The Maryland Department of Justice announced a $4.14 million settlement agreement with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) to resolve a sexual discrimination case against a former swimming coach.

According to the findings, the Justice Department demonstrated that a former head coach of the swimming and diving team was allowed to sexually harass male student-athletes and discriminate against female student-athletes for years. This investigation was conducted under Title IX of the Education Amendments.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division released a statement, saying:

“A school’s responsibility is to protect its students, not abusers who seek to exploit their positions of power. The young student-athletes at UMBC experienced a double betrayal: their coach’s prolonged abuse compounded by their university’s utter failure to acknowledge, respond to or remedy this egregious conduct. UMBC has now taken full responsibility for its failures and has expressed its commitment to addressing them and rebuilding the trust of its community. The Justice Department recognizes the brave and resilient student-athletes who came forward and continue to come forward to share their stories with us. This settlement should send a resounding message to our nation’s colleges and universities: sexual assaults and harassment of students will not be tolerated.”

In addition to the financial relief for affected student-athletes, UMBC agreed to implement the following:

• Significantly improve UMBC’s process for responding to complaints of sex discrimination;
• Provide additional resources and staffing for its Title IX compliance program, including a permanent Title IX Coordinator;
• Provide a full-time support person for those who have experienced sexual assault;
• Deliver training to student-athletes and athletics department employees on healthy relationships, intimate partner violence, power dynamics within the coach-athlete relationship, and retaliation;
• Create and enforce a policy outlining expectations for coaching staff behavior; and
• Administer surveys to student-athletes about their experiences with sex discrimination and take all necessary and appropriate corrective action.

The department will monitor UMBC’s implementation of the agreement, which will remain in place through the 2028-2029 academic year.

The Maryland Department of Justice announced a $4.14 million settlement agreement with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) to resolve a sexual discrimination case against a former swimming coach.

According to the findings, the Justice Department demonstrated that a former head coach of the swimming and diving team was allowed to sexually harass male student-athletes and discriminate against female student-athletes for years. This investigation was conducted under Title IX of the Education Amendments.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division released a statement, saying:

“A school’s responsibility is to protect its students, not abusers who seek to exploit their positions of power. The young student-athletes at UMBC experienced a double betrayal: their coach’s prolonged abuse compounded by their university’s utter failure to acknowledge, respond to or remedy this egregious conduct. UMBC has now taken full responsibility for its failures and has expressed its commitment to addressing them and rebuilding the trust of its community. The Justice Department recognizes the brave and resilient student-athletes who came forward and continue to come forward to share their stories with us. This settlement should send a resounding message to our nation’s colleges and universities: sexual assaults and harassment of students will not be tolerated.”

In addition to the financial relief for affected student-athletes, UMBC agreed to implement the following:

• Significantly improve UMBC’s process for responding to complaints of sex discrimination;
• Provide additional resources and staffing for its Title IX compliance program, including a permanent Title IX Coordinator;
• Provide a full-time support person for those who have experienced sexual assault;
• Deliver training to student-athletes and athletics department employees on healthy relationships, intimate partner violence, power dynamics within the coach-athlete relationship, and retaliation;
• Create and enforce a policy outlining expectations for coaching staff behavior; and
• Administer surveys to student-athletes about their experiences with sex discrimination and take all necessary and appropriate corrective action.

The department will monitor UMBC’s implementation of the agreement, which will remain in place through the 2028-2029 academic year.