Director of Athletics Robert Scalise declined to comment through a spokesperson, and Staples did not return several calls.
But Staples, in the e-mail obtained by The Crimson, wrote that, “Although it would not be appropriate to comment on the reason for his departure, I can state that, contrary to rumor, the change in leadership was not caused by concern over inappropriate treatment of student-athletes.”
Those rumors began to swirl following freshman Melissa McHugh’s voluntary withdrawal from the University following a series of academic and health-related issues. McHugh was sidelined during the season after suffering a bout of amnesia.
“[The team] was really worried about her,” rising senior Tammy Yanagi said. “They didn’t really find out about it because Scott didn’t want to disclose the information, but when they found out they were all really concerned.”
After she had recovered and left the College, an attorney for McHugh and her family contacted Harvard General Counsel threatening legal action, prompting the involvement of the President’s Office, according to an e-mail obtained by The Crimson that Russell sent to his team upon his termination.
“They were threatening a lawsuit and we weren’t exactly sure what it was,” Yanagi said. “But they didn’t make it sound like a big deal since it was Scott’s first year. [The atmosphere] was very light.”
But despite appearances that all was well, Senior Associate Athletic Director Patricia Henry interviewed members of the water polo teams, inquiring about Russell’s attitude and treatment of players, according to Yanagi.
“[Henry] was asking about how Scott treated me and how he treated other athletes,” Yanagi said. “Basically if he ran the team well. They just kept telling us that it was no big deal and reinforced that it was his first year and it was no big deal.”
Henry did not return calls seeking comment yesterday.
According to Russell, he and Staples met to discuss the issue on several occasions, as early as the first week in April.
“Every meeting that I had with Steve Staples, he said, ‘Scott, you have nothing to worry about,’” Russell said.
But despite the administration’s assurances that the pending legal matter was no cause for concern, Staples told Russell that Scalise and Henry both traveled to McHugh’s home state of Connecticut to meet with her parents regarding the issue.
“The family didn’t get the answers they wanted from Steve Staples,” Russell said, “so they pursued this all the way to the President’s Office. That’s when [Scalise] and [Henry] had to get involved.”
“This issue required the attention of the Athletic Director and several other senior level administrators in the Athletic Department,” Russell wrote in the e-mail to his former teams. “The Athletic Department needed to make this issue go away. The head coach of the water polo teams was fired. Pretty simple.”
—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.