Former Wyoming Basketball Coach Receives Hate Mail

LARAMIE -- "F--k you and your family."

That was just one page of hate mail former Wyoming assistant basketball coach Sundance Wicks published on Twitter Thursday morning.

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There was more, too. Some words were apparently so grotesque, even Wicks blurred them out before putting them on social media.

Those five words above were capped with this -- "WYO."

Wicks, a Gillette native, accepted the head coaching position at Wisconsin-Green Bay in mid-March after spending three seasons under Jeff Linder in Laramie. He called it a dream job. He said he was born to wear the Brown and Gold.

The second letter received from this anonymous source reminded him of those words before signing off with "FU. Good Riddance. (Signed) Wyoming Fans."

"In this profession there is REAL LOVE and there is REAL HATE -- it’s reality and I accept that. , when that HATE becomes a federal offense by putting mail in my family’s mailbox & harassing my wife & kids = we got a problem," Wicks penned on Twitter.

Wicks was a popular figure at UW and not just because he is a native son. He was known for bringing "the juice" and was always the most energetic guy in the room. His smile, infectious. His words, always meaningful.

Wicks served as the acting head coach at the Mountain West Tournament with Linder back in Colorado with his ailing father. After an 87-76 loss to New Mexico in the opening round, Wicks became emotional as he sat behind the podium addressing the media postgame.

"We don't get that fairytale ending all the time," he said, tears in his eyes. "What we get is we get to see the real side of human beings in this profession. We get the real side of men, real side of young men, growing up. That's what's important. If we ever lose sight of that because we start thinking about the ledgers of wins and losses, then we have failed as a society and we failed as fans and we have failed as a university and we have failed as coaches."

This is the first time hate mail has been a topic of conversation inside the athletic buildings in Laramie.

Former Wyoming forward and Pine Bluffs native Hunter Thompson was on the receiving end of personal online attacks.

Former quarterback Tyler Vander Waal said he received death threats during his time at Wyoming. So did fellow signal caller Levi Williams. Both instances came via social media.

Wyoming's head football Craig Bohl shared his thoughts on the situation when he heard about the words his players were receiving in their inbox.

"I'd like to say, hey, if you want to come after somebody, come after me," a visibly upset Bohl said back in 2021. "I just, I'm so discouraged. That is ... that is so disappointing. I know, we have a great number of fans out there. But you know, sometimes these guys forget that this is a college game.

"You know what? Go get after Josh Allen. See how far you go. Josh wasn't perfect when he was here. And so that's where I think we've really got to be cautious ... So, that's disappointing. These guys come to this program and they're doing everything they can. It's not like Levi's out there trying to screw up. So, I was not aware of it. I'm not a social media guy. But that really, really disappoints me. Really, just, it's discouraging."

Bohl circled back to the matter later in that press conference.

"What our players don't deserve is some of that jack--- who makes those kinds of comments about Levi Williams," a frustrated Bohl said. "... I go knocking on that guy's door and whip his butt, right now.

"That is a bunch of baloney. That just pisses me off when I heard that."