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Former SMU women’s basketball player files lawsuit against Travis Mays, team doctor and university

Dai’Ja Thomas, a former SMU women’s basketball player, filed a lawsuit in Dallas County on Thursday against current head coach Travis Mays, team doctor John Baker and SMU.

Thomas, who last played for SMU in the 2017-18 season, is alleging that Mays, “began an abusive and manipulative coaching practice that put players’ mental and physical well-being at stake,” according to the lawsuit. It continues to say that the culture Mays created “pressured” Thomas to play through a knee injury she suffered during her junior season that ultimately led to her medical disqualification from the team at the end of that year.