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Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper Claims Sexual Harassment By College Soccer Coach, Shocking Audience At Premiere Of New Hulu Documentary
Podcast giant Alex Cooper, a top soccer player in high school who went to Boston University on a full scholarship, described what she claimed was three years of escalating sexual harassment by her coach there, Nancy Feldman, that she said ended with her leaving the team senior year. The allegations were met with audible gasps in the audience at the end part 1 of a new Hulu documentary series Call Her Alex, which just premiered at the Tribeca Festival. In a Q&A after, Cooper said it took her ten years to come forward, which she did in large part because of the documentary, a behind the scenes look at the first live show of her hit podcast Call Her Daddy. The first leg was in Boston. Director Ry Russo-Young asked her to walk out on the BU soccer field and reflect on what it meant to her. More from Deadline Alex Cooper Offers Intimate Look At How She Grew 'Call Her Daddy' Podcast Into A Media Empire In 'Call Her Alex' Trailer SiriusXM Downplays Tariff Pressures - "Big Picture, We Sleep Well At Night" Says CFO Alex Cooper Documentary Called Up By Hulu 'And the minute I stepped back on the field, I felt so small. I felt just like I was 18 years old again. And I was in a situation with someone in a position of power who abused their power. And I felt like I wasn't the Call Her Daddy girl. I wasn't someone who had money and influence or whatever it be. I was just another woman who experienced harassment on a level that changed my life forever and took away the thing I loved the most,' she said during a Q&A after. She chose to go public to help herself heal and because she claims it is still an issue at the college. Feldman retired in 2022. University officials who Cooper claims brushed off her allegations are still there, she said. In the doc, she alleges the officials asked her, 'What do you want?' but that said they were not going to fire Feldman, did not investigate, but said she could keep her full soccer scholarship. Deadline has reached out to Boston University for comment. 'During the filming of this documentary, I found out that the harassment and abuse of power is still happening on the campus of Boston University, and I spoke to one of the victims, and hearing her story was horrific, and I knew in that moment, if I don't speak about this. It's going to continue happening,' Cooper claimed. 'I'm thinking about the amount of women who've probably experienced this, not just on that campus, but on a larger scale in the workplace. This isn't just happening on college campuses for soccer. This is everywhere. This is systemic. And so I knew it was time to speak about it, and I was terrified, and I'm still terrified. I'm shaking. I feel like I'm a decent public speaker at this point, but I'm scared,' she said. It also pained Cooper that her that her alleged harasser was a woman, she said. In the documentary, she claims a pattern that started sophomore year in earnest as the coach focused increasingly on her personally, not on her playing, with questions and comments about her body and her romantic life. She alleged Feldman would try to get her alone, put a hand on her thigh, stare at her, and once asked if she had had sex the previous night. 'It was this psychotic game of 'You want to play, tell me about your sex life',' Cooper said in the doc. When she tried to resist, she claimed, Feldman threatened 'consequences.' She accused the coach of retaliating on the field by benching her often, including for most of a key championship game, to the confusion of her teammates. Hulu release a trailer last week. It launches June 10. Cooper has alluded to a college trauma in the past. She initially launched the advice and comedy podcast Call Her Daddy in 2018, alongside her then co-host Sofia Franklyn, with Barstool Sports before signing a deal, thought to be worth around $60 million, with Spotify in 2021. The show exploded with women and became second only to The Joe Rogan Experience on the podcast charts before she moved to SiriusXM last year in a deal valued around $120 million. 'I think a lot of this process almost made me realize, if I have the finances to pay for a lawyer and I have the resources to do all these things, how is another woman going to feel comfortable to come forward? I'm still f–king scared up here, you know. And I was nobody when I was in college. I did come forward. I was denied, essentially. And so the story is frustrating, because I want to tell women come forward … But I did, and I wasn't believed, and then it took me a decade, Cooper said tonight. 'I actually think this is just the beginning. It's really opened my eyes to how difficult the system is, and it's so built against us as women, and we have to fight so fucking hard to have our voices heard, and we are denied, or we're questioned, or you feel shame, and that started to really get in my head of, how am I about to not put this in the documentary? … I realized, holy shit, I have so much more work to do, and I'm going to use my platform to hopefully inspire other people to come forward and tell their stories, because conversation is the only way that we're going to actually have change and we're going to make change.' MORE Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
The Sun
01-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
My coach sexually abused me at 13, I thought our special sessions were to help me but they were for her twisted desires
WHEN Nia Durant was taking under the wing of her cheerleading coach she had never felt more special. Desperate to succeed in the squad Nia, now 27, was more than happy to help coach the younger students by Rosana Awan. 7 7 7 But a nightmare was just beginning – as she became easy pickings for a 'predatory' teacher who preyed on the talented young sportswoman. Nia went on to endure years of sexual abuse at the hands of her coach and feared she would get in trouble if she told anyone about the "favouritism" she was accused of receiving. According to a report from The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) out of 3,939 participants 78 people reported experiencing sexual abuse in a sports context and of those - 91% reported being sexually abused by a sports coach or volunteer. Now Nia has bravely waived her right to anonymity to "shine a light" on this abuse in sport - especially when it's "female-on-female" which she feels is less reported. Nia, 27, from Leicester, East Midlands, says: "I'd always loved sports and gymnastics - I was so excited to join the team. "I signed up to the local cheerleading group aged 13 in 2010. "A few weeks into practice my coach Awan asked me if I wanted to come early and stay late to plan lessons with her, offering me the chance to help the younger students. "I was so happy to be picked - and it all felt very innocent at first. "She even told my parents about it. "Looking back, that was her gateway into getting to know me." Awan began offering Nia lifts home after practice - which Nia attended three or four times a week. While they started out innocently with Awan pulling over to discuss practice with Nia, they soon took a sinister turn. Nia explains: "She started touching me over my clothes. "I was very naïve and didn't know about any of that stuff. "I was really confused about it to start with, but at the same time, she kept reassuring me it was all 'normal'." This continued for a couple of months until it "progressed" and Awan began to sexually abuse her under her clothes, too. The abuse continued when the cheerleading team travelled for competitions and Awan would book them a hotel room together. Nia says: "She would give the hotel a fake name for me, so no one knew I was staying with her, and then we would share a bed. 7 7 "I kept quiet about it because she told me the others would be 'jealous' of me. "I was getting favouritism and it made me feel special. "She also made it out like I would be the one who would get in trouble if anyone found out." Over the next few years, Nia became increasingly isolated from friends and family. She struggled with her mental health and didn't know who to turn to about the abuse. "Because I coached for her, I didn't want to jeopardise my job, either," she says. "I made a new friend at cheerleading and coach wasn't happy about it. "I was searching for reasons why I wouldn't be allowed to have friends and I didn't understand. "I started to realise you don't hide your relationships and this is wrong." In 2013, Nia's parents grew concerned and contacted police to report Awan, after finding a diary Nia had written about the abuse. However, Nia was "too scared" to tell the truth, and insisted "nothing happened", and the case wasn't pursued. According the Leicestershire Police, Awan did admit to "kissing" Nia, and was given a "conditional caution". In 2017, Nia got into De Montfort University in her hometown, Leicester, and began studying for an education degree. While learning about safeguarding, she says the pieces "fell into place" and she understood that she had been abused. In 2018, Nia told the police she wanted to reopen the original report made in 2013, and she spoke with an officer April 2019. Awan was arrested a month later, and charged in February 2020 with five counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Nia says: "I felt like it wasn't taken seriously to begin with due to the female on female nature. "One officer even suggested that her actions were 'motherly' and 'being a good coach', rather than abuse. "But I can't fault the female officer who helped me. "She saw the severity of it and it was the first time I finally felt heard and listened to." Awan pleaded not guilty to all charges. The case eventually went to Leicester Crown Court in October 2024 where she was found guilty of four counts of sexual abuse with a child and one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. She was found not guilty on one count of sexual activity with a child. She was sentenced at the same court to 10 years in prison in December 2024, and also made the subject of a 10-year restraining order and a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. She will be a registered sex offender for life. Nia adds: "I was really thankful for the guilty verdict. "It confirmed everything - it wasn't all in my head. "I read out an impact statement and didn't use a screen - I wanted her to see me. "I got the final say. "The sentencing was a big win and I felt validated. "But it's now taking its toll and I still feel a lot of guilt - even though I shouldn't. "I do think there's not enough support for victims because the court process is awful. "It's scary to put myself out there, but I hope this can help just one other person feel heard." When approached for a comment, a spokesperson for Leicestershire Constabulary said: "In 2013, the complainant's parents made a report of sexual abuse to the police on her behalf. "When an investigation began, the complainant told police nothing had happened between herself and Awan. "It was later established that the complainant told police nothing had happened as she had been put under pressure by Awan. "Awan did admit kissing the complainant and was issued with a conditional caution. "In August 2018, the complainant told police she wanted the report that was made in 2013 to be reopened. "The force understands the victim was frustrated by the fact the case was adjourned on several occasions due to lack of court space. "However, both the officer in the case and her supervisor maintained a positive relationship with the victim in the case and have been thanked by her for their efforts in ensuring Awan was convicted of her crimes." When asked about the terms Nia claimed were used to describe Awan's actions, including "motherly" and "being a good coach", a spokesperson for Leicestershire Police said: "The force does not have any record of the officer using those terms to describe Awan's behaviour." 7
Washington Post
09-05-2025
- Washington Post
Trial of ex-high school basketball coach who conducted naked fat tests comes to a close
WAKEFIELD, R.I. — Attorneys on Friday will deliver closing arguments in the trial of a former Rhode Island high school basketball coach facing criminal charges after authorities say he repeatedly asked male student-athletes to remove their clothes while alone with him so he could check their body fat . Aaron Thomas, 57, who coached at North Kingstown High School from the 1990s until he resigned in 2021, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree child molestation and second-degree sexual assault.
