Boston University said it will undergo “a new external review” of its athletic department’s policies, following multiple complaints about its women’s soccer program that were spotlighted in Globe stories.
The school stated its intent to investigate Thursday, a day after the Globe reported on how BU handled player complaints against former coach Casey Brown.
Last fall Brown was said by her players to be grooming an unnamed BU teammate. The player told the university — and the Globe recently — that Brown fawned over her for more than two years in ways that felt relentless and wrong. She recalled navigating a stream of awkward texts, unsettling invitations and unwanted attention.
Brown, who has denied those allegations, was placed on leave in October and resigned in December. The school hired former federal civil rights attorney Philip Catanzano to investigate the players’ claims, and said it found no misconduct.
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BU, a private school, did not release the results of its self-study. In its statement Thursday, the school reasserted that it found “no evidence of sexual harassment and no BU policy violations” against Brown.
“They must have found something,” said Sophia Woodland, a midfielder from Boxford who played for both Brown and her predecessor, Nancy Feldman, during her time at BU (2019-22).
In a Globe interview, Woodland said she and other recent women’s soccer alums were upset that the school let Brown go without penalty.
“The thing that bothers me and bothers a lot of players is that they let (Brown) step down on her own terms,” Woodland said. “They didn’t fire her. They didn’t give a reason why.
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“If she resigned, she can do this elsewhere, to other women. They’re failing to protect female athletes everywhere. She may be gone, but the issue will continue if there’s no transparency.”
Earlier this month, a popular podcaster, Alex Cooper, alleged Feldman sexually harassed her while she played at BU from 2013-15. Feldman has yet to publicly address the allegation.
Woodland called on BU to be forward-facing about “what has gone on over the last 27, 29 years in that program with Nancy and then Casey.”
Among women’s soccer alums, Woodland said, “there’s a lot of frustration” with athletic director Drew Marrochello “for failing to protect the girls, and a lot of people who don’t want him to be in charge anymore.”
In its statement, BU said its system of resources for student well-being is “robust,” and that “in recent weeks,” its Equal Opportunity Office has “reached out to every BU athlete to review resources, support, and reporting processes.”
BU pledged that the external review would evaluate its “preventions, resources for support and care, and processes for follow-up should athletes bring complaints.”
The school, it said, “takes harassment and sexual harassment, as well as reporting, seriously. We look forward to an external review’s recommendations that can provide suggestions for continued improvements as we strive for excellence in our athletic program.”
Said Woodland: “That just sounded like a load of words to me.”
In her view — and, she says, of numerous others like her — BU has not taken ownership of its program.
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“The text messages (from Brown) and the responses that were published in the Globe, how do you look the other way? How was that not enough information for you?” Woodland said. “It’s frustrating and demoralizing to a lot of the girls that are still there that they’re not being heard.
“(Marrochello) keeps emphasizing the end result is finding a new coach. The end result is this coach (Brown) not being able to inflict harm on other girls at other programs.”
Brown, who previously coached Penn and Holy Cross, said in a statement that she “firmly object(ed) to the attack on my character and the way my conduct has been portrayed.”
Though her attorney, Brown declined to elaborate on why she resigned.
Matt Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @mattyports.