Michigan State is the poster child for universities that violated Title IX in the way they treated (or, rather, didn’t treat) instances of sexual abuse. In 2019, it was found guilty of failing to stop Larry Nassar from criminally assaulting hundreds of female athletes in his role as team doctor (not to mention his criminal actions as a trainer for USA Gymnastics). But it’s not the only such sordid Title IX story.
In 2009, the head swimming and diving coach for San Jose State University, Sage Hopkins, began hearing stories about the athletic department’s trainer, Scott Shaw. Female athletes were coming to him with complaints about his behavior.
The swimmers said that Shaw often worked alone with them in the training room. He didn’t explain his treatments before beginning and he didn’t seek their consent. They said Shaw would touch their pelvic area and massage their breasts, and in some cases touch their nipples beneath their clothing. All the while, he was purportedly working on unrelated areas of the body, such as the shoulder, knee or back.
Seventeen swimmers ultimately complained about Shaw to Hopkins. The coach compiled their accounts into a nearly 300-page file. He notified the athletic department, the university administration and the campus police. In late 2009, the university opened an investigation based on the complaints.
Nope, not guilty
In 2010, however, the university ruled that Shaw was not guilty of misconduct. They said his methods of “pressure point” therapy were an acceptable treatment for muscle injuries. Shaw suffered no consequences and continued as director of sports medicine.
“I’m upset that this person abused his power, but I’m even more upset that this larger power allowed him to do that and then still keep his job there,” said former San Jose swimmer Caitlin Macky. “We weren’t taken seriously, and we weren’t protected at the time.”*
Meanwhile, Hopkins continued to confront the administration. In 2018, he re-reported the allegations. In addition, he documented instances of what he believed to be retaliation against him and his staff for speaking out against Shaw.
Along comes Title IX
So, here’s where Title IX comes in. Hopkins included the university’s Title IX office when he updated the athletes’ complaints. In June 2020, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office initiated a Title IX compliance review of the university.
During the review, the university reopened its investigation into the 2009 complaints. In addition, two current swimmers came forward with new complaints against Shaw. In this review, it came to light that in the original investigation, the university interviewed just one swimmer about Shaw’s behavior, ignoring all the other women.
The DOJ concluded that San Jose had violated Title IX. Shaw’s physical therapy “lacked medical basis, ignored proper protocols and violated the system’s sexual harassment policies.” It required the university to pay $1.6 million to athletes from six teams and mandated an overhaul of the university’s sexual harassment and abuse reporting system.
In 2021, the university review found that Shaw was responsible for at least five instances of sexual abuse. By then, however, Shaw had retired.
But that wasn’t the end of the story. In April 2021, Hopkins filed a lawsuit against San Jose State claiming retaliation for pursuing the athletes’ complaints. In the lawsuit, Steve O’Brien, former deputy athletics director, says he was fired after refusing an order from the university to discipline Hopkins and a staff member. O’Brien believes the order, and his firing, was in response to Hopkins re-reporting the Title IX violations.
In January 2022, the university settled with Hopkins for $250,000. In addition, the university also agreed to another two settlements totaling $4.9 million to the abuse victims. Hopkins remains the university’s swim coach.
He had their back
All too often, when it comes to Title IX violations, female athletes are on their own, filing their own lawsuits against their universities, with no one to back them up. In fact, most often they face censure and backlash. San Jose’s women were grateful that their coach had their back.
“I’m so thankful for Sage Hopkins and the perseverance he showed in advocating for all student-athletes, not just his own,” Caitlin Macky said.**
And so Title IX inches forward, one step — and most often, one lawsuit — at a time.
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** Emma Edmund, “San Jose settles retaliation lawsuit, apologizes to Sage Hopkins,” swimswam.com (January 13, 2022).
* Kenny Jacoby and Rachel Axon, “San Jose State reinvestigates claims athletic trainer inappropriately touched swimmers,” USA Today (April 17, 2020).
PHOTO: Sage Hopkins speaking during a ceremony commending him for his advocacy