Former assistant blames Portland for job woes

Unable to get a collegiate coaching job, a former Penn State women's basketball graduate assistant said she fears she may have been blacklisted by Lady Lion coach Rene Portland.

Sherry Price, who worked with the team from 1994-97, said she has applied to more than 60 schools ranging from the Div. I to Div. III level and hasn't even been given an interview. In addition, Price and her husband, Darren Hamilton, made various accusations against Portland concerning events surrounding Price's time with the team.

"I'm confused because I've applied to several positions and now I can't even get an interview," Price said. "I did everything I was supposed to above and beyond the call of duty. I'm frustrated as to why I'm not coaching. I thought she'd help me a little bit. I feel like I was lured into false hopes. I don't know who to turn to if I want to get back into the coaching position."

Price said part of the reason she has been unable to land a job has been the result of not being given a letter of recommendation by Portland, which she said the coach promised her.

- Sherry Price, former Penn State women's basketball graduate assistant, on Lady Lion coach Rene Portland

"You never agree to that," Portland said. "You do your job, then I'll give you a letter of recommendation. Sherry asked for a blank letter of recommendation before she left and didn't even ask me. She went to my secretary to get it. You don't do that professionally -- give somebody, 'To whom this may concern, this person is wonderful.' "

As a coach, Price said she was never given a chance to properly develop. She said Portland used her as a "robot" and never gave her credit for anything she did, but praised assistant coaches Annie Troyan and Susan Robinson Fruchtl instead.

Portland disagreed, saying Price was given the same chance as any other graduate assistant who ever worked under her. She said Price was given time out of the office to work on her master's degree, something she said most coaches don't allow their graduate assistants to do.

The problem with Price, Portland said, was that she was not developing as a coach. The Lion coach said current graduate assistant Tina Nicholson is doing the same tasks in her first year on the job that Price was doing in her third.

"Everyone has been given equal opportunity whether they've used it or not," Portland said. "But Sherry did not progress like everyone else did so, guess what? We've got to move on."

- Lady Lion coach Rene Portland

"You network there," Portland said, "so you represent yourself there. If only three people call me, that's not my fault."

Overall, Portland said Price isn't competent enough to coach at the Div. I level. A lack of attention to detail and an unwillingness to devote enough time to basketball leave Price incapable of being a good coach, Portland said.

Another reason Price thinks she has not been helped by Portland is because of personality conflicts the two had during Price's last year with the team. According to Price, Portland did not approve of Hamilton and held that against her.

Things got so bad, Price said, she thought about quitting during the season last year.

"It was hard to function," she said. "It was basketball or the person you love -- that should never be a decision you have to make."

Portland admitted to speaking to Price about her fiancé but added that it dealt with his possibly having a dangerous impact on the team. According to Portland, her problems with Hamilton stemmed from a personal situation that she did not feel at liberty to discuss. However, she said it was a situation that both concerned and scared her.

Hamilton said he can't understand why Portland said she feared him.

"Here's a person that's never been in trouble with the law. I've never had any kind of criminal offense against me," Hamilton said. "My record is impeccable, yet I'm now a violent, dangerous person?"

The personality conflict, Price said, only added to the lack of respect she received during her three years at Penn State. The former graduate assistant said she was not treated like the other coaches and was frequently made fun of in front of the players. Because she said she was not given any respect, Price said she felt like she was ostracized.

Former players Courtney Wicks and Julie Jarosz both acknowledged that Price was teased and laughed at by the other coaches and by the players.

"She was totally made fun of in front of people," Jarosz said. "Even if Sherry rolled her pants up high, they made fun of that. It wasn't just a one-day thing, it was every day."

Portland said she gave Price the same respect and treatment as the other coaches on her staff. She added that everyone on the team gets made fun of at one point or another for comedic reasons, but never to be malicious or disrespectful.

Jarosz agreed with Portland, acknowledging that assistants often teased each other in a lighthearted manner, but said that in Price's case, the teasing hurt.

"That's the way it was, but it hurt Sherry's feelings," Jarosz said. "If something hurts somebody's feelings, you stop doing it."

There was a time last year, though, Portland said, when players voiced their concern about Price.

"There was a team meeting that Sherry sat down with the Athletic Director (Tim Curley), myself and several disgruntled players," Portland explained. "At the time Sherry said, 'People don't respect me because you don't respect me Rene,' and Courtney (Wicks) said, 'How can we respect you when you don't respect yourself?' "

Wicks said she did participate in showing disrespect toward Price, but added she regrets doing so and has apologized.

Although Price did not enjoy her time at Penn State, several former Lion players and coaches have said they would not be where they are today without Portland's help and support. Former assistant Dan Durkin, who now is the head women's basketball coach at Duquesne, and former Lion Dana Eikenberg, now an assistant women's basketball coach at Iowa, both said Portland did everything she could to help them land their positions.

"If you work hard for Rene, she's going to do anything for you and that's the bottom line," Eikenberg said. "I'm in my position today because of her help and guidance. You can't expect things to be done for you."

Price said, despite everything, herself and Hamilton still respect Portland as a coach but said they want an explanation both as to why Price has been unable to land a coaching position and why she was treated the way she was while at Penn State.

"We're not out to sabotage the program," Price said. "We're only limiting what we say to what is factual. I just want to be honest."