Posted By Vincent DiFonzo and Ella Prieto on Nov 13, 2024 | 2 comments

Editor’s Note: Since this article’s publication, a group of women’s soccer alumnae issued a petition in support of former head coach Matt Garrett, which can be read about here.

By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief, and Ella Prieto, Managing Editor

The head coach of the Gettysburg College women’s soccer team has resigned amid accusations of verbal and mental abuse targeting student-athletes on the team. Coach Matt Garrett resigned on Friday, Nov. 1, announcing his decision during the team’s practice. 

Garrett has worked as the team’s head coach since 2007. Before Gettysburg, he worked as an assistant coach for the Division II men’s soccer team at Slippery Rock University and earlier at Robert Morris University, a Division I team. 

His decision to resign followed 31 team members’ attempt to meet with Athletics Director Mike Mattia regarding their concerns about Garrett. That meeting was reportedly canceled less than an hour before it was set to begin, triggering team members to walk to President Bob Iuliano’s office and demand that they be heard. 

In a statement to The Gettysburgian, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Jamie Yates stated that Iuliano “assured the student-athletes that a meeting with the Athletics Director would take place, and that the situation they described would be promptly addressed.” 

Later that day, Garrett announced he was resigning at the team’s practice, citing that he had been previously considering leaving his position and that he “does not enjoy being around the players or parents,” according to one team member. This “allowed him to sidestep accountability,” the team member stated. 

That evening, a parent petition that demanded the immediate resignation or termination of Garrett was emailed to Iuliano, Mattia and Garrett. This petition also demanded Garrett’s removal from the team’s final game of the season, which was held the following day, Nov. 2, against Ursinus. The petition was signed by 69 parents representing 36 players. 

Additionally, the petition was sent to Vice President of Enrollment J. Carey Thompson, who oversees Mattia. In the early hours of Nov. 2, the petition was forwarded to The Gettysburgian. 

“The toxic atmosphere together with hostile environment cultivated by Matt Garrett, head coach of the women’s soccer program at Gettysburg, are now untenable,” the petition reads. “Our #1 concern as parents is the health and well-being of our daughters, both physically and mentally, when we send them off to college. Matt Garrett’s [verbally] abusive nature and strident character have destroyed the confidence, damaged the psychology and stolen the love of soccer from countless student athletes.”

The petition also alleges that attempts have been made by Athletics to “rehabilitate” Garrett through probation and counseling. The Gettysburgian reached out to the College, who were unable to confirm or deny this, citing that it is a “personnel issue.” 

“The culture he has curated is antithetical to every ‘value, expectation, and standard’ in the coaches and players Program Standards & Expectations Handbook,” reads the petition. “He harshly enforces it on his players while remaining unapologetically unaccountable to it himself. The coach/player relationship dynamic is one of oppressor/oppressed. One of abuser/victim. This is not hyperbole.”

The petition continues, “The undersigned parents to this Petition are prepared to cite their respective laundry lists of unacceptable encounters and incidents their daughters have had to endure in the presence of Matt Garrett, both individually and in a team setting, the volume of which are likely to fill up your email inbox.” 

A team member further elaborated, “The statement from parents describing Coach Garrett’s ‘abusive nature and strident character’ as damaging to student-athletes confidence, psychology, and love of soccer resonates strongly with our experience.” 

Following the petition’s demand that Garrett not be allowed to attend the team’s final game against Ursinus, Garrett texted the team, stating that he and the College decided against his attendance at the game. He cited “very disturbing emails sent last night” as the reason, referring to the parent’s petition. 

The canceled Friday meeting with was eventually rescheduled, and team members met with Mattia on Wednesday, Nov. 6 and were allowed to air their grievances regarding Garrett’s conduct. At this meeting, “[Mattia] let us share all of our experiences and we talked about the qualities we want in a new head coach,” according to one team member. 

Former women’s soccer captain and alumnus Molly O’Shea ’23 addressed the allegations in a statement to The Gettysburgian. 

“While I respect the personal experiences of every player, I have to strongly disagree with the petition and the incredibly damaging language it uses,” said O’Shea. “The petition does not reflect my own experience on the team, nor my interactions with Coach Garrett.”

She also spoke highly of his “unwavering passion for the game” and the hours he dedicated to cultivating the players, including inviting them to his home for team dinners. O’Shea believes that the frustrations of players is due to the College’s “mandatory ‘developmental’ or ‘junior varsity’ for many of the teams” which was installed with “the goal of increasing college enrollment numbers,” according to O’Shea. 

Reached for comment on the developmental program, Thompson said that it began three years ago and it involved the expansion of the men’s and women’s soccer teams to “provide more opportunities for talented students to attend Gettysburg College while being able to participate in the sport they are passionate about.” 

He also explained the program was planned as a “three-year-pilot,” and they will be “assessing the impact of the project in the coming weeks.” 

“Despite nearly doubling the number of players on the roster, Coach Garrett received no additional coaching support,” continued O’Shea. “As a result, more players were left frustrated by limited playing time, and the quality of attention given to each individual player decreased. It’s only natural that this frustration extended to the parents as well. The blame for this situation does not lie with Coach Garrett, the players, or the parents — it lies squarely with Gettysburg College and the Athletics Department. Expecting coaches to manage such a large group of athletes without proper support is not just unrealistic; it’s irresponsible and shows a clear disregard for the players’ needs.”

Another alumnus and former captain on the team contacted The Gettysburgian to express concern about the petition, saying that the petition signatories “fail to acknowledge their own bias in the situation and the incredible influence that Coach Garrett has had on so many players throughout his 18-year long career at Gettysburg.” The Gettysburgian reached out to the alumnus for additional comment and did not receive a response. 

A student currently on the team, Petra Brown ’26, forwarded The Gettysburgian a copy of a letter, originally sent to Mattia on Nov. 1, detailing her experiences with Garrett. 

“After 18 years, he is finally being exposed for his malicious, manipulative and abusive behavior which he has inflicted on his players on and off the field, and that has had different yet detrimental effects on all of us,” wrote Brown. “Every minor mistake from my teammates and I was met with yelling that left me feeling afraid to even touch the ball. I felt that I completely forgot how to play the sport I loved since I was five years old.”

The Gettysburgian reached out to Garrett for comment on the allegations and received no response. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, Garrett’s lawyer, Christian Dennie, issued a cease-and-desist letter to The Gettysburgian, threatening legal action if The Gettysburgian continued to pursue and publish information on the story, including any further attempts by The Gettysburgian to contact Garrett to obtain his side of the story. In this letter, Dennie wrote that Garrett denies the allegations. 

“There is absolutely no truth to these accusations,” Dennie wrote.

When reached for comment on the resignation, Yates said, “The College is aware of the concerns raised by some student-athletes and parents about the coaching and leadership style on the women’s soccer team. We have heard from students about how it has affected their passion for a sport they love and for their overall experience on the team.”  

Yates added that the College is “responding with the utmost care and seriousness.”  

“While the College cannot speak to the current or past details of any personnel situation, the Athletics Department actively works to foster a respectful and supportive environment throughout the program.  When concerns about athletics personnel are raised, the Department responds with actions appropriate to the situation, which may include leadership training, counseling, and corrective action plans, among many other options,” the statement concluded.

The Gettysburgian has acquired additional letters dated in 2022 that outline instances of verbal abuse by Garrett. These letters detail complaints made by students against Garrett’s conduct dating back as far as October of that year. 

The letters accuse Garrett of insulting team members during games, including one instance where he called the team “the dumbest in the world.” At another game, Garrett allegedly stated “we don’t have any talent on this team” during a pre-game locker room speech.

“I need to start over with my recruiting and get rid of everyone here because you all are terrible except for two players,” Garrett allegedly stated at another game in the fall of 2022, according to one of the letters. 

Another letter, sent by the parents of one team member to Iuliano in November 2022, alleges that Garrett “belittles,” “humiliates,” “shouts,” “scapegoats,” “rejects,” “isolates,” “threatens” and “ignores” student-athletes. The letter cites examples for each of these accusations. 

“The behavior of Coach Matthew Garrett toward his team has put the mental health and well-being of his players — including our daughter, at great risk,” reads the letter. “It is our understanding that Gettysburg College has been notified of some of these systemic behaviors and incidents by past players, parents and college employees. We have been disappointed in the school’s lack of response to these complaints and utter disregard for the well-being of these female athletes.”  

In a letter sent to Mattia in 2022, a parent alleges that Garrett created a toxic environment on the team. 

“Coach Garrett often promoted a toxic culture lashing out at individuals or the whole team from the sidelines of games, at practice and during meetings. [Their daughter] became a frequent target of his negative attention this season, as she tried to work through injury and avoid humiliation,” the letter reads. “He’s singled her out multiple times in front of the team telling her how slow she is — often yelling it from the sidelines so even her grandparents had the pleasure of hearing her humiliated.”

With Garrett’s resignation, Athletics is now conducting a nationwide search for a new head coach. The College is “working through the terms of [Garrett’s] resignation, including his final day,” according to Yates. 

“We will be conducting a national search to find his replacement shortly. I am hopeful that we are able to attract a quality pool of candidates who will be excited to take the reins of this program and get it back on track,” wrote Mattia in an email to the parents who signed the petition. 

This article was updated to update the total number of signatories on the parent petition calling for Coach Matt Garrett’s resignation.