Explosive allegations against a prominent former college soccer coach are drawing serious attention, but they’re also prompting a large group of former athletes and colleagues to step forward with a different side of the story.
The controversy centers around Nancy Feldman, who led the Boston University soccer program for 27 years before retiring in 2022. Recent accusations against Feldman have surfaced in a bombshell documentary by Alex Cooper, host of the wildly popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
“I experienced something extremely painful,” Cooper said in the documentary. She elaborated in a podcast episode, sharing that she decided to speak up after hearing from a victim that sexual harassment was still occurring on BU’s campus a decade later.
“Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper accuses Nancy Feldman of sexually harassing her during her time at Boston University.
Cooper’s accusations detail instances where she claims her former coach wanted to be alone with her, asked questions about her dating life and made comments about her body.
However, these allegations are being met with a strong and unified response from many who played under Feldman.
Stephanie Dreyer, a former Boston University soccer player who played for Feldman 10 years before Cooper did, was surprised by the allegations.
“When the initial preview started coming out about the documentary, I received a flurry of text messages from my teammates,” Dreyer said. “The experience that our community had is categorically different than the experience that Alex Cooper has alleged to have experienced.”
Dreyer is among 99 former BU soccer players and coaches from Feldman’s 27-year tenure who have signed a letter in support of the coach. This letter states that their intent was “not to diminish or discredit anyone’s individual experience,” rather to “speak as a united group of alumni about how our time in the program was different.” The letter went on to describe Feldman as a “leader” who “approached every day with professionalism.”
“What’s being described by Alex sounds like consequences for behavior that is never allowed at the division one level,” Dreyer said.
Organizers of the letter of support indicate that 14 of the 99 names on the list overlapped with Cooper during her three seasons on the team. Dreyer, in her role as alumni counsel, said she has been in close communication with many of those former players.
“We do not want to diminish her individual experience, and we wish her no further trauma,” Dreyer said. “But we want to make sure the full story is told and the culture of the BU program is seen.”
Feldman did not respond to requests for comment. Boston University also did not provide a comment regarding the letter of support.
The school did issue a statement last week in response to the allegations, however.
“Boston University has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment,” the university shared in a statement to E! News June 13. “We have a robust system of resources, support and staff dedicated to student wellbeing and a thorough reporting process through our Equal Opportunity Office.”
The statement continued, “We encourage members of our community to report any concerns, and we remain committed to fostering a safe and secure campus environment for all.”
