Stanford football coach Troy Taylor mistreated female staff members and tried to have an NCAA compliance officer removed after she raised concerns over rules violations, according to a report from ESPN.
ESPN obtained documents from two investigations into Taylor’s behavior, where more than 20 former and current Stanford athletics staffers cooperated with investigators. The investigations began after multiple employees filed complaints against Taylor for “aggressive and hostile behavior,” ESPN reports.
Advertisement
Both investigations determined that Taylor’s treatment of employees, particularly women, was inconsistent with Stanford’s standards, per ESPN.
When asked for comment, Stanford supplied the same statements to The Athletic that it provided to ESPN.
“Stanford believes in upholding the highest standards of behavior in the workplace,” a Stanford spokesperson said in one of the statements. “Last summer, the University took appropriate measures, Coach Taylor received coaching, and he has committed to nurturing the respectful working environment that is essential to the success of all our athletics programs.”
The school hired Kate Weaver Patterson of KWP Consulting & Mediation to conduct the first investigation, which was launched in the spring of 2023.
In her report, Patterson wrote that multiple people complained of Taylor repeatedly making inappropriate comments about a female staffer’s “appearance, smell, and interest in football.” Patterson also found the culture of Stanford’s football program to be “not welcoming to women.” Taylor made “belittling comments” toward compliance officers and “expressed inappropriate anger and frustration with staff,” per ESPN.
After the first investigation concluded, Taylor signed a warning letter in February 2024 acknowledging he could be fired if the behavior continued, according to ESPN. In a statement Wednesday, he called the investigations “a learning opportunity.”
“I willingly complied with the investigations, accepted the recommendations that came out of them, and used them as a learning opportunity to grow in leadership and how I interact with others,” Taylor said. “I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively and collegially with my colleagues so that we can achieve success for our football program together.”
Attorney Timothy O’Brien of the law firm Libby, O’Brien, Kingsley & Champion conducted the second investigation in June after two new people filed complaints against Taylor.
Advertisement
In his report, O’Brien called Taylor’s treatment of an NCAA female compliance officer “inappropriate, discriminatory on the basis of her sex” and said Taylor retaliated against her by trying to have her removed from her job. O’Brien also said that Taylor’s conduct toward staffers aligned with the behavior that resulted in his warning letter in early 2024, according to ESPN.
The second investigation ended in July, and Taylor remains Stanford’s football coach.
Taylor, 56, is entering his third season at Stanford after leading the Cardinal to back-to-back 3-9 seasons.
— The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel contributed to this report.
(Photo: Eakin Howard / Imagn Images)
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
