Coach accused of exposing himself on Cynwyd Trail says he was urinating

Doug Overton, the former La Salle University basketball star and current Lincoln University head coach, denied charges of indecent exposure and said he was merely urinating on a Lower Merion trail over the weekend.

In a statement Wednesday, Overton said he walks his dog on the Cynwyd trail several times a week.  On Sunday, "During the walk I felt the need to relieve myself. With the nearest bathroom nearly a mile away, I stepped off the trail and into a wooded area to take care of business in what I thought was a discreet manner," he said in the statement emailed by the public relations firm of Jeff Worden.

Overton coaches the Division II men's basketball team at Lincoln University in Chester County and briefly played for the 76ers during his 11-year career in the NBA.

"I then pulled up my sweat pants and returned to the trail to continue walking my dog. That is the only thing that happened. Unfortunately, it appears I wasn't as discreet as I thought, and some misinterpreted what they saw. I sincerely apologize for my lapse of judgment and the confusion it caused," he wrote.

According to court documents, a husband and wife told police they were running east on the Cynwyd trail near Levering Mill Road on Sunday afternoon when they passed a man who was walking his dog in the same direction.

They told police "it appeared he was touching himself around his genitals or peeing off to the side of the trail," according to court documents.

The couple continued past him and after a short distance the woman stopped to stretch at the Levering Mill entrance while her husband continued down the trail.

As she was stretching, Overton walked past her with "his penis outside of his pants," she told police.

"The male made eye contact with her as he walked by and then stopped with his dog to turn around to look at her from a short distance away," according to the court documents. "The male continued to look at [the female runner] for approximately three minutes and then kept walking east with his penis still exposed."

The husband said that when he turned around to walk back toward his wife, he spotted Overton walking toward him with "his penis fully out of his pants."

The husband "described the male as walking calmly and deliberately and seemed to be aware that he was exposing himself but was content with the situation," according to court documents.

Another person told police that while walking west on the trail, she also spotted Overton Sunday. She noted that she had spoken to him on the trail the previous day "and even pet his dog."

But on Sunday, after they "exchanged pleasantries" and "chatted briefly," she noticed that "his penis appeared to be hanging out of his pants."

"She told the officer that once she had observed it she didn't want to look again so she walked away," documents show.

Lower Merion police arrested Overton the same day and charged him with indecent exposure.  On Wednesday, Overton switched attorneys and retained Worden's firm to speak on his behalf, Worden said.  His new attorney, Brett Datto, declined to comment on the case.

Earlier in the day, Overton's former attorney Martin Mullaney called the charges against Overton "outrageous" and "preposterous" and said "it just makes no sense."

Overton, a Big 5 Hall of Famer at La Salle, where he still holds the school records for assists and steals, was the second-round pick of the Detroit Pistons in the 1991 NBA Draft.

Speedy Morris, Overton's coach at La Salle, said of the allegations: "That's not the Doug Overton I know. That's for sure. I'm shocked. Shocked."

Morris, who also coached Overton's son, Miles, at St. Joseph's Prep, said that he hadn't spoken with Doug Overton over the last couple of weeks but kept in contact with him and didn't know of any problems in Overton's life. He described Overton as a "phenomenal" player and person.

"It's got me baffled," Morris said. "It's got me baffled."

Overton played 11 NBA seasons for eight teams, including 94 games with the Sixers during two separate stints (1996-98, 1999).

After his playing career ended, he coached at St. Joseph's University and for the New Jersey Nets before accepting the job at Lincoln in 2016.

Lincoln University, in a statement Wednesday, said it was aware of the allegations against Overton. "Mr. Overton has been employed by Lincoln University as the head men's basketball coach since May 23, 2016," the statement said. "The University has made no changes to the employment status of Mr. Overton."

Overton appeared on Comcast SportsNet as a pre- and post-game analyst for eight 76ers games during the 2016-17 season, but he began working for the network as an analyst during the 2014-15 season.

"We are aware of the charges against Doug Overton," a spokeswoman for the network said Wednesday afternoon, "and have no further comment at this time."

"Doug is a great, charismatic individual and he'd love to talk, but on the advice of counsel, he's not going to give a statement at this time," Mullaney said, adding that Overton "maintains his innocence."

"The charges are causing great embarrassment and humiliation to Doug," said Mullaney, who said Overton is a cherished family man who has been married for 24 years and has two children.

Staff writer Mike Sielski contributed to this article.