Brandeis Dumps Officials After Report On Abusive Basketball Coach
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Four months after Brandeis University fired its men’s basketball coach due to allegations of verbal abuse and racial discrimination, the university has accepted the resignation of one top official and demoted two others who were supposed to supervise him, Deadspin reported.
Vice president of student affairs Sheryl Sousa resigned, and athletic director Lynn Dempsey and VP of Human Resources Robin Nelson-Bailey were both “demoted and relieved of leadership and supervisory responsibilities,” being placed on probation, according to a statement by the school.
Former coach Brian Meehan was fired after Deadspoin reported earlier this year that he had used derogatory language towards black players and favored white players during try-outs.
“I don’t want to sit next to him because I’ll get Ebola,” Meehan allegedly said to one black player. “I’ll Ship You Back To Africa,” he reportedly told another. He is also accused of referring to another athlete as “Jew boy.”
An external investigation found that Dempsey and Sousa both had direct contact with players who reported Meehan’s behavior, but no action was taken until Deadspin’s inquiries. The players said Dempsey and Sousa were friends of Meehan’s and continued to take no action against their complaints.
In a move not directly related to the Meehan investigation, Brandeis also fired its swim coach in mid-August for making inappropriate comments about athletes’s weight and physical appearance, Deadspin reported.
Contact Aisha Tahir at [email protected]
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
