This is a developing story. As needed, updates will be posted on The Retriever’s website and in future print issues.
All claims regarding the termination of Brian Barrio are alleged in accordance to the lawsuit filed with United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and not claims from reporters from The Retriever.
In the Spring 2024 semester, University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s (UMBC) students and staff were notified by president Valarie Sheares Ashby of the conclusion of the recent investigation conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The DOJ report detailed many heinous sexual abuse crimes, and sex discrimination committed by the late swimming and diving head coach, Chad Cradock. The conclusion was that the athletics department and Title IX staff failed the students affected by Cradock’s abuse. Since March 18, UMBC made numerous changes in an attempt to ensure this abuse does not happen again.
The DOJ and UMBC have come to a settlement of $4.1 million in financial relief for the athletes affected. Additionally, on April 2, president Sheares Ashby announced various leadership transitions. Although these transitions were not said to be explicitly related to the DOJ report, due to the timing as well as the outcomes of one of these transitions, it could be inferred that the changes were related.
The former director of athletics, Brian Barrio, no longer serves in his position. Although UMBC never explicitly claimed he was fired, Barrio has recently spoken to many different news outlets claiming he was wrongfully terminated.
Now, Barrio is suing President Sheares Ashby as both an individual named defendant, as well as in her official capacity as president of UMBC in a 17-page federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland on August 7, 2024. The lawsuit also names UMBC as a whole, in addition to the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland.
Barrio claims that his termination was an attempt by UMBC to use him as a “scapegoat.” He is suing on count one for “fraudulent inducement,” against UMBC and The Board of Regents, count two for “retaliation in violation of Title IX,” count three for “promissory estoppel/detrimental reliance,” count four for “libel,” and count five for “libel by implication,” all against defendants UMBC, The Board of Regents, and Valarie Sheares Ashby.
Due to a previous Title IX debacle pertaining to the UMBC Baseball team in 2019, according to the complaint Barrio was diligent in asking and confirming with many different staff members during his hiring process if there were any continuing issues with Title IX claims. He was allegedly given multiple “no’s,” most notably by former UMBC President, Freeman Hrabowski.
Section 19 of the filed complaint references a one-on-one meeting with Hrabowski, which states, “Brian asked Dr. Hrabowski whether any current staff were implicated in the issues around the baseball case, or whether there were concerns about any current staff with respect to Title IX or other issues in general, and Dr. Hrabowski answered with a very firm “no” – he made it clear that there were no other issues.”
Barrio claims to have had specific concerns about Cradock’s role as both the swim and dive head coach, as well as a member of the senior athletics staff. All of these concerns were allegedly dismissed by many members of UMBC staff, stating, “Brian was assured that Cradock was an important and respected leader, that he ran a model program, and that his presence on the senior staff was an asset. There was no hesitation in any of them about Cradock, and no indication that he was anything other than a ‘model citizen.’”
Additionally, the recently-filed complaint states that the victims of the sexual abuse felt safe to tell Barrio about their experiences. In section 26 the complaint states, “As soon as Brian took the as yet unprecedented step of holding Coach Cradock accountable, members of the swim team told Brian they ‘felt safe to report’ Cradock’s sexual abuse and assaults.”
According to the lawsuit, these reports to Barrio resulted in quick action, and Cradock was removed from his position.
The complaint also references a conversation in early February of 2024, between President Sheares Ashby and Barrio, where Barrio was offered another Athletics Director position at a more prestigious university. Sheares Ashby encouraged Barrio to stay at UMBC, and even offered an extension of his contract to last until 2028.
On March 14, 2024, although the DOJ reported that Barrio had not contributed to the Cradock abuse, Barrio was fired by President Sheares Ashby through a phone call.
The Retriever has reached out to Barrio and has yet to receive a response. Additionally, the Chief of Staff for UMBC’s president’s office Kacey Hammel, has refused to comment.
After a nationwide search for Barrio’s replacement, president Sheares Ashby announced that she has appointed Tiffany D. Tucker, former deputy athletics director for University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Candace Dodson-Reed, the former leader for Government Relations and Community Affairs resigned from her role. Yaakov “Jake” Weissmann has stepped up to the leadership role. President Sheares Ashby says, “He has already proven to be an outstanding and expert colleague and advisor, and I am grateful for his service to UMBC.”
When asked about her resignation by reporters from The Retriever, Dodson-Reed seemed confused by the question and simply sent her LinkedIn announcement, which stated her excitement for new endeavors after eight years at UMBC.
Additionally, five minutes later, she sent another email with a screenshot of a positive email sent by Sheares Ashby reading, “thank you for serving so beautifully as the inaugural vice president of government relations and community affairs. I will forever be grateful for your partnership and leadership.”
Although Dodson-Reed refused to comment when she was questioned further regarding whether her resignation had anything to do with the DOJ report, she is also referenced in the Barrio complaint.
According to section 21, when Barrio met with Associate Vice-President Valerie Thomas and then Chief-of-Staff Dodson-Reed, “Neither Thomas nor Dodson-Reed gave any indication that there were issues with any Athletics staff, that anyone had failed to share mandatory reports, or that there was a senior staff member and head coach in Athletics who had been the subject of repeated allegations of sexual misconduct.”
More leadership transitions include the departure of Greg Simmons, the former Vice President for institutional advancement, and the retirement of David Gleason, former Chief Legal Advisor for the Office of the General Counsel.
Along with the current lawsuit filed by Barrio, it can be inferred that most of, if not all, of the leaders who have since resigned, retired, or been terminated had something to do with the negligence in this sexual assault case.
Additionally, president Sheares Ashby has implemented a multitude of new protocols and more to ensure incidents like these never happen again. These include but are not limited to, the new role of Vice President for Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer to oversee the work of the Office of Equity and Civil Rights, appointed a non-university affiliated specialist to provide expertise for Title IX, and launched an annual mandatory Title IX online training for all enrolled students. More of these changes can be found on MyUMBC.
Students at UMBC have since been buzzing about the DOJ report, along with the recent string of reported sexual assaults and car thefts on campus. They are rightfully frightened and hope to see significant changes in the future.
If any student affected by Chad Cradock’s sexual abuse and discrimination would like to have their voices heard, they can reach out to The Retriever’s Managing Editor Arpa Shahnazarian at arpas1@umbc.edu. Wishes to remain anonymous will be respected.
If you would like to read the entire 17 page complaint, it will be published on The Retriever website at retriever.umbc.edu.
The Retriever Student – Run Newspaper condemns any sexual misconduct and works towards full compliance with Title IX rules and regulations.
If you or someone you know has faced sexual misconduct, please contact UMBC police at (410) 455 – 5555, or fill out an online report/referral at the Office of Equity and Civil Rights at https://ecr.umbc.edu/gender-discrimination-sexual-misconduct/
Arpa Shahnazarian is a junior mathematics and economics major at UMBC, and the Managing Editor at The Retriever.
Contact Arpa at arpas1@umbc.edu
