Shayla Brown was taught that if she saw something she should say something. On Sept. 14, 2024, she decided she could stay quiet no longer.
Brown, now a senior midfielder on the Boston University women’s soccer team, contacted the university’s confidential ethics hotline and reported a disturbing allegation about the team’s head coach, Casey Brown.
Four days later, Shayla Brown went further, sharing details with the team’s sports psychologist. The coach, she said, was acting inappropriately toward one of BU’s key players, focusing excessively on her and trying to manipulate her in ways that were distressing to the player and her teammates.
This was not a case of a coach coddling a prized player, Shayla Brown said. Her teammate was “being groomed,” she told the psychologist.
The next day, Shayla Brown and 17 other BU women’s soccer players reported similar allegations to BU’s Equal Opportunity Office. Before long, their teammate who was allegedly targeted shared her experience with school officials, as well.
Casey Brown, in a statement to the Globe, strongly denied the allegations.
The key player told the university then — and the Globe recently — that her coach fawned over her for more than two years in ways that felt relentless and wrong. She recalled navigating a stream of awkward texts, unsettling invitations, and unwanted attention.
The player, who remains on the team, asked not to be identified. She said she is concerned about retaliation and her emotional health.
Casey Brown, 37, was placed on leave midseason. A former BU star, Brown had played and served as an assistant coach under Nancy Feldman, who resigned in 2022 after guiding the Terriers to 14 NCAA Tournaments in 27 years at the helm.
Earlier this month, a popular podcaster, Alex Cooper, alleged that Feldman sexually harassed her while she played at BU from 2013-15. Feldman has yet to publicly address the allegation.
Casey Brown officially resigned in December after BU commissioned an investigation into complaints from the soccer players. The allegations and inquiry have not been previously reported.
Both BU and Casey Brown said the investigation, by former federal civil rights attorney Philip Catanzano, found no misconduct by the coach.
“At the conclusion of the investigation, there were no BU policy violations and no evidence of sexual harassment,” BU said in a statement. “Nevertheless, BU and Brown parted ways, and Brown is no longer the head coach.”
Brown, who previously served as the head coach at Penn and Holy Cross, declined to be interviewed. Her statement said, “I got into coaching to help student-athletes become the best version of themselves, on and off the field.”
Brown said she has been committed in every way to helping her players and teams thrive.
“I firmly object to the attack on my character and the way my conduct has been portrayed,” she said. “The examples used against me are selective, out of context, and open to interpretation, yet they’re being presented as fact. I reject that and I question why, despite a clear investigative outcome, these claims are still being amplified.
“I stand by my record and the values that shape my work as a coach.”
Brown declined through her attorney, Christine Brown, of Christine Brown & Partners, to elaborate on why she resigned.
Investigative findings not shared
BU, a private institution, said the investigative report will not be shared with the public. Members of the 2024 team said athletic director Drew Marrochello indicated the university negotiated the terms of Brown’s resignation, but did not share the investigative findings, citing privacy laws.
Now Feldman and Brown are both back in the news, along with questions about BU’s handling of the complaints. Cooper said she never heard from the university again after she formally alleged sexual harassment to the administration.
BU issued a statement about Cooper’s allegation, saying the university “has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.”
“We have a robust system of resources, support, and staff dedicated to student well-being and a thorough reporting process through our Equal Opportunity Office,” the statement said. “We remain committed to fostering a safe and secure campus environment for all.”
Cooper, in a subsequent Globe interview, alleged that Brown, Feldman’s assistant at the time, rebuffed her appeal for help when Feldman inappropriately questioned her about whom she might have contracted mononucleosis from.
“Casey, help me,” Cooper recalled pleading to Brown in Feldman’s office. Brown turned away, Cooper said, “and did nothing about it.”
Brown said in a statement to the Globe that she had “no recollection” of the incident.
“But let me be absolutely clear: I would never ignore, dismiss or turn away from anyone — a player, a teammate, a friend, a family member — who sought my help in any capacity,” Brown stated. “The suggestion that I would do otherwise is completely false.”
Brown’s declaration rang hollow to many of her former players. Four of the nearly 20 members of the 2024 team who registered complaints with BU about Brown’s behavior told the Globe that she caused them or their teammates to seek mental health care.
Nearly a decade after BU stood by Feldman amid Cooper’s allegations, Brown’s former players asserted that the university effectively protected Brown by permitting her to resign without notifying the public about the circumstances surrounding her departure. Brown has not coached since leaving BU.
Brown’s expressions of admiration or fondness for the player appeared evident among hundreds of text messages between the coach and player reviewed by the Globe.
“Love you always!” Brown texted.
“My dawgggg … Appreciate you always,” Brown said in another text.
When the player pushed back over various issues, Brown tried to appease her, once texting, “I feel like ur annoyed w me in general [sad face emoji] … sorry if I pissed you off.”
‘I felt deeply uncomfortable and sexualized’
When BU hired Brown in 2022, she seemed like a natural fit, given her experience as a four-time all-conference player for the Terriers from 2006-09 and as an assistant coach under Feldman. A former star at Natick High, Brown guided BU in her first year at the helm to an 11-8-1 record. One of the freshmen on her team would become the alleged object of her attention.
Brown’s focus on the player allegedly intensified in 2023. Three of her teammates said they had grown accustomed to coaches at all levels favoring certain players, but some said they were disturbed by what they described as Brown’s persistent focus on this one team member. The player became increasingly isolated, they said, and team chemistry suffered.
Camryn O’Connor, a senior from Easton and a close friend of the player, was among those who formally complained. O’Connor, who played three years for BU before stepping away after multiple concussions, recalled watching her friend’s emotional health spiral downward.
“Initially, she shared details about the troubling situation but then retreated into silence, her demeanor changing, as well,” O’Connor said. “The once-sociable young woman became withdrawn from her relationships with friends and teammates.”
The young woman said she was especially troubled by an incident in which Brown sent her a video clip of her competing in a game. The video featured her passing, moving, and shooting — “nothing out of the ordinary,” she said — with Brown narrating over the footage. To her shock, she said, Brown made moaning sounds during her commentary.
“I felt deeply uncomfortable and sexualized,” she said.
The player said she felt compelled at times to lie to Brown to avoid her.
“The truth was, I needed to escape my coach,” she wrote to the Globe. “But saying ‘no’ felt impossible, as she held authority over every aspect of my life — soccer, academics, scholarship, housing, meal plans, even an opportunity to play [overseas].”
As suspicions escalated about the coach’s relationship with the player, a schism widened among teammates.
“Unconsciously, I began to distance myself from my teammates, and they, in turn, distanced themselves from me,” the player said. “I later realized they feared I might report their frustrations or criticisms to our head coach. This dynamic created an atmosphere of tension and distrust, further isolating me from the people I relied on most.”
In October, Brown was placed on leave. In December, BU posted a three-paragraph notice on its athletics website that Brown “will be stepping down from her position.”
The notice made no mention of the complaints, instead listing Brown’s accomplishments at BU. A separate message from Marrochello to BU’s women’s soccer alumni struck a more upbeat tone. He wrote, “We wish Casey the best in her future endeavors.”
Outrage ensued among members of the team. Players accused BU of caring more about its reputation than protecting student-athletes.
“In my opinion, the athletic department is as culpable as Casey Brown; they are the origin point of her abuse at Boston University and gave her the platform to do so by hiring her,” said Natalie Godoy, a senior forward from Connecticut. “They then continued their negligence by failing to handle the situation efficiently and effectively.”
University administration called ‘cowardly’
In a 45-minute meeting with Marrochello on the day Brown resigned, players lashed out, asserting that BU enabled Brown by allowing her to depart with her reputation intact, according to multiple participants.
Players said they asked Marrochello if he believed he did everything he could to prevent Brown from repeating her alleged behavior at another school.
“This team deserves justice, which at minimum would be for the true narrative to be told,” Shayla Brown told the Globe.
One player at the meeting called the administration’s handling of the matter “cowardly.” Another told Marrochello, “Casey Brown is looking for a new job as you’re looking for a new coach. That should make you sick to your stomach.”
Marrochello acknowledged during the meeting that team members endured a “tumultuous” and “brutally tough year,” participants said. He told them the university handled the matter as well as possible and was constrained by privacy laws from saying more.
“I would not say I’m protecting her,” he was quoted as saying. He also expressed his commitment to student safety.
BU said in its statement for this story: “In recent weeks, the BU Equal Opportunity Office has reached out to every BU athlete to review resources, support, and reporting processes. While we have received some questions and comments from this outreach, we have no current reports of concerns to address or investigate.”
It turned out that the Terriers fared well after Brown was placed on leave. They started the season 2-7-4 under her leadership, then went unbeaten in six straight games, capturing the Patriot League title and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
In January, Brown was officially replaced by one of her assistants, Megan Burke, who had coached the Terriers after Brown was placed on leave. A team that once seemed fractured now seems unified.
Bob Hohler can be reached at robert.hohler@globe.com.
