A second former Boston University women’s soccer player is detailing allegations of “psychological and emotional abuse” by former coach Nancy Feldman.
After “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper accused Feldman of sexual harassment in her recent Hulu docuseries, Call Her Alex, BU alum Sophia Woodland is speaking out about her alleged experiences with the retired soccer coach. (Woodland played for the BU women’s soccer team from 2019 to 2022, per online records.)
The former college soccer player told the Boston Globe in an interview published on Thursday, June 26, that she underwent years of therapy to process Feldman’s “psychological and emotional abuse,” which she said focused largely on her body.
“The biggest issue Nancy had was my body,” Woodland told the outlet. “And that was all I heard for my three years that I played under her. … I would get so anxious all the time.”
According to the Boston Globe, in 2022, a university psychologist emailed members of the women’s soccer team that she wanted to raise their concerns about Feldman to the university’s higher-ups. Ultimately, she didn’t, and Feldman retired in 2022. (A BU spokesperson told the outlet that a player reached out to the psychologist and objected to her escalating the issue.)
“We were like, ‘OK, good luck.’ Multiple teammates had gone to the athletic department. Multiple parents had already gone,” Woodland said, expressing skepticism that the psychologist’s efforts would have any real consequences.
Us Weekly has reached out to Feldman and Boston University for comment.
Woodland also reacted to a recent letter signed by 99 former BU soccer players in support of Feldman. Earlier in June, TMZ reported it had obtained a copy of a letter cosigned by dozens of BU alumni stating that their experiences with Feldman vastly differed from the sexual harassment claims made by Cooper, 30, in her docuseries.
The former players said, in part, that they “categorically never felt unsafe” under Feldman. “We were never at risk of or witness to inappropriate behavior or anything that could be characterized as sexual harassment,” they added, per TMZ.
”There are gonna be people who had a different experience or didn’t think that [Feldman] was all that bad,” Woodland told the Boston Globe. “Abusers can’t abuse everyone, right? So the 99 people that signed that letter, I’m like, ‘You guys are — no offense — extremely inconsiderate.’”
“Just because you had a good experience doesn’t mean that she was incapable of harming other people,” Woodland added.
Cooper played for the BU women’s soccer team between 2013 and 2015. She alleged in Hulu’s Call Her Alex docuseries, released on June 10, that Feldman began to “fixate on me, way more than any other teammate of mine” during her sophomore year.
“[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,” she said, per People.
“It was this psychotic game of, ‘You want to play? Tell me about your sex life,’” Cooper alleged.
Feldman could not be reached for comment at the time. However, a Boston University spokesperson told Us in a June 13 statement, “Boston 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. We encourage members of our community to report any concerns, and we remain committed to fostering a safe and secure campus environment for all.”
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