AN assistant coach with Shanghai's professional women's volleyball team has been suspended following claims he sexually harassed players after a training session, the city's sports authority said last night.
The male coach, who has not been named, was said to have been under the influence of alcohol and indulging in behavior judged obscene as he offered massages to players after training last Friday, the Shanghai Administration of Sports said on its official microblog.
"As a coach, such behavior to the players is absolutely impermissible," the administration said. "We will report to a higher authority once the investigation is finished. Further investigation and punishment are reserved by the administration."
The claims came to light after a game on Tuesday night, when Shanghai suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat against Tianjin.
"Butubukuai111" posted on her Weibo microblog that the team was "absent-minded and couldn't perform normally." She alleged: "The coach crew developed some new content besides the previous corporal and financial punishment. Some of them used the excuse of relaxing massage to harass players."
The claims had been reposted nearly 500 times by last night.
The administration said that, according to a preliminary investigation, the coach had dinner with friends last Friday and he had admitted to drinking too much.
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