UCLA senior guard Tierra Henderson has been dismissed from the team by coach Nikki Caldwell for violating the team’s curfew policy, according to Henderson’s father, Vynell Henderson.
Tierra Henderson was unavailable for comment.
Neither UCLA Athletics nor Caldwell disclosed the reason for Henderson’s dismissal.
“She violated team policy,” Caldwell said. “This program is a very disciplined program. … There are certain criteria that student-athletes must abide by, and when those policies are broken, disciplinary action is to follow. The most important thing is for Ms. Henderson to get her degree.”
Vynell Henderson said he had spoken to his daughter, and his understanding was that she was dismissed for violating curfew.
“(Caldwell) kind of took it real to heart, the way I understand things,” he said. “I just know it was a curfew violation of a few short minutes. I didn’t think it would warrant a reaction like that.”
He also said that his daughter was not the only team member to violate the policy.
“There has been other violations not only from Tierra but other players on the team also,” he said. “This violation here was two or three minutes late on curfew ““ and you go from a curfew violation to being off the team, this is a little bit extreme.”
Upon being informed of Vynell Henderson’s assertion, Caldwell issued the following statement:
“Tierra’s dismissal is the result of multiple infractions of team rules, and all violations of team rules have been dealt with fairly and evenly throughout the season,” she said.
Caldwell said Henderson had committed multiple infractions.
“It’s not an isolated incident,” she said. “(Sunday’s suspension is) definitely an incident that is one of others.”
Caldwell suspended Henderson, a starter since 2007, for the second time prior to the team’s Senior-Day game last Sunday against then-No. 4 California. She said she made the decision to dismiss Tierra from the team then, after having conversations with the senior guard.
“The most important lesson hopefully Tierra will hopefully take from this, is that she represents not only herself and her family, but she represents this institution and the policies we have in place are more to help her be a polished student-athlete,” Caldwell said. “There are times when you are faced with difficult decisions as her head coach, but I feel that the decision we made is the right one.”
Along with Henderson, Caldwell also suspended junior center Moniquee Alexander for Sunday’s game against Cal. Caldwell did not specify if Alexander was suspended for the same reason as Henderson.
“Tierra was suspended for breaking team policy, and so was Moniquee Alexander,” Caldwell said. “She, too, broke team policy.”
Junior guard and team captain Erica Tukiainen declined to go into detail about Henderson’s incident.
“Of course it’s hard,” Tukiainen said. “Really, I don’t know what to say. It’s a hard topic. I’d just prefer not to talk about it.”
As of Sunday, Henderson had appeared in 20 games this season and was fifth on the team in scoring. She was averaging 25 minutes per game to go with 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Henderson’s biggest impact, however, came on the defensive end, as she was regarded as one of the squad’s top defenders in Caldwell’s defense-first system.
Henderson was suspended indefinitely on Dec. 14, before the team’s game against San Diego, until she rejoined the team Jan. 11 for the Bruins’ game against rival USC at home.
Henderson’s dismissal comes three days after the Bruins upset Cal ““ a win that keeps them on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.