THE Worcester Wolves basketball team has been one of this city’s sporting success stories in recent years.

Only formed at the turn of the century, the team has had a meteoric rise through the sport’s ranks and has been playing in the elite British Basketball League since 2006.

The club benefits from a unique partnership with the University of Worcester, which stages its home games and allows many of its players to combine basketball with study and coaching in the community.

The Wolves attract family crowds of several hundred on a regular basis.

The team is a true sporting success story, which is why the events of the last few days – during which the Wolves have lost their coach and five players (with a sixth facing disciplinary action) – are so extraordinary.

It now appears six Wolves players staged an unauthorised strike over post-match comments made by coach Chuck Evans. Mr Evans admits he used words that could be seen as racist and has resigned as a result.

The Wolves have sacked five of the strikers. The sixth, former coach Skouson Harker, faces a disciplinary hearing.

What a mess.

We can only hope the departures from the club draw a line under this sorry episode and the Wolves can get back to being sporting role models for many youngsters in and around Worcester.

No sport needs this kind of scandal, particularly one such as basketball that remains in its relative infancy in Worcester.