Latest news with #Feldman
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Dozens of former players show support for ex-Boston University soccer coach accused of sexual harassment by Alex Cooper
A letter signed by 'student athletes and members of the Boston University Women's Soccer team,' obtained by the Globe, includes 74 names, mostly comprising players in Feldman's years at BU (1995-2022), and six assistant coaches. There also are 25 anonymous signatories, all said to be from the graduating classes of 2011-25. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'We want to share our collective perspective in light of the recent allegations against Coach Feldman,' the letter read, 'not to diminish or discredit anyone's individual experience, but to speak as a united group of alumni about how our time in the program was different. Advertisement 'During Coach Feldman's time leading the program, we categorically never felt unsafe. We were never at risk of or witness to inappropriate behavior or anything that could be characterized as sexual harassment. 'As a leader, she approached every day with professionalism, making decisions in service of the success of the team. For many of us, over the years, Coach Feldman has remained an important part of our lives, and we stand by her.' Advertisement Of those who signed the letter with their names and graduation years or stated their time on campus, at least four overlapped with Cooper, who graduated in 2016. They include three players ― goalkeeper Andrea Green, who graduated in 2014; forward Taylor Krebs (2015) and defender Kai (Miller) Wallace (2015) ― and one assistant coach, Ben Knight, who worked under Feldman from 2013-16. Though she signed the letter, Wallace said she was so burned out after playing for Feldman, she didn't touch a soccer ball for five years. 'I certainly can't say Nancy was my favorite coach I've ever had,' said Wallace. She compared Feldman to a hard-line corporate boss who wears out those underneath them. Wallace signed the letter, she said, because 'as a human being, I never felt unsafe.' Wallace, a Santa Barbara, Calif., native who was a year ahead of Cooper, said Feldman was an unnecessarily controlling coach. She said Feldman would pit players against each other for playing time, instituted dress codes that made her feel as if she was back in high school, and used BU financial aid as a cudgel to keep players in line. However, Wallace also said Cooper was an unprofessional teammate who clashed with Feldman regularly. 'One of the rules wasn't even Nancy's rule, it was that you didn't drink in the 48 hours before games,' Wallace said. 'There were multiple times of that not being the case. Things like that start to rub you the wrong way. Advertisement 'She was very loud about her life and what she's doing with it. That's fine. But we're all here trying to get a conference championship and make the NCAA Tournament.' Green, a goalkeeper from Nashua, N.H., is no longer involved with soccer. She said she signed the letter because she 'never saw, heard about, or experienced sexual harassment' under Feldman. 'I can't speak to any experience but my own,' Green said. '[Cooper] has a big megaphone and she's decided to share her experience. Most of us [signatories] are not public figures nor want to be. I don't have any interest in being in the public [eye], but if my opinion is asked I feel comfortable speaking my truth.' On Wednesday, a group from Plymouth State released a similar letter of support including 25 names of former Feldman players and coaches. Feldman, who coached at the school from 1990-95, was inducted into the PSU Hall of Fame last October. She earned the same honor at BU in 2008. Read the letter sent by supporters here: Matt Porter can be reached at
USA Today
2 days ago
- Health
- USA Today
Dentists warn of taking fluoride out of NY water. But many counties already don't have it
Dentists warn of taking fluoride out of NY water. But many counties already don't have it Show Caption Hide Caption Fluoridated water important, stresses Ossining NY Supervisor Feldman Elizabeth Feldman, who worked as a dental hygienist, is joining the effort to push back against groups seeking to remove fluoride from public water. In New York, 336 community water systems, out of a total of 2,790, have fluoridated water. These 336 community water systems provide water to more than 13 million people, or about 72% of all New Yorkers. Now the nation's top health official, RFK Jr., is pushing for bans on water fluoridation, prompting pushback from many public health officials and local leaders in NY. Elizabeth Feldman sees her dental X-rays as a warning of the life-altering consequences of living in a community that doesn't add fluoride to its drinking water. The stark black-and-white images are rife with cavity-riddled translucent teeth. Bright white spots cover most teeth, revealing an extensive patchwork of dental fillings and crowns. Screws dig into parts of the jaw pockmarked by root canals. Taken together, the X-rays tell the story of a lifetime of dental pain and suffering. But Feldman, a town supervisor in New York's Hudson Valley who's worked as a dental hygienist for 30 years, believes she would have avoided most of that dental work, which cost thousands of dollars, if her childhood home had access to fluoridated drinking water. Instead, Feldman grew up drinking unfluoridated well water, and she missed out on the lifelong oral health benefits that many New Yorkers get from living in towns, cities and neighborhoods that have added fluoride to community water systems. Now Feldman is fighting to protect others from her fate as New York becomes a key battleground of the anti-fluoride movement being led by the nation's top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 'I just wish people would get educated and look at real science and not be led astray,' Feldman said. New York's fluoride fight Kennedy has endorsed claims that fluoride is behind a host of health conditions, from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and hypothyroidism to lowering IQ. Dentists and epidemiologists have hit back at those accusations as scientifically unproven. At the same time, public health officials in New York are pushing back against anti-fluoride groups seeking to pass state or local measures to remove fluoride from public drinking water. Decades of research, health officials noted, has shown water fluoridation reduces tooth decay for entire populations, while uniquely benefiting poor and marginalized New Yorkers. "Because the fluoridated water supply reaches everyone equally, health disparities decrease, as we know not everyone has access to regular dentist checkups,' state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. 'Water fluoridation provides everyone with the same starting opportunity of having a healthy smile,' he added. Dental care: More than 30,000 wait for care as NY's dental crisis grows Overall, cavities drop by about 25% for those who drink fluoridated water when compared to others who don't, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Still, some states are considering passing measures that ban fluoride from community water systems, with Republican-controlled state governments in Utah and Florida recently taking that step. While a statewide ban is unlikely in deep blue New York, the fluoride debate has exploded at the local level in recent years. It was the focus of a class-action lawsuit filed in Buffalo in 2023 after residents learned the city quietly removed fluoride from drinking water, and it sits at the center of emotionally-charged town hearings that divide even the most close-knit communities from Ithaca to Westchester County. How many New York towns have fluoride in water? In New York, 336 community water systems, out of a total of 2,790, have fluoridated water. But these 336 community water systems provide water to more than 13 million people, or about 72% of all New Yorkers served by community water systems. That percentage mirrored the national average, as many of the largest water systems in the U.S. have added fluoride for the past nearly 80 years. But major disparities in water fluoridation persist. New York City and some upstate counties, such as Monroe and Onondaga, have nearly 100% coverage, while other counties, such as Rockland and Tompkins, have never added fluoride to public drinking water. Health care: As flu kills record number of NY kids, a mom who lost a child fights vaccine hesitancy The stakes of that disparity are unfolding in real time for Dr. Fanny Vainer. They are written on the faces of scores of parents who were stunned to learn their child has advanced tooth decay during visits to Vainer's Sparkill Dental practice in a tiny Rockland County hamlet. Many of those parents were simply unaware that Rockland County's lack of water fluoridation played a role in rotting out their kids' teeth, Vainer said. Recalling her talks with the guilt-ridden parents looking for ways to reverse the damage, she said, in many ways, 'It's already too late when you arrive here in the dentist's chair.' Further, Rockland's overall oral health should be studied, Vainer suggested, to improve understanding of the extent of damage done in communities with unfluoridated drinking water. If conducted, that research would seek to build upon a landmark 2010 state Health Department study that found, in part, the use of serious dental procedures and tooth extractions for New York kids on Medicaid was 33% higher in communities without water fluoridation. 'An unnecessary public health crisis' Meanwhile, in neighboring Westchester County, one town's leadership has already reversed course on its approach to adding fluoride to its water. Town leaders in Yorktown, a wealthy New York City suburb, voted in December to remove fluoride from their community drinking water system. Yorktown Supervisor Ed Lachterman spearheaded the action, citing in part a federal court ruling that asserted water fluoridation presents an 'unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.' The American Dental Association has since criticized that federal court ruling, however, noting it was based largely on an August 2024 report from the federal National Toxicology Program that included invalid biomarkers and insufficient sample sizes. Put simply, the federal court ruling reflects a 'fundamental misunderstanding and misapplication of the prevailing scientific literature on the safety of fluoride and community water fluoridation,' the national dental group added. At the same time, Yorktown's decision captured national attention, prompting public health officials across the Hudson Valley to launch new efforts to combat medical misinformation, citing rising distrust in everything from water fluoridation to vaccines. Investigation: Trust in science, medicine plummeted because of COVID. See inside the fight to rebuild it 'Like measles, this is catching on and once the anti-fluoride groups win in one community, they go on to the others,' said Susan Siegel, the lone Yorktown council member to oppose removing fluoride from drinking water. Westchester Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler attended Yorktown public hearings last year to provide facts about the benefits of water fluoridation. But she left them feeling concerned about how deeply anti-science sentiments had taken hold in some households. Recalling the conspiracy theories and debunked science claims being raised during the hearings, Amler said, 'I don't know how you wrap your head around that.' The Yorktown fluoride removal vote was also a call-to-arms for Feldman, who's been supervisor of nearby Ossining for three years and vowed to quell any anti-fluoride incursions in her community. 'So few things can be done so inexpensively to impact positively the lives and health outcomes of all the residents,' Feldman said of water fluoridation. How we reported it: NY, facing dental crisis, taking on RFK Jr.'s anti-fluoride push Addressing claims that people get enough benefits from fluoridated toothpastes or dental treatments, Feldman noted those do indeed help but are incapable of achieving the level of protection from drinking fluoridated water. Put differently, ingested fluoride becomes part of the tooth before it erupts and strengthens kids' teeth in a way that nothing else in dentistry comes close to, and adults with limited access to dental care benefit from drinking fluoridated water, too. 'It's baffling to me that they would want to create an unnecessary public health crisis and walk back on a proven public health achievement,' Feldman added. Includes reporting by Cybele Mayes-Osterman of USA TODAY.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Williams-Sonoma (WSM) Receives a Buy from Telsey Advisory
Telsey Advisory analyst Joe Feldman maintained a Buy rating on Williams-Sonoma (WSM – Research Report) yesterday and set a price target of $215.00. The company's shares closed yesterday at $156.93. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter According to TipRanks, Feldman is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 7.8% and a 52.15% success rate. Feldman covers the Consumer Cyclical sector, focusing on stocks such as Costco, Best Buy Co, and Lowe's. Williams-Sonoma has an analyst consensus of Moderate Buy, with a price target consensus of $181.06, representing a 15.38% upside. In a report released yesterday, KeyBanc also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $181.00 price target. WSM market cap is currently $19.45B and has a P/E ratio of 17.90. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 46 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of WSM in relation to earlier this year. Most recently, in April 2025, Jeffrey Howie, the EVP CFO of WSM sold 915.00 shares for a total of $129,647.20.
NBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Dozens of former BU women's soccer players sign letter supporting former coach after Alex Cooper allegations
Dozens of alumni from Boston University's women's soccer team have signed a letter supporting the team's former coach after she was accused by podcast star Alex Cooper of sexual harassment. Cooper, host of the popular podcast 'Call Her Daddy,' alleged in her new Hulu docuseries 'Call Her Alex' that she endured years of sexual harassment from her college soccer coach, Nancy Feldman. The letter, obtained by NBC News and first reported by TMZ Sports, is signed by 99 former BU women's soccer team members spanning graduation years from 1996 to 2022. Signatories included players and former assistant coaches. The letter stated that they aim to share their collective perspective 'not to diminish or discredit anyone's individual experience, but to speak as a united group of alumni about how our time in the program was different.' 'During Coach Feldman's time leading the program, we categorically never felt unsafe,' the letter stated. 'We were never at risk of or witness to inappropriate behavior or anything that could be characterized as sexual harassment. As a leader, she approached every day with professionalism, making decisions in service of the success of the team.' The alumni added that Feldman has 'remained an important part of our lives, and we shall stand by her.' In the two-part docuseries, Cooper alleged that Feldman 'fixated' on her, wanted to know whom she was dating, made comments about her body, put her hand on her thigh and wanted to be alone with her. She alleged Feldman once questioned her about a date and asked whether she had had sex the night before. 'Nancy Feldman was someone I trusted. Someone I believed in. Someone who was supposed to help me grow. Someone who was supposed to protect me,' Cooper wrote in an Instagram statement last week. 'But instead she made my life a living hell and abused her power over me.' A representative for Cooper did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cooper said in the docuseries that her parents backed up her accusations against Feldman, having written down every incident she told them about during her three years on the team. But when she reported the allegations to the athletic director, she said, no investigation resulted. Cooper played on the team from 2013 to 2015, according to the BU women's soccer roster. Feldman, who retired in 2022 after 27 years at the university, did not respond to a request for comment at her former BU email. Boston University did not respond to a request for further comment. But after the docuseries' release, the university had told NBC News that it has a 'zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.' 'We have a robust system of resources, support and staff dedicated to student wellbeing and a thorough reporting process through our Equal Opportunity Office. We encourage members of our community to report any concerns, and we remain committed to fostering a safe and secure campus environment for all,' the school stated, without directly addressing Cooper's claims. The 'Call Her Alex' docuseries, released earlier this month, is the first time Cooper has publicly come forward with her allegations since building a massive social media platform through her podcast empire. 'When this initially happened to me I felt like I had no voice. But that is no longer the case. Now I'm coming for all of you who abused your power over innocent young individuals,' Cooper wrote in last week's Instagram statement. 'Nancy Feldman, you will no longer be able to hide in the shadows and get away unscathed from the calculated pain you caused me and so many other women.' She added that she is speaking out for anyone who also went through her experience and felt unheard. 'We will no longer be silenced. I'm ready to bulldoze through every f---ing door for all of you out there,' Cooper wrote. 'Because when I was 18 years old, dismissed and ignored by Boston University, I prayed and wished someone with a voice would have held my hand and helped me through the darkest time in my life.'
Perth Now
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
US podcast star accuses former university soccer coach of sexual harassment
US podcast star Alex Cooper decided to speak out about being allegedly sexually harassed by her Boston University soccer coach because 'there was no accountability, no investigation and no justice', she said. 'I'm coming for all of you.' Cooper shot to fame in 2018 when she and Sofia Franklyn launched the Call Her Daddy podcast, which is the most listened to podcast for women on Spotify. In her docuseries Call Her Alex — which released on Hulu this week and is available on Disney+ in Australia — she alleged her college soccer coach, Nancy Feldman, sexually harassed her. In a new statement posted to Instagram on Thursday, Cooper said the harassment lasted for three years while she was a student. 'Nancy Feldman was someone I trusted,' she said. 'Someone I believed in. Someone who was supposed to help me grow. Someone who was supposed to protect me.' 'But instead she made my life a living hell and abused her power over me. 'She stripped me of my identity and took away what I had worked my entire life for because she didn't control herself. 'This defined my life for a decade and impacted her life 0 per cent.' Cooper played on the team from 2013 to 2015, according to the BU women's soccer website. Feldman retired in 2022 after 27 years at the university. Alex Cooper played on the Boston University soccer team from 2013 to 2015, according to the BU women's soccer website. Credit: Instagram In the docuseries, Cooper alleges Feldman 'fixated' on her, wanted to know who she was dating, made comments about her body, put her hand on Cooper's thigh and wanted to be alone with her. Feldman once allegedly questioned Cooper about a date and asked whether she had had sex the night before. Feldman has not publicly commented on the allegations or responded to requests for comment. The media star said she had reported the abuse to the athletic director, Drew Marrochello, but to no resolve. 'I was turned away and ignored,' she said. Marrochello did not immediately respond to an NBC request for comment on Friday. Boston University on Friday said the school has a 'zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment'. 'We have a robust system of resources, support and staff dedicated to student wellbeing and a thorough reporting process through our Equal Opportunity Office,' the school said 'We encourage members of our community to report any concerns, and we remain committed to fostering a safe and secure campus environment for all. BU did not explicitly address Cooper's claims. The straw that broke the camel's back for Cooper, she said, was when she learned harassment was still impacting her beloved soccer team. 'When I found out the harassment and abuse was STILL happening on that campus today ... I knew I needed to share my story,' Cooper said. 'This is no longer just about me, this is systemic.' Cooper went on to say that she's speaking out to be a voice for those who feel they've lost theirs. 'When this initially happened to me I felt like I had no voice,' she said. 'But that is no longer the case.' 'Now I'm coming for all of you who abused your power over innocent young individuals. 'Nancy Feldman, you will no longer be able to hide in the shadows and get away unscathed from the calculated pain you caused me and so many other women. 'Because when I was 18 years old, dismissed and ignored by Boston University, I prayed and wished someone with a voice would have held my hand and helped me through the darkest time in my life. Daddy Gang, I got you,' she said.
