‘Everyone knew his past’: how a coach stayed in soccer despite troubling allegations

Lack of transparency and failure by the University of Toledo and the US Center for SafeSport to complete investigations into a sexual assault allegation against women’s soccer coach Brad Evans opened a door for him to continue to coach girls and young women, according to individuals with knowledge of how Evans was hired for subsequent jobs.

As previously revealed by the Guardian, Evans was allowed to resign from his role leading a successful women’s soccer program at the University of Toledo in 2015. At the time the resignation cited an “inappropriate relationship” with a co-worker, even though the university was aware of concerns raised by players and families, including an allegation of sexual assault.

The university ended its investigation into those complaints when he resigned – meaning allegations from former staff effectively disappeared. Evans has never faced criminal charges over the allegations.

After his departure from Toledo, Evans was subsequently hired to senior roles with Ohio Youth Soccer Association North and Internationals Soccer Club, a regional youth soccer powerhouse based near Cleveland, Ohio.

Keri Sarver, the Internationals Soccer Club director of coaching, hired Evans for a coaching role at the team in 2020. She told the Guardian she did not know about the allegations against him at Toledo. “I was aware that he had resigned from the University of Toledo because of an inappropriate relationship with a co-worker and that’s all I know,” she said.

“I was told it was a relationship with an adult co-worker and from that perspective it was a personal matter between him and his wife and his family and his employer. At that point, that’s all I knew and at that point that’s where it started and ended.”

Sarve