Weird!

Recruiting Horror Story: Violation of Privacy

By Brendan O'Shea|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on February 28, 2023)

*Names have been changed to preserve anonymity

Sophia was a rising senior basketball player, looking forward to the recruiting process as well as the perfect college that would fit her both academically and athletically. One of her stops on this pursuit was the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. On her visit, Sophia was expecting a low profile night with hopes of getting a better sense of the campus and school, as well as seeing if she fit well with the other members of the basketball team.

What came next was a shocking whirlwind which she could have never expected.

Arriving on campus after a long flight from Los Angeles, she met and touched base with the coach and then was quickly placed with her host, Megan, for the night. Megan, a junior on the basketball team, said that the team was going to go out that night and show her around the campus and city. Excited to get a feel for the nightlife of the school, she hopped in the shower to get ready for an exciting night.

However, the visit quickly took a horrible turn. She got out of the shower to find Megan and her suitemates already drinking and near drunk–at that point, she knew it was going to be an eventful night.

But she still had no idea how outlandish it would soon become.

After more drinking, Megan and her teammates, all of whom were considerably intoxicated, took Sophia out to a Mexican restaurant. Uncomfortably sitting in the restaurant with loud and drunk people that she only just met just an hour ago, Sophia sat and watched as they ate copious amounts of guacamole, seriously second-guessing her trip at that point.

From there, they all squeezed into a taxi, traveling across town to a house party that was going on. The house where the party was at was both tiny and overcrowded and to make matters worse, it was too cold to stand outside. So Sophia had two choices: either freeze or fight her way inside and be surrounded by obnoxious drunk people, none of whom Sophia knew. It was then when Megan suggested that they go to the bathroom, thinking it would be a break from the chaos of the party Sophia gladly accepted the invitation.

Once they were able to fight their way to the bathroom, Sophia realized that it was not just her and Megan, but an additional five other basketball players were also cramming into the bathroom. What happened once in the bathroom was even more bizarre: her host and teammates started getting in the shower and taking thirst trap pictures while she was in the bathroom with them! At a house that was not even, theirs! Obviously, this could not have been more awkward and offsetting for Sophia as she had just met these athletes yet for some reason they felt like it was perfectly normal for them to take seductive photos in her presence.

At this point her mind had been made up–this was not the place for her, and all she just wanted was to go home. However, her time was not up at Catholic, the next morning she had to still play pick up with the team. This was her first college visit and needless to say she was scared. She also had to express to the coach that this would not be the right fit for her, without revealing too many specifics.

This story illustrates why college visits are an important experience for athletes to go through. Experiencing a night out with potential teammates can be extremely revealing whether that experience is positive or negative. You can often find out more about potential teammates when coaches or professors do not surround them, but among their peers and away from authority figures.

Come back every Tuesday for Recruiting Horror Stories™, athletes' first-hand stories on what can go wrong during the recruiting process.Have a horror story of your own? Email us at [email protected]