Less than two weeks after Crestmont University in Irvine, Calif., suspended all athletics activities, the entire former women’s softball team announced they had found a new home at Bethesda University in Anaheim, Calif., a school that competes in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
According to Sports Illustrated, the team announced the wave of transfers on the team Instagram.
Related: Crestmont University Terminates All Athletics, Effective Immediately
In late October, Crestmont told student-athletes that it had ended its contract with the third-party company tasked with running the athletics department and that all athletics activities, including practices, games, and organized team activities were suspended, effective immediately.
In the aftermath of that decision, information came to light that the former women’s softball coach had been terminated after reporting “inappropriate communication and sexual contact allegations against a former CU athletics employee.”
The softball coach, Ru Andrande, and the women’s volleyball coach both reported inappropriate behavior by the school’s athletic trainer in late September. That athletic trainer allegedly followed several student-athletes on social media and harassed them with messages late at night; he showed up to the female athletes’ in-person classes and some athletes reported inappropriate sexual contact.
Both coaches were initially told by the Crestmont University athletics director that the trainer would be terminated; however, the trainer remained on campus.
"What breaks my heart the most is knowing I was one of the lucky ones in this situation," said Savannah Turner, a member of the softball team. "Some of my teammates experienced far worse, and no young woman should ever have to go through that. I have a younger sister growing up with the same love for softball that I have, and the thought of her experiencing something like this absolutely breaks my heart. I refuse to accept a future where sexual harassment is swept under the rug by the very institutions meant to protect us. We worked our entire lives to earn these opportunities, and we deserve to feel safe, respected, and heard.”
