Destiny Pitts’ open letter suggests things aren’t quite golden in Minnesota

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are sitting on an 11-6 record but that is likely to change very quickly. The Golden Gophers are just 1-5 in conference play, including five straight losses. Without leading scorer Destiny Pitts, the numbers in the “losses” column are bound to increase.

Pitts — who scored 21 points in Minnesota’s most recent win (81-74 over Penn State on Dec. 28) — announced her decision Thursday to transfer from Minnesota. In an open letter posted on Twitter, Pitts claims she was suspended for “body language,” and wrote that she felt “blindsided and shocked” by the suspension, indicating further that it was the first suspension of her collegiate career.

Pitts also indicated that some of her teammates found the suspension problematic and sat out a game in protest.

Courtesy of Destiny Pitts via Twitter

The team’s stance is that Pitts was suspended for “conduct unbecoming of a member of the team,” and Minnesota head coach Lindsay Whalen has not provided additional information.

Of Pitts’ decision to transfer, Whalen said via the Star Tribune:

We learned this afternoon that Destiny Pitts intends to enter the transfer portal. As I said yesterday, I will always respect the privacy of a student-athlete and will continue to do so. We wish Destiny the best moving forward.

A video circulating on the internet shows Pitts celebrating a made 3-pointer but it is not known whether this is the body language that Minnesota found “unbecoming.” It is certain, though, that the Golden Gophers have moved on quickly. At the time of publication, Pitts’ stats page was nowhere to be found.