Ex-Iowa State star suing school, coach Billy Fennelly

It was reported today by the AP, former Iowa State player Nikki Moody is suing her former head coach, Billy Fennelly. Moody continues to state Fennelly called her a "thug" and even though she is the program's all-time assist leader, labeled her as a selfish player.

Based on the lawsuit filed in the state district court, Fennelly has a track record of negatively talking to Moody by berating her, harassed her and discriminated against her while playing for Cyclones.

John McCarroll, the spokesman for the University, stated, "Iowa State University has not seen the lawsuit and has no comment."

Moody graduated from Iowa state in 2015 where she was a four-year starter. She is claiming the abuse caused emotional distress which she brought to the attention of her assistant coaches and senior athletics administration, however, she did not receive a response from any of those parties.

Race is being addressed with complaints from Moody that Fennelly treated African American players differently than he treated his white players. She stated besides herself, her classmates -- who also happen to be African American -- were called "bad influences" by Fennelly and the freshman class should stay away from them.

Moody alleges Chassidy Cole, another black player on the team who was not a freshman, was not only called a thug as well by Fennelly, but he went further to say she (Cole) "will end up in prison, just like her mother." Cole told the Associated Press "didn't want to be involved," and declined to give comment on the situation.

Fennelly has been the head coach at Iowa State since 1995 and currently signed through 2019 following a 12-year contract negotiation back in 2007. In his career with the Cyclones, he has an overall record of 447-223.

In the 2014-15 season, Moody led the Cyclones with 14.5 points and 6.8 assists per game. The San Antonio Stars drafted her as the 33^rd overall pick (WNBA Draft 2015), however later was cut.