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Detroit Mercy basketball coach under fire for alleged obscene comment

Posted at 9:44 PM, Dec 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-17 09:37:29-05

The parents of a junior men's basketball player at Detroit Mercy are outraged after the university basketball coach allegedly made a rude gesture towards one of his players.

"This is disgusting and I’m so angry and it’s an outrage, it really is," said Demereal Mercer, the mother of basketball player Tariiq Jones.

The parents of Tariiq Jones say they can’t believe what allegedly happened to their son.

"I’m humiliated by it, his actions are disgusting and he’s a coward," said Prentis Mercer, Jones' father.

The Mercers say back on Nov. 6, an incident happened during a huddle between their son and the coach.

"I was told the coach grabbed his crotch area and thrust his hips towards my son and told my son to suck his (genitals)," Demereal said.

Jones is playing in his first year at Detroit Mercy, after transferring.

"You had other coaches there, no one called or said anything. My opinion, personally, I think they tried to cover it up," she said.

Coach Bacari Alexander spoke to the media after the U of M game about the alleged incident.

“My statement would be simply we have already handled the matter and got it behind us, we’re just moving forward focusing on the student athletes and the season,” he said.

The coach sent a text message to the Mercers apologizing for what happened.

"He poisoned my son, we don’t know when the poison is going to run out," Demereal said.

The Mercers say they want more than an apology.

"I hope this coach gets fired, that’s what I want," said Jones' Mother.

The family has hired a lawyer moving forward, and are now waiting for officials with the NCAA to investigate.