Marta and Marija Galic, twin sisters from Zagreb, Croatia, arrived at the University of San Francisco in 2018 with full scholarships and hopes of playing college basketball together. Both had represented Croatia at the U20 level and were recruited enthusiastically by USF coach Molly Goodenbour. What followed, the sisters say, was an increasingly hostile and humiliating environment that damaged their mental health and upended their athletic careers.
Marta described practices as feeling like “entering a war zone.” One early incident, she says, illustrates the intensity of the pressure: during a demanding layup drill in her freshman year she repeatedly asked to leave the court to use the restroom, was refused, and lost control of her bladder. She said she was not permitted to clean up. After that episode she learned to take small measures before practice — splash cold water on her face, strike a confident pose in the mirror, empty her bladder — in an attempt to brace herself for the day.
Both sisters say the coach subjected them to frequent verbal attacks and public humiliation. According to testimony and recordings introduced later, Marta was called “lazy,” “worthless,” and other epithets; teammates also described daily insults and, in one deposition, racially insensitive remarks by an associate coach. Goodenbour has said her comments were performance-focused and denied name-calling, and she said she regretted the restroom incident.
The twins secretly recorded end-of-season performance meetings in which they say Goodenbour threatened to revoke scholarships and questioned their place on the team. Unaware at the time that the NCAA forbids revoking scholarships for poor performance or injury, they felt trapped by the coach’s authority. Their lawyer emphasized that the power imbalance between coach and athlete — control over scholarships, roster status, and future opportunities — can make behavior especially damaging when it comes from someone in charge.
The sisters filed a lawsuit in 2021 alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence by Goodenbour and USF. They described a decline in mental health: Marija experienced panic attacks, nightmares, depression and two significant mental-health crises; Marta developed repeated bathroom trips and other stress responses. A psychiatrist testified that both sisters had measurable physiological and psychological reactions to trauma and that their psychiatric illnesses were linked to the coach’s conduct.
Accountability for emotional abuse in college sports proved complicated. Student-athletes may report misconduct to assistant coaches, athletic department officials, campus counseling or Title IX offices, national governing bodies, the NCAA, or SafeSport — the last created to respond to sex-abuse scandals in sport. But no single authority has clear jurisdiction, procedures, and resources specifically for investigating emotional maltreatment. The NCAA has no dedicated emotional-abuse policy and places primary responsibility on individual schools; SafeSport tends to route emotional-misconduct claims to governing bodies rather than directly investigating them. Critics say universities investigating their own employees face conflicts of interest and that independent external investigators are best practice.
USF investigated Marija’s complaints in 2019 but, after interviewing only Marija, Goodenbour and an associate coach, concluded there was no policy violation. The twins and their supporters argue that cursory internal probes can miss power dynamics and patterns of behavior — especially when universities rely on existing staff without independent oversight.
A jury trial in July 2023 found that Goodenbour had acted with intent or reckless disregard and that her conduct was outrageous. The jury determined that Marija had suffered severe emotional distress and awarded her $250,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages, also finding Goodenbour and USF grossly negligent toward her. A judge later struck the punitive award, an appellate panel restored it, and the panel also ordered a retrial in Marta’s case after some evidence had been excluded. Marta ultimately settled with USF and Goodenbour. Despite the litigation, USF renewed Goodenbour’s contract through 2028 and continued to support its coaching staff while disputing parts of the allegations.
The case also highlighted a pattern: Goodenbour had faced prior complaints at other programs, with some investigations or personnel actions noting “insensitive and abusive remarks,” though earlier probes often resulted in limited discipline or findings of no violation. According to reports, hiring committees did not always probe thoroughly about past allegations when recruiting coaches for high-stakes positions.
The twins’ outcomes diverged. Marija left the team after repeated counseling visits and did not return to basketball; she graduated in 2022 with an architecture degree and later earned an MFA in interior design, saying she can no longer pick up a basketball. Marta completed her finance degree summa cum laude in three years, transferred her final year of eligibility to Tulane, and found a rehabilitative experience under longtime coach Lisa Stockton. At Tulane she became a team leader and captain, starting every game in one season and leading the team in three-pointers. Marta said the difference in treatment between the two programs was “night and day.” Both sisters have tried to share their story to let others know they are not alone and to press for change.
Observers, coaches, and legal experts say the case exposes a structural gap in collegiate athletics: without a centralized, well-resourced authority to investigate emotional abuse, responses are inconsistent and accountability can be elusive. Coaches can move between programs despite past complaints, and universities under pressure to win may fail to thoroughly vet candidates or challenge existing staff. Advocates call for clearer policies, independent investigations, and better reporting pathways so athletes can seek redress without fear of retaliation.
The reporting was supported by investigative journalism organizations and a mental health collaborative. Reporters also invited others with experiences of emotional abuse in college athletics to come forward, underscoring that the issue extends beyond a single program and that many student-athletes may still be searching for protection and remedies.