St. Joe's Player Makes Harassment Accusation
Kim Callahan
Husband who assisted coach Stephanie Gaitley is accused by former player
by Edward Moran
Daily News Sports Writer
The husband of Stephanie V. Gaitley, the women's basketball coach at
St. Joseph's University, resigned as an assistant coach with the team
after last season amid allegations he had been sexually harassing one of
the school's players.
A university source told the Daily News that Francis P. Gaitley was
asked to resign in May as the result of an investigation begun when a
player accused him of harassing her for more than a year. At the time,
the university said Frank Gaitley was resigning to pursue other business
opportunities.
He had been an assistant coach to his wife for 15 seasons, nine at St.
Joe's and six at the University of Richmond.
The player, Cheryl Kulesa, filed a formal complaint in September with
the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. The accusations are likely
to envelop in controversy a women's basketball program traditionally
considered the city's most successful.
In the 10-page complaint filed with the Human Relations Commission, a
copy of which was obtained by the Daily News, Kulesa accused Gaitley of
relentlessly pursuing her and calling her for dates, making sexually
suggestive remarks, telling her sexual jokes at practice, and sending
her inappropriate notes, one of which was written on school stationery.
Neither Stephanie nor Frank Gaitley responded to repeated calls to their
home and her office.
Tom McGoldrick, an attorney representing Frank and Stephanie Gaitley,
said: "Each of them emphatically denies the charges which were filed by
Miss Kulesa's attorney with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission."
When asked to elaborate, McGoldrick said: "Absolutely not. It's a matter
of litigation."
The university declined to comment on the complaint.
In her complaint, Kulesa states that she was sexually harassed,
subjected to a hostile environment and subsequently retaliated against
by Stephanie Gaitley for going to school officials with her accusations.
The complaint also states that Kulesa is undergoing psychological
counseling and has been diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress
disorder with panic attacks. She states that she is on medication.
Kulesa, 21, is a marketing major from Clementon, N.J. She would have
been playing her senior season for the Hawks and had expected to be
named one of the team's captains. Kulesa is still on scholarship at the
university, but left the team before the season. The school lists her
reason for leaving the team as "personal."
Barry J. Hockfield, a Cherry Hill attorney who is representing Kulesa,
said that while Kulesa has not officially quit the team, she has been
unable to play this season because of the stress of her situation. He
added that she now is a part-time student at St. Joseph's.
Ulitimately, Hockfield said, he intends to file a federal lawsuit
against the university and the Gaitleys. The complaint currently on file
requires a response only from the university.
"We want an admission from the university that they have hired an
individual, or individuals, who were unfit to be the leaders of a team
of young women," he said.
Hockfield said any suit would seek compensatory damages and a guarantee
that Kulesa can complete her education on her athletic scholarship.
The complaint states that Kulesa sought help from another team official,
then went to Stephanie Gaitley.
"I also informed Stephanie Gaitley about the sexual harassment that I
was subjected to by her husband," Kulesa said in her complaint.
Stephanie Gaitley, according to the complaint, responded by saying,
"He'll change."
The complaint states that Kulesa then went to university athletic
director Don DiJulia, who began the school investigation.
DiJulia referred comment to a university spokesman.
According to Joseph Lunardi, director of communications at St. Joseph's,
the university has been notified of the complaint and is formulating its
response to the Human Relations Commission.
"The university has until [Monday] to file its official response,"
Lunardi said.
It is school policy not to comment on internal university proceedings,
Lunardi said.
"It's inappropriate for us to comment on the Human Relations Commission
complaint, because the university is a named party in this complaint and
there has not been a hearing yet," he said.
Hockfield said a fact-finding conference has been scheduled before the
Human Relations Commission on March 12.
Kulesa, through Hockfield, has declined to comment on the complaint or
her experiences. Reached at her home, Kulesa and her mother referred all
comment to Hockfield.
In her complaint, Kulesa contends there was a pattern of abuse by Frank
Gaitley that began Jan. 24, 1999.
"Frank Gaitley pulled me aside, away from the team while we were in an
airport in Pittsburgh. . .He told me he loved me," the complaint states.
Another allegation in the complaint states that Gaitley called Kulesa
constantly, sometimes from bars, and would complain about his sexual
relations with his wife. Once, the complaint states, Gaitley called
Kulesa from Moldova while he was on a recruiting trip. "He told me that
hookers were trying to pick him up because he is so good looking,"
Kulesa says in the complaint.
The complaint also detailed several other allegations, including one
that Gaitley had sent Kulesa a note on university stationery in October
1999 asking for a "date."
The note, a copy of which is included in the complaint as an exhibit, reads:
"Dear Cheryl, Hi! I want to ask you out on a 'date' before Saturday. I
can't go into this season without getting straightened out with you. Let
me know when we can go out for food or ice cream. Give me a call at . .
.Thanks, Frank. P.S. Have you practiced your reverse layups? (5 mins a day)"
Another note, which was not written on school stationery, allegedly was
attatched to a sleeveless T-shirt Gaitley gave Kulesa.
That note is also attached to the complaint and reads, in part: "Hi!
Here is a present for you to wear tomorrow. Just remember this:
"I gave you this shirt!
"I cut the sleeves! (So you can show your guns.)"
In another allegation made in the complaint, Kulesa states that Gaitley
gave her a $5 bill for "making a pump-fake and scoring at basketball
practice one day. I had no pockets in which to place the money, so I
placed it under my bra strap. [Gaitley] responded 'Abe Lincoln is the
happiest man I know' in a leering manner."
An allegation in the complaint also states that Gaitley chased away any
boys he saw talking to Kulesa and that all this attention continued to
happen despite her having told Gaitley she "was not interested in him
and did not like the comments."
The complaint states that even after Frank Gaitley left his job,
harassment against her continued. She states that while it is a
tradition at St. Joseph's that senior players become team captains, she
was informed that she would not be named a captain.
The complaint states: "As a result of my complaints, I feel my situation
worsened. The head coach, Stephanie Gaitley, told other teammates, 'Does
Cheryl know what she is doing and how difficult she is making everything?' "
Hockfield said that, as a head coach, Stephanie Gaitley should have been
aware of what was going on.
"She is the gatekeeper," Hockfield said. "She is the captain of the
ship. He is her assistant coach and subordinate. The parameters of his
contact with the girls should have been confined and defined by her."
Lunardi said that Kulesa first made her allegations to officials at St.
Joseph's in April 2000 and that the university conducted an internal
investigation. St. Joseph's announced in June that Frank Gaitley had
resigned from the team "to pursue outside ventures."
At the time, the school released a statement in which Stephanie Gaitley
was quoted as saying: "Replacing assistants is always difficult, but
this will be something entirely new. The timing, however, could not be
more perfect from a personal standpoint. With our children growing
older, the demands on our time have increased. That, coupled with a few
business opportunities, made the decision easier."
Earlier this week, Lunardi said: "Officially, Frank resigned to pursue
other business opportunities. That was his stated reason, and the
university accepted that at that time."
The university source said that Gaitley had been asked to resign as a
result of the findings of its investigation.
Hockfield said the sexual-harassment complaint is a precursor to a
federal lawsuit.
According to Philadelphia attorney Alice Ballard, an expert in
litigating sexual-harassment and employment-rights cases, filing first
with the state agency is not mandatory in cases expected to end up in
federal court, but "it's the best way to protect [the] client's rights
in the future without having to go to court now, and it's also a good
way to get some communication going on the case without having to
declare a major war."
Hockfield said he was following state procedure in sexual-harassment
suits, which in some cases are required to be brought either to the
state or city human relations commission first.
Stephanie Gaitley, a native of Ocean City, N.J., graduated in 1982 from
Villanova, where she ranks among the top scorers and rebounders in
university history. She is a member of the Big 5 and Villanova halls of
fame.
She was an assistant coach at St. Joe's from the 1982-83 season through
1984-85, then took the head-coaching job at Richmond, where her teams
were 116-63 in six seasons. She returned to St. Joe's to take the
head-coaching job in 1991. In 10 seasons, the Hawks are 196-87 and have
made the NCAA Tournament five times.
Frank Gaitley, a Havertown native, was a former player at Albright
before becoming an assistant to Stephanie Gaitley.
Kulesa, a 5-8 guard, was named the Inquirer's South Jersey Player of the
Year her senior season at Gloucester Catholic High School, and also was
an all-South Jersey selection in soccer. She was recruited by the
Gaitleys to play basketball for St. Joe's. According to Hockfield,
Kulesa was excited about playing there for Stephanie Gaitley.
At St. Joe's, Kulesa started 27 of 29 games last season and had
career-high averages of 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
--
-- __________________________________
Chicks With Balls: http://www.geocities.com/kac044
Sent via Deja.com
http://www.deja.com/
Gerard Weatherby
>In another allegation made in the complaint, Kulesa states that Gaitley
>gave her a $5 bill for "making a pump-fake and scoring at basketball
>practice one day.
Mmm. Is the NCAA going to follow up on this?
capri...@my-deja.com
OK- this I don't get. Why would any guy continue to pursue a female who
repeatedly told him she wasn't interested? Let alone as described here
(i.e. while assisting his wife in coaching her). Any of the males who
read rsbw care to shed light on this. It makes absolutely no sense to
me how anyone could behave as he did.
Of course, if he were in the running for "The most clueless person in
the country" award, this sentance would secure the title:
"He told me that
> hookers were trying to pick him up because he is so good looking,"
> Kulesa says in the complaint.
I guess he believes hookers fall in love 20 or more times a day...
>
> --
> -- __________________________________
> Chicks With Balls: http://www.geocities.com/kac044
--
Capri Small Knows Lady Boiler basketball:
http://www.mrhoops.com/wwwboard/columnist/1/
GOWBF - We Goat Next!
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Greg Heagerty
stalking or harassing is more an attempt at control than it is an attempt
to really become intimate with someone. And, frankly, when it comes to
interpersonal skills, sometimes men are just real dumb.
capri...@my-deja.com
Greg Heagerty <gh...@casbah.gatech.edu> wrote:
> Maybe because just as rape is an act of violence more than a sexual
act,
> stalking or harassing is more an attempt at control than it is an
attempt
Thanks Greg! I had never thought of stalking that way- as an aggresive
act. But seen in that context it makes perfect sense.
__________________________________
> > > Chicks With Balls: http://www.geocities.com/kac044
> > --
> > Capri Small Knows Lady Boiler basketball:
> > http://www.mrhoops.com/wwwboard/columnist/1/
> > GOWBF - We Goat Next!
What did the Martian say to the rsbw poster?
Take me to your breeder.
Gerard Weatherby
>
>
>OK- this I don't get. Why would any guy continue to pursue a female who
>repeatedly told him she wasn't interested? Let alone as described here
>(i.e. while assisting his wife in coaching her). Any of the males who
>read rsbw care to shed light on this.
Don't think I can, except to say: Some men are jerks. If the allegations are
true (something we really don't know yet), I'd wonder why Stephanie would put up
with this nonsense.
>"He told me that
>> hookers were trying to pick him up because he is so good looking,"
>> Kulesa says in the complaint.
>
>I guess he believes hookers fall in love 20 or more times a day...
>
Ah, but they do. They fall in love with Presidents Jackson and Grant...
I800LAW
>
>OK- this I don't get. Why would any guy continue to pursue a female who
>repeatedly told him she wasn't interested? Let alone as described here
>(i.e. while assisting his wife in coaching her). Any of the males who
>read rsbw care to shed light on this. It makes absolutely no sense to
>me how anyone could behave as he did.
>
>
>
>Of course, if he were in the running for "The most clueless person in
>the country" award, this sentance would secure the title:
>
>"He told me that
>> hookers were trying to pick him up because he is so good looking,"
>> Kulesa says in the complaint.
>
>I guess he believes hookers fall in love 20 or more times a day...
>
>
>>
>> --
OBSESSION!!!!!
Others have given a deeper analysis.
Remember the movie with Glen Close and Michael Douglas.
Andrew R Weber
On Fri, 19 Jan 2001, Gerard Weatherby wrote:
> On Thu, 18 Jan 2001 20:19:13 GMT, capri...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> >
> >OK- this I don't get. Why would any guy continue to pursue a female who
> >repeatedly told him she wasn't interested? Let alone as described here
> >(i.e. while assisting his wife in coaching her). Any of the males who
> >read rsbw care to shed light on this.
> Don't think I can, except to say: Some men are jerks. If the allegations are
> true (something we really don't know yet), I'd wonder why Stephanie would put up
> with this nonsense.
once fell for a girls who was a fourth-stringer on my high school
volleyball team but showed no interest in me whatsoever. Undaunted, I
attended nearly every home game that year in the hope it would impress
her. She played maybe ten minutes the whole year, and turned me down
flat. But a year later, I was spending $120 a year on front-row seats to
the local pro womens' volleyball team in Minnesota. Don't know if seeing
so many games was a proximate cause of me getting into women's sports, but
who knows...
>
> >"He told me that
> >> hookers were trying to pick him up because he is so good looking,"
> >> Kulesa says in the complaint.
> >
> >I guess he believes hookers fall in love 20 or more times a day...
> >
> Ah, but they do. They fall in love with Presidents Jackson and Grant...
>
And especially non-president Ben Franklin!
Andrew "but they aren't happy with Chuck E. Cheese discount coupons" Weber
awe...@geog.buffalo.edu
(reply here not above)