I doubt Pope forced either Lowell or Kolby off the team, though I don't doubt for their own good he encouraged both to take their careers elsewhere. Including telling them that their scholarship wouldn't be renewed for the upcoming year (& for Kolby, I'd imagine Pope wouldn't have included the proviso of working his way back to a scholarship; & perhaps Lowell didn't receive such a proviso either). That of course can be very hurtful to a player — particularly in light of the fact up until that point they'd been fed a very different message of inclusion & perseverance by Pope.

But it is part of the HC's job description.