‘Made her life hell’: LSU athletes allege bullying, racism by swimming and diving coaches

by Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
September 2, 2025

LSU swimming and diving team members allege their coaches have engaged in bullying, racist comments and “toxic” behavior, according to the athletes’ exit interviews. 

Student-athlete exit interviews the Louisiana Illuminator and Tiger Rag obtained in a public records request to LSU show multiple complaints from swimming and diving athletes over three years. They center on head coach Rick Bishop and former associate head coach Leah Stancil, whose contract was not renewed when it expired earlier this year. 

When asked whether Stancil’s non-renewal was related to the complaints, LSU athletics spokesman Zach Greenwell said the university does not comment on specific personnel matters. Bishop and Stancil did not respond to requests for comment. The swimming and diving team has one set of coaches for both men and women athletes. 

In their interviews, the athletes allege the swimming and diving program was rife with bullying and motivation through fear. One athlete said the program broke them “physically and mentally,” while another said the coaches didn’t respect injuries. 

One student complained that Stancil “made her life hell,” the administrator who conducted the interview wrote, causing her to have a mental health crisis, and that the assistant coach ruined the sport for her. Multiple athletes said in their interviews that Stancil made fun of a Chinese student’s name, commented on athletes’ appearances and showed favoritism toward men on the team. 

Other students reported that after a woman on the team complained about inappropriate behavior by male teammates, Bishop excused the men’s behavior in comments to the entire team, saying “boys are stupid and can make stupid decisions” while making direct eye contact with the woman who made the report. The interview records do not detail the nature of the inappropriate behavior. 

One student complained that Bishop intimidated her when she attempted to raise concerns about Stancil’s behavior, alleging the head coach would not let her read a letter detailing Stancil’s actions without Stancil present. 

“[It was] like asking you to report a bully while the bully is in the room with you,” the athlete wrote, adding she believed Bishop protected Stancil instead of her. 

One student said they believed LSU’s athletic department administration was aware of the coaches’ behavior. 

In a letter notifying Stancil her contract would not be renewed, LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward thanked the coach for her contributions to the university. 

“We appreciate your dedication and wish you the best in future endeavors,” Woodward said in the letter, which the Illuminator and Tiger Rag obtained through a public records request. 

The Illuminator and Tiger Rag asked the university for copies of its student-athlete exit interviews from 2021-25. The NCAA requires all Division I schools to conduct interviews with a sampling of athletes every year once they graduate or after their eligibility expires, but the interviews do not have to be recorded. The process is intended to give athletes an opportunity to share feedback about their school’s sports programs. 

The swimming and diving teams, by far, had the most interviews recorded, with 35 students giving feedback over four years based on the records provided. Although 10 athletes criticized Stancil and Bishop, almost everyone interviewed had some positive comment about their athletics experience, including one person who praised Bishop’s coaching. 

After swimming and diving, the team with the most interviews recorded was the gymnastics team, with six interviews in two years. 

Six of LSU’s 16 athletics teams did not record a single interview over the five-year period. Those that did recorded very few interviews, sometimes going multiple years without any student feedback reported.

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