Soccer and podcast star Alex Cooper claims sexual harassment by college coach

Alex Cooper, who was a soccer star at Boston University and now hosts the podcastCall Her Daddy, has alleged she was sexually harassed by coach Nancy Feldman while at BU.

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Cooper made the claim in a new docuseries, Call Her Alex. The first episode of the two-parter was shown Sunday at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, and both episodes dropped Tuesday on Hulu. The series is directed by Ry Russo-Young.

“In the documentary, she claims a pattern that started sophomore year in earnest as the coach focused increasingly on her personally, not on her playing, with questions and comments about her body and her romantic life,” Deadline reports. “She alleged Feldman would try to get her alone, put a hand on her thigh, stare at her, and once asked if she had had sex the previous night.”

“The allegations were met with audible gasps in the audience” at the end of the screening, the site notes. Cooper has said it hurt particularly that the harassment was coming from a woman.

The series deals primarily with Cooper’s podcast, which she launched in 2018, a year after she graduated from BU. It has evolved “from a raunchy sex show about blow jobs to one centered on her vulnerability,” Variety reports in its review. The podcast also deals with politics and has featured interviews with entertainers including Jane Fonda, Janelle Monáe, and Christina Aguilera, plus former Vice President Kamala Harris. Call Her Daddy has become one of the highest-rated and most lucrative podcasts ever.

The sexual harassment allegations form the most interesting part of the first episode, according to Variety. “Detailing the years-long turmoil, Cooper unpacks the anger, fear and anguish she felt and why the betrayal (especially when the university decided to protect Feldman) enraged her, prompting her to reclaim her voice post-grad,” the publication reports.

When she went to university administrators with her story, Cooper said, they asked her what she wanted them to do, but they said they would not fire Feldman. BU didn’t investigate Cooper’s claims either, she said. She added that there was retaliation in that she did not play during her senior year.

Feldman retired in 2022. Various outlets have sought comment from her or BU, but none has been forthcoming. The documentary does not include a comment either.