Without specifying when, the woman wrote, “I have emailed Justin Wilcox, Jim Knowlton, our Athletic director, and called and emailed many other coaches and athletic administrators. No response.”
When asked when he found out about the claims, Wilcox said, “As soon as we received the allegations this week, we reported them to the proper campus authorities. It is in their hands now, and we will fully support the investigation going forward.”
University spokespeople earlier this week could not confirm whether the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination had opened an investigation. The office is the campus agency responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with federal laws preventing discrimination and harassment.
The Chronicle is not identifying the woman — who said she was a member of the team’s sports medicine unit — because she may be a victim of sexual assault.
The allegations were made Wednesday by the woman in a lengthy public Facebook post, which began with her saying an unnamed coach had told her, “I will get you fired if you do not have sex with me.”
In the post — which has since been deleted — the woman said she has medically withdrawn from the university and is seeking “intensive therapy and psychiatry for the post traumatic stress syndrome and anxiety” she says she suffered after the alleged verbal and physical harassment. She said coaches and players stared at her during practice, sent “creepy” messages on social media and invited her to parties or to meet them in campus offices after hours or in a local hotel.
The woman alleged that a coach who followed her home one day and made suggestive comments “is still employed by Cal football” — something Wilcox declined to comment on.
The woman also alleged that Wilcox had created a “special rule” for her in which he suggested she wear different clothing, “clearly singling me out and humiliating me.”
Asked about that claim, Wilcox said: “I wish I could answer that question, but I can’t. I wish I could. I just can’t.”