Yale University’s women’s head soccer coach has left the school after allegations of misconduct from a previous job were published in the school’s student newspaper this week.
Coach Brendan Faherty was no longer employed by the university as of Wednesday, a university spokeswoman said in an email to CNN. It’s unclear whether he was fired or resigned.
The school’s student newspaper, The Yale Daily News, reported this week that Faherty allegedly groped the breasts of a former student athlete at the University of New Haven in January 2009 and demanded she sleep in his bed.
Faherty was a coach at the University of New Haven between 2002 and 2009.
YDN reported that five people close to the matter, “including the alleged victim herself,” told the newspaper about that incident and several women who played for Faherty said he had a history of abusing his position.
Another former player said she had a “consensual, intimate physical relationship” with the coach while she was a player and several years after.
Attorneys representing Faherty have not responded to CNN’s requests for comment but denied the allegations to the student newspaper.
“Mr. Faherty is deeply disappointed in the allegations from more than ten years ago that have been made in the Yale Daily News and the actions taken by Yale University in response to the report,” attorney Theodore Heiser wrote in a statement to the YDN. “He denies having engaged in any non-consensual relationships. He further denies having any inappropriate sexual interaction or contact of any kind.”
Neither of the players involved were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged incidents, the newspaper reported, adding that Faherty began coaching at the age of 24.
Other former players told the newspaper that Faherty used to drink with players at bars.
CNN has not been able to independently confirm the allegations or determine whether the University of New Haven had policies regarding coaches’ relationships with players in place between 2003 to 2009, when the incidents allegedly occurred.
In a letter to students and staff, University of New Haven President Steven Kaplan said the school has hired an independent firm to investigate the allegations.
“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,” Kaplan wrote. “There is absolutely zero tolerance for anyone who jeopardizes the safety or sense of self-worth of students, faculty, staff or any other member of the University family.”
Faherty was hired as head coach for the Yale women’s soccer team in December 2018, replacing former coach Rudy Meredith, who was arrested as part of the college admissions scandal. He pled guilty in March 2019 and agreed to cooperate with the government.
Yale University said in a statement that Faherty was hired “following the background check and careful review of previous employment conducted in every such hiring.”
Victoria Chun, Yale’s athletics director, said in a statement that no information about the allegations was provided to the university during Faherty’s interview and vetting process.
“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,” Chun said.
