He was supposed to be a protector, but to the end, he looked out only for himself.
When former University of Toledo women’s soccer coach Brad Evans resigned in 2015, he cast the circumstances as something of a workplace misunderstanding — inappropriate “relationships with past co-workers,” he told The Blade — and spun the departure as his decision.
UT didn’t push back, either.
In its official statement, the university said Evans “appreciated the opportunity” to lead the Rockets for 14 seasons and was abruptly stepping down to “begin a new career outside the coaching profession.”
And that was that.
Until it wasn’t.
Now, five years after Evans quietly returned to coaching soccer, we know the chilling reality of his exit.
As you might have seen, an investigation by the British newspaper, The Guardian, depicted Evans’ successful run at Toledo as a reign of terror, with the coach allegedly using his position of influence to emotionally abuse players and prey on his assistants, many of whom came up through the program.
Three former Rockets who became coaches for Evans were among the young staffers who cited episodes of sexual misconduct, including Candice Fabry.
In February, 2015, Fabry sent an email to Kelly Andrews, UT’s Senior Woman Administrator, detailing an assault at El Camino Real in the summer of 2007. She had met Evans, his wife, and another Toledo coach at the Mexican restaurant to tell them she was accepting an offer to join the staff as a volunteer assistant. At one point, Evans left their table, and, while he was absent, Fabry went to use the bathroom.
“On my way to the bathroom, I saw Brad in the hallway and he grabbed me into a side room, began kissing me and was attempting to put his hands down my pants,” Fabry wrote to Andrews in a message with the subject line, “Information I should have told you in 2007,” according to The Guardian. “I froze for a moment unsure of what was happening, but then quickly pushed him back with both hands and started screaming ‘no, no, no’.”
The email was the lead exhibit in a terrifying report, and, for Toledo, the story raises hard questions, none with easy answers.
By the letter of the law, the university appears to have fulfilled its obligation.
After Fabry sent the message, then-Toledo AD Mike O’Brien — who in an interview this week called Evans’ conduct “deplorable” — said the case was referred to the school’s Title IX office, which began an investigation. Nine days later, Evans resigned. Otherwise, he no doubt would have been fired. (Evans could not be reached for comment, but he told the Guardian, “I am deeply sorry to have disappointed so many individuals.”)
The Guardian also reported on a 2012 meeting that two sisters who played for UT and their parents called with university administrators, in which the family outlined a culture of “abusive behavior.” But, the report added, the family was “careful to note that there was no one specific dramatic incident they identify as a red flag.”
While it’s easy to search for administrative villains and say Toledo enabled Evans — and cast all of this as another top-to-bottom failing of the schools, churches, and institutions of power that have so devastatingly betrayed so many — I can’t go there.
Not with what we know today.
Much as anything, this story is a tragic indictment on the uneven power dynamics that conspire to silence victims, and we need to applaud the courage of the women who shared their pained experiences. There’s no evidence that any allegations of sexual misconduct were brought to UT before the 2015 email, nor has anyone claimed that there were. (Our Toledo beat writer, Kyle Rowland, has requested all sorts of records from the university. Look for his coverage.)
But ...
A school’s Title IX responsibility and its moral responsibility are not one and the same.
Two years after Evans left Toledo — a man who players-turned-aides said groomed, manipulated, and coerced them — returned to coaching as a youth soccer instructor. He eventually became the head of coaching education for the Ohio Soccer Association and the head of Ohio’s Olympic Development Program, as run by U.S. Youth Soccer. (U.S. Soccer suspended Evans’ license after the Guardian report was published.)
Could Toledo have done more?
Clearly, the people with the most explaining to do are those who hired such an alleged slimebucket to lead and mentor children. How is it possible that a U.S. Soccer spokesman was unaware if U.S. Soccer had ever communicated with UT? How is it possible that — when asked the same question — the Ohio Soccer Association did not respond? (O’Brien said neither organization reached out.)
That apparent lack of vetting is unconscionable.
But it takes two to pass the trash.
And Toledo did nothing to get in the way.
While the university responded promptly when the allegations of sexual assault came to light, among my many questions: Did UT — meaning the Title IX office — commit to a thorough investigation? Or did it go through the motions after Evans resigned? Should it have publicized the results of the inquiry? (Note: Yes, the Toledo media should have pushed for its release.) And, at least, should the school have made sure that any employer who hired Evans in a coaching or mentorship role knew about it?
On that last point, we’d all like to think we would have the moral clarity and vigilance to assume a watchdog role and closely follow Evans’ career.
But is that the real world? I don’t know.
Barring further revelations, the best we can do now is support the victims and demand that Toledo is held to account, including in the way it vets and oversees those in leadership roles and cultivates an environment that encourages athletes and coaches to come forward.
Athletic director Bryan Blair — who like most of us is coming across this story with a fresh pair of eyes — put it well.
“I don’t know you can read those allegations and not be upset, not be frustrated, not be angry, not be hurt, not be scared,” he said Friday. “There are just a broad range of emotions, just as a human being caring for another human being. When I read what was outlined in the email, you wonder, ‘How could something like that happen?’
“It’s sad that somebody has to go through something like that. ... You go from those [feelings] to then, as the leader of the athletic department, making sure we do everything in our power so that nothing like that ever happens again.”
First Published July 16, 2022, 12:30 p.m.
