A former head swimming and diving coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, sexually harassed male athletes and discriminated against female athletes, and the university failed to protect them, a US Justice Department Title IX investigation found.

“Numerous male student-athletes were subjected to sexual abuse and assault by the Head Coach between 2015 and 2020,” the department said in a 14-page letter to the university about its findings.

“The University was on notice of allegations that these student-athletes had been subjected to a hostile environment based on sex but failed to address it adequately,” the letter said.

Among other things, the university didn’t properly respond to allegations “that the former head coach filmed students while showering and sexually touched male student-athletes” in the university’s aquatic center, the Justice Department said in a news release.

The department “also found that, from 2016 through 2020, the Athletics Department failed to report several incidents of dating violence by male student-athletes against female teammates,” according to the release.

University of Maryland, Baltimore County, President Valerie Sheares Ashby called the findings “deeply troubling” in a statement Monday. “We take full responsibility for what happened, and we commit ourselves not only to addressing the failures, but also to rebuilding our community’s trust,” she said.

The head coach, Chad Cradock, was placed on leave in October 2020 and died by suicide in March 2021, according to the Justice Department. He was the head swimming and diving coach at the university for about 19 years, according to his obituary.  

The investigation concluded the university’s Athletics Department “remains ill-equipped to address the unique vulnerabilities of student-athletes to sexual harassment and sex discrimination,” but does not indicate any federal penalties will be imposed.

The department instructs the university to enact remedies, including more training for the coaching staff and a new reporting structure so that sexual misconduct is reported to the Title IX office, not just the athletic director. Under a proposed settlement agreement, the university agrees to be more prompt in investigating reports of Title IX violations.

Title IX is part of the Higher Education Act of 1972, and is meant to ensure students have equal access to opportunities regardless of their sex.

A federal lawsuit filed last year in Baltimore County against University of Maryland, Baltimore County, on behalf of former student swimmers is ongoing.

Students faced with ‘perverse choice,’ investigation finds

The Justice Department found “many student-athletes were subjected to sex discrimination, including unwanted sexual touching and other sexual harassment, which they understood to be a condition for participating in University athletics,” the letter to the university said.

“Many students described a system where male student-athletes faced a perverse choice: either succumb to the Head Coach’s sexual advances, which came with more coaching, more competitive opportunities, and more leniency for rule violations, or decline the Head Coach’s sexual advances, and risk losing their scholarships, housing, their ‘swim family,’ and other consequences,” the letter said.

Students who were on the team “described a hypersexualized environment where their coach—on a daily basis, in plain sight, and typically when they wore only speedos—subjected male student-athletes to unwanted sexual touching, inappropriate sexual comments, and other sexual misconduct,” the Justice Department letter said.

“Athletics staff and male swimming and diving teammates also made degrading comments about female student-athletes’ bodies and the head coach asked invasive questions about their sexual relationships,” the news release said.

Many student-athletes and employees who worked under Cradock told investigators he “demanded to be at the center of all information about his team,” the Justice Department said.

“Though some averred he had the team’s best interests in mind, others said that he weaponized information against student-athletes to sexually abuse male student-athletes and control and manipulate team dynamics in a manner that harmed female student-athletes,” said the letter to the university.

“To the students who were harmed: I am profoundly sorry,” said Sheares Ashby, the university president. “I am grateful for the courage and strength of those who spoke up and took action, and I am committed to ensuring that such failures never happen again,” she said.

“UMBC let you down, and we let our community down. We did not live up to our values, and that is inexcusable,” Sheares Ashby said. “I encourage anyone who experiences discrimination or sexual misconduct of any kind to report it online to the Office of Equity and Civil Rights,” she added. “Discrimination or abuse of any kind will not be tolerated.”

The Justice Department thanked UMBC for its cooperation in the investigation. “We look forward to working together to implement reforms that bring the University into compliance with Title IX.”