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The University of Maryland, Baltimore County has reached a $4.1 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations of sexual assault and discrimination by a former swim coach, The Baltimore Banner reported.
Long-time head swimming and diving coach Chad Cradock was accused of sexually abusing and harassing male team members and discriminating against female ones. A Title IX investigation released last month found that UMBC failed to respond to those allegations.
Federal investigators determined that Cradock created a “hypersexualized environment,” in which he touched male athletes’ genitals and invited them to sleepovers at his house, CBS News reported. Administrators knew about such behavior but did nothing to stop it, the report said, even ignoring a comment from one student who wrote, “He is a real creep and makes us students uncomfortable. Help!”
Under the terms of the settlement, affected male athletes could be awarded $180,000 each and female athletes $60,000 each.
Valerie Sheares Ashby, who became UMBC’s president in 2022, apologized on behalf of the university.
“As President of UMBC, I am deeply deeply sorry for what happened and I am committed to doing all that we can to make sure that it will never happen again,” said Valerie Sheares Ashby, who took office in 2022.
Cradock died by suicide in 2021.
