, according to the incident report.
The altercation began when Hunter and Crossen got into a verbal fight at the party. At that time both Hunter and her boyfriend Thomas, at the advice of friends, left the party. According to the incident report Hunter and Crossen have had verbal altercations in the past. Following Hunter's departure, Crossen continued to argue back and forth with Turner, who was outside at this point, prior to the fight.
At approximately 9 a.m. on the same day police arrived at Turner's room at her request to discuss a series of harassing phone calls made by Smith, according to the incident report. According to Turner, Smith accused her and her teammates of "jumping" his girlfriend and told her, "You're [going to have to] pay for your actions" and "There will be consequences." According to the incident report, when asked if she was being threatened Smith allegedly responded with, "Take it how you want to take it and tell the police what you want to."
Smith told police that he had made the initial comments not as a threat, but as advice for turner. However, according to the police report Turner did not comment on whether or not he told her to go to the police and say what she wanted to.
Last Friday at an open practice Turner apologized for the incident and head coach Geno Auriemma also commented. "When my players are involved in something like this it's very disappointing to me and very disappointing to them [...] and it's conduct unbecoming of what our program stands for."
The Division of Athletics had no further comment on the incident. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.
- Zac Boyer contributed to this article.
According to the incident report the basketball players were attending a party thrown by sophomore Harold Stanback, of the football team, when Turner and Sheena Crossen, 20, of Harrisburg, Pa. allegedly got into a fight. Crossen, who was identified by Turner, Hunter and Thomas in the incident report to be the girlfriend of sophomore, football player Danny Lansanah, allegedly kicked out the screen of a window in French 102 and proceeded to charge at Turner. The two began to fight and Lashawnda Holland, 20, of Capitol Heights, MD - girlfriend of junior football player Jahi Smith - struck her with a bottle leaving a large bump and drawing blood, according to the incident report.
The altercation began when Hunter and Crossen got into a verbal fight at the party. At that time both Hunter and her boyfriend Thomas, at the advice of friends, left the party. According to the incident report Hunter and Crossen have had verbal altercations in the past. Following Hunter's departure, Crossen continued to argue back and forth with Turner, who was outside at this point, prior to the fight.
At approximately 9 a.m. on the same day police arrived at Turner's room at her request to discuss a series of harassing phone calls made by Smith, according to the incident report. According to Turner, Smith accused her and her teammates of "jumping" his girlfriend and told her, "You're [going to have to] pay for your actions" and "There will be consequences." According to the incident report, when asked if she was being threatened Smith allegedly responded with, "Take it how you want to take it and tell the police what you want to."
Smith told police that he had made the initial comments not as a threat, but as advice for turner. However, according to the police report Turner did not comment on whether or not he told her to go to the police and say what she wanted to.
Last Friday at an open practice Turner apologized for the incident and head coach Geno Auriemma also commented. "When my players are involved in something like this it's very disappointing to me and very disappointing to them [...] and it's conduct unbecoming of what our program stands for."
The Division of Athletics had no further comment on the incident. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.
- Zac Boyer contributed to this article.