Eight former Yale University coaches and athletic staff members have reportedly backed allegations of a toxic workplace environment within the athletic department as the university evaluates the contract of Athletic Director Vicky Chun. The support follows a formal complaint letter sent by former hockey coach Keith Allain to President Maurine McInnis.
The allegations, first reported by Fox News Digital on March 23, suggest that Chun fostered a culture characterized by fear and lack of transparency. According to the Yale Daily News, eight of 12 anonymous former employees interviewed corroborated the claims made in Allain’s correspondence.
“Vicky Chun is the absolute worst leader I have ever been around in my life. She is dishonest, self centered and inaccessible. Vicky’s singular talent is self promotion and has created a toxic environment within the department where she is insulated by a cadre of administrators whose main task seems to be silencing any dissent,” wrote Keith Allain, Former Yale Hockey Coach.
The university has confirmed receipt of multiple communications regarding the athletic director’s leadership. These letters arrived as administrators consider whether to extend Chun’s tenure at the Ivy League institution.
“many people” said Maurine McInnis, Yale University President.
An investigative series by Fox News Digital highlighted further internal issues, including claims from lawyers representing former strength coach Thomas Newman. They alleged Newman was unknowingly recorded before being forced out of his position.
The investigation also noted that track and field athletes have left programs due to the culture. Additionally, records show Executive Deputy Director Ann-Marie Guglieri and Deputy Director Mary Berdo purchased a home together in June 2018, nearly a year before Berdo was hired.
Former employees alleged that the department pressured a senior associate athletic director into a voluntary retirement package in late 2018 to create a vacancy for Berdo. One source claimed the department could not increase its headcount at the time.
“A senior associate athletic director was called in October of 2018 and was pressured to accept a retirement package, and this person had no choice but to take this retirement package and give 90-day notice, and just after the 90-day notice, Mary Berdo was hired,” said a former Yale Athletics employee.
Allain noted that the timeline provided by former staff members regarding the retirement package and Berdo’s hiring aligned with information he had received internally. Yale’s president’s office maintained that the university followed all personnel and disclosure policies.
“We can confirm that Yale has a robust set of personnel and disclosure policies that it followed,” said a spokesman for the university president’s office.
Chun, who joined Yale in 2018 from Colgate University, previously discussed her transition into the role during an interview with the Yale Alumni Association. She recalled an early mistake involving the purchase of custom football helmets that exceeded the budget.
“I was talking to the football alums, you know, there’s this great helmet that I had at my previous institution. And I thought if Colgate can afford it, we definitely can afford it. So I announced, we are getting these coolest, custom-made Riddell helmets. So then my deputy comes to me and says ‘What are you thinking? Do you know how much these helmets cost?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, we had them at Colgate.’ She goes, ‘Yeah, like six or seven of them,’” said Victoria Chun, Yale Athletic Director.
Chun noted the emotional weight of the error during her first year. She has not yet responded to recent inquiries regarding her contract status.
“And I did cry. Because I thought, ‘Wow, this is going to be the shortest-lived athletic director,’ and, you know, here I am!” said Victoria Chun, Yale Athletic Director.
