Jenny White took to her Facebook yesterday to share a heartbreaking story about a 19-year-old college athlete from Santa Monica who says her coach groomed her and another girl for over a year.
The 19-year-old girl has been doing her sport since she was 11, and this coach has known her the whole time. In fact, he used to coach at a rival club when she was little.
When she started college and needed a place to train, she joined his private club in Santa Monica. He let her train for free because she was really good, and he drove her everywhere since she didn’t have a car.
At first, it just seemed like he was helping her out, but slowly everything changed. He started teasing her all the time.
If she tried to ignore the jokes, he’d laugh in front of everyone and say, “Ohh look, she’s trying to play it cool.” If she got upset, he’d go, “Wow, look, she’s angry now.”
The coach took credit for her wins even though she’d been competing for years before he ever showed up.
He cooked meals for her, texted her constantly, brought her little gifts from his trips, and told her she had to bring him stuff when she traveled.
It didn’t stop, but the comments got worse. One time alone in the car, he told her straight up:
I can see why guys like you. You’re vulnerable and easy to take advantage of. Plus, you’re attractive.
Facebook
The coach trash-talked the younger kids at the club, called them lazy, and acted like she was the only one he actually respected.
When she once mentioned she’d been out drinking and had a hangover, he lost it at practice, shaming her in front of everybody.
If not, he even phoned an older guy in the sport and said:
She’s changing, she’s getting in trouble
Facebook
She felt humiliated and embarrassed by his actions.
Finally, she confronted the coach and said his coaching style was actually bullying. He said sorry for a minute, then went right back to it.
Only now, when they were alone, did he save the worst stuff. He talked about his exes, showed her his dating-app matches, joked about wanting a sugar mommy, and asked if she thought he could be a model.
Similarly, he also made disgusting comments about another girl at the club who had been assaulted and said stuff like maybe the assault “was for the best.”
Turns out the coach was doing the same thing to her friend which she found out just a month ago. He used the same lines, same slow build-up that started years earlier, and got creepy the moment they both turned 18.
Neither of them had realized it wasn’t normal because it happened so gradually and always when no one else was around. He never acted that way with the boys.
And when she started pulling away, he blew up at her.
One day, another younger girl asked not to train with him because he scared her. Furious because of that, at the end of practice, the coach took everything out on her, dragged her aside, and screamed that she was tearing his club apart and just using him “like some chump.”
He even called her old coach to ask how to “deal with her.” The old coach ripped into him, telling him to stop treating grown women like his personal friends.
The girl revealed that she cried the whole way home and hasn’t been back since. He ruined the sport she loved with every fiber of her being.
Meanwhile, the girl expressed her concern about a 14-year-old training at the club who is already afraid of him and will turn 18 soon.
The girl doesn’t have any evidence other than the old texts before she confronted him. While everything else happened verbally when they were both alone in his car.
She now feels ashamed of laughing at his jokes or thanking him for the rides.
Likewise, she is asking if this even counts as grooming since he waited until they were legally adults and never touched them, saying:
I don’t know if it’s enough or if I should forget about it all and try to avoid him. I don’t even know if what happened counts grooming.
Facebook
He never assaulted me or the girl, never touched us, and only started saying things as soon as we turned 18. It’s also so borderline it’s frustrating because there is nothing we can do.
The girl even shared screenshots of their conversations.
