Who is Nancy Feldman? Alex Cooper accuses former soccer coach of sexual harassment
Alex Cooper made serious allegations against her former college soccer coach, Nancy Feldman, in her new Hulu docuseries, Call Her Alex.
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper has accused her soccer coach from Boston University (BU), Nancy Feldman, of sexual harassment. The accusations were made as part of the 30-year-old's new Hulu docuseries Call Her Alex, which premiered on Tuesday (June 10).
Who is Nancy Feldman?
Born in a suburb of Boston, Feldman is credited with building the women’s soccer team at BU from the ground up during her 27 years as a coach. Her original love for sports started with baseball, but due to the absence of Title IX, she was unable to compete alongside boys of her age.
“I was sorely disappointed because I love baseball,” she said during an interview with ESPN in 2022. Her love for sports soon found an avenue in soccer at the age of 13 alongside other passions like softball, basketball, and running track.
During her time pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, she played forward and midfield in the soccer team and still holds the record for most goals scored in a single game, according to university records.
After finishing her bachelor's in 1983, she then went on to gain a master's in exercise and sports studies from Smith College in 1988. Feldman joined BU as the head coach of the newly opened women’s soccer team, which previously only had a club team.
“Feldman has coached 149 all-conference selections, 25 all-rookie honorees in addition to 11 Defenders of the Year, eight Rookies of the Year, seven Midfielders of the Year, six Offensive Players of the Year, and six Goalkeepers of the Year,” says the official BU Athletics website.
She announced her retirement from the position in 2022. “I’m walking away healthy, with family that I have put second to my soccer responsibilities. Soccer as a fan will always be part of my life. I’ll always be a BU fan of the athletic program and I’m sure I’ll be at games,” she said at the time in an interview with BU Today.
As for her personal life, Feldman has two children with her longtime partner Emily and is also a grandmother of two.
What are Alex Cooper's allegations against Nancy Feldman?
Cooper joined BU’s soccer team in 2013 as a freshman and claims in her docuseries that the abuse started in her sophomore year when Feldman was “really starting to fixate on me, way more than any other teammate of mine. And it was confusing.” “It was all based in her wanting to know who I was dating, her making comments about my body and her always wanting to be alone with me.”
Although Cooper’s mother, Laurie, brought the issue to the athletic authorities at BU, the dean refused to fire Feldman and completely dismissed her claims of sexual abuse. The podcaster was allowed to keep her full sports scholarship even though she quit the team in her senior year. No official statement has been released by BU or Feldman in response to Cooper’s claims.
By Stuti Gupta
