The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Yale women’s soccer coach out after allegations of impropriety
NEW HAVEN — Administrators from Yale University and the University of New Haven are reacting to allegations that women’s soccer coach Brendan Faherty previously had acted inappropriately with his players.
Yale announced Wednesday that Faherty was no longer employed by the school after one season as head coach. The statement came as The Yale Daily News uneviled an investigative story that detailed allegations of Faherty’s impropriety with his former players while he was coaching at the University of New Haven.
Faherty, who is from Guilford, spent eight years as the UNH coach. He later coached at UMass, the University of Washington, and Stony Brook before he was hired by Yale in December 2018.
The Yale Daily News interviewed seven players who were on Faherty’s UNH teams from 2003 to 2009, resulting in the accusations. The school was presented with the allegations Monday and Vice President for Communications Nate Nickerson told the News on Wednesday that Faherty no longer was employed by Yale.
Phone messages from Hearst Connecticut Media were left for Faherty Thursday.
Faherty was the first coaching hire by athletic director Vicky Chun.
“Through the interview and vetting process, no information regarding these allegations was provided to the university,” Chun said in a statement. “We fully support the women’s soccer team; I am meeting with them to offer resources during this difficult time and I look forward to charting a new path forward together. We know change is hard, but also know the strength and resiliency of our women’s soccer team will shine through this difficult time. Our student athletes are at the center of our decisions, and we know this is the right path forward.”
A former player at UNH told the Yale Daily News of a consensual, intimate physical relationship she had with Faherty as a player and in the ensuing years. The paper also reported Faherty allegedly groped a player following a concert in New York.
“Yale hired women’s head soccer coach Brendan Faherty in December of 2018, following the background check and careful review of previous employment conducted in every such hiring,” Yale said in a statement. “On November 18, 2019, the Yale Daily News shared deeply troubling information with the university, none of which was made known to the university in the interview and vetting process. As of November 20, 2019, Mr. Faherty is no longer employed by the university.”
UNH President Steven H. Kaplan said in a statement Thursday night that the school has hired an independent firm to investigate allegations against Faherty.
“Be assured that the university, and I personally as a parent and educator, are committed to maintaining a working and learning environment in which everyone feels safe, respected, and valued. There is absolutely zero tolerance for anyone who jeopardizes the safety or sense of selfworth of students, faculty, staff or any other member of the University family.
“We will endeavor to find the facts. Within the legal constraints concerning confidentiality, we will share as much as possible. We will address any concerns uncovered by the facts.
“If you have any information which will assist us in this investigation, please contact Caroline Vitale Koziatek, Vice President of Human Resources, at ckoziatekHR@newhaven.edu or 2039327095. If possible, we will keep this contact confidential. Know that you will have our unqualified support in this matter, and we urge you to come forward.”
Yale finished with an 1141 record and the Bulldogs were third in the Ivy League with a 421 record after winning just one league game in 2018. The Bulldogs were in contention for an atlarge bid into the NCAA tournament but were not selected.
Faherty spent three seasons as the Stony Brook women’s soccer coach before being hired at Yale after former coach Rudy Meredith resigned in November 2018 after 24 seasons. Meredith would be indicted as part of the college admissions scandal and later pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court as he was part of an investigation into college coaches soliciting bribes to get students accepted into prestigious universities.
Faherty was hired just over a month after Meredith’s resignation. He was hired by UNH when he was 24 and guided the Chargers to two NCAA Division II tournament appearances in his eight seasons. He was an assistant coach at UMass and then Washington before being hired at Stony Brook.
Yale said assistant coaches Sarah Martinez and Sade Ayinde will lead the program in the interim with the full support of the Yale University athletic department.