Arizona State athletics director accused of covering up sexual harassment by athletics booster
Arizona State athletics director Ray Anderson is accused of covering up allegations that a major booster sexually harassed three women — including men’s basketball coach Bobby Hurley’s wife — and then fired a senior executive who reported the behavior.
A $1.5 million notice of claim filed against Arizona State last week alleges Anderson repeatedly ignored claims that Bart Wear, an alumnus and significant donor to athletic teams, sexually harassed three women at athletics events.
David Cohen, a former senior associate athletics director, claims that Wear sexually harassed Cohen’s wife, Kathy, and two other women.
When he reported the conduct in March 2019, first to Anderson and then to four other senior administrators, he claims the university failed to take action and retaliated by firing him later that year.
The claim says two other women also reported inappropriate behavior, including him rubbing a woman’s back and asking her inappropriate questions and putting his hand on another woman’s leg.
“ASU’s delay put members of the ASU community at risk and cost Mr. Cohen his job,” wrote Michael Perez, an attorney for Cohen.
Cohen claims that his wife was trying to pass by Wear in the aisle on her way to the restroom at an Arizona State basketball game on March 14 at the Pac-12 men’s tournament in Las Vegas. Wear put his hands on her waist, moved them up the side of her body to the sides of her breasts and said, “Dave is lucky to have you.”
