Student Alleges Cal Football Coaches Sexually Harassed Her, UC Berkeley Investigating

UC Berkeley officials said Thursday they’re investigating allegations that football coaches and athletes harassed a female student working for the team.

The woman shared her accusations in a public post on Facebook on Wednesday, alleging that a coach tried to force her to have sex with him, saying “I will get you fired if you do not have sex with me.” Another coach followed her home, telling her she “would look amazing in a bikini,” she wrote. She identified herself as Paige Cornelius and also detailed constant harassment on the field and on social media.

Cornelius, who said she was on the sports medicine squad, did not respond to requests for comment. KQED does not normally name alleged survivors of sexual assault but decided to do so since Cornelius has shared her story publicly on social media.

Cornelius said the harassment began on her first day on the job.

“Hours after practice my Instagram begins to blow up, DM’s with creepy messages, asking me to come over, inviting me to parties. I’m in college this is normal, or what has been normalized, and I expected to get this from the players,” she wrote in her Facebook post. “What I did not expect was the ruthless, endless, and persistent sex harassment from the coaches.”

That harassment allegedly included coaches staring at her body, a coach asking her personal questions, like whether she had a boyfriend and what her “type” was, and players and staff sending her messages on social media or via text.

Cornelius said she withdrew from school in March to seek therapy for post-traumatic stress she suffered as a result of her experience working for the team. She said she had reached out to Head Coach Justin Wilcox and Athletic Director Jim Knowlton, as well as other coaches and athletic administrators about the alleged harassment, but had not gotten a response.

Cal Athletics said it has sent Cornelius' allegations to the campus Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, which is responsible for investigating such accusations.

“These allegations go against the very core of our values,” Cal Athletics said in a statement. “Cal Athletics is and will always be committed to fostering a culture where everyone feels safe, welcome and respected. All of those associated with the department are expected to maintain ethical standards at all times.”

Knowlton said his department would lend its full backing to the campus inquiry into the allegations and would support any “appropriate consequences as required by the outcome” of it.

“These allegations are surfacing in the midst of a concerted and ongoing effort across our department that began several years ago to educate and engage our staff and student‐athletes about preventing and responding to sexual harassment and violence,” he said in a statement. “Through formal training sessions for coaches, staff and student‐athletes, we have been clear and consistent about our refusal to tolerate this most egregious form of misconduct. If necessary, we will do more.”

Stanford Law Professor Deborah Rhode said those efforts don't appear to be adequate.

"The message hasn't filtered down.What you need is cultural change.If these allegations are anywhere close to truth, this is not one bad apple," she said.

Last year, UC Berkeley fired an assistant director in its athletics department, Mohamed Muqtar, after an internal investigation substantiated claims of sexual violence and harassment brought by seven women athletes, including WNBA All-Star Layshia Clarendon, ESPN and The (San Jose) Mercury News reported.

KQED News' reporter Peter Jon Shuler contributed to this report.