Stanford women’s basketball coach Kate Paye is pushing back against allegations of running a toxic program, dismissing the claims and calling the report that made the claims “clickbait.”
The Stanford Cardinal women’s basketball program is one of the most storied in history. It has won national championships in 1990, 1992 and 2021, and was runner-up in 2008 and 2010, under former head coach Tara VanDerveer.
However, since VanDerveer’s retirement after 38 seasons at Stanford, the program has been mired in mediocrity under new coach Kate Paye. During her two seasons at the helm, the Cardinal has gone just 37-29 overall and 16-20 in the ACC. Last season, for the first time in almost 40 years, the Cardinal missed March Madness for a second straight year.
A report claimed the Stanford Cardinal women’s basketball program is ‘toxic’
Back in May, the San Francisco Standard published a report that accused Coach Paye of fostering “a dysfunctional and toxic environment, in which coaches intimidate and threaten players, and some student-athletes feel ‘iced out’ of practices if they fall on coaches’ bad sides.”
Two former players also accused Paye of holding “distressing team meetings” during the season. According to one of the players, Paye discussed “getting rid of scholarships or refusing to give recommendations for grad school programs” during these meetings, in addition to threatening to bench players.
Parents claimed there was a culture of retribution and retaliation
Parents of former players said there was a culture of retaliation against players who spoke out about what they believed was unjust treatment. According to screenshots of emails that The Standard was able to see, parents of athletes filed complaints with director and chair of sports John Donahoe, claiming that Paye had created a hostile and toxic environment.
Also, according to two parents of past players and one former player who spoke to The Standard, Paye was attempting to enact a rule that would prohibit student-athletes from enrolling in summer classes and taking heavier course loads so they could not graduate early.
That move allegedly followed three Cardinal players, Nunu Agara, Courtney Ogden, and Chloe Clardy, who graduated early and left Stanford, as well as standout Kiki Iriafen, who graduated in three years and transferred to USC to play her final college season.
Paye declined to be interviewed, and the school did not immediately respond to The Standard’s emails about the accusations against the coach.
Kate Paye responds to the allegations of running a ‘toxic’ program
Five months later, Kate Paye addressed the report in a USA Today interview on Tuesday at the ACC Tip-Off in Charlotte.
“This is the world we live in; it’s clickbait junk journalism,” Paye said. “We don’t peddle negativity. When others go low, we go high, and we’re looking forward.”
Stanford never investigated Paye’s program, nor did it discipline the coach. But according to two former athletes, Angie Jabir, the executive associate sports director, attended many practices after they raised their grievances, which is unusual.
Also of note, former Cardinal Mary Ashley Stevenson wrote in an Instagram post after leaving the team this spring, “I have decided to find a basketball environment that suits me better. I am really excited about that.”
Former player Harper Peterson thanked the “trainers, doctors, physical therapists, and other support staff,” but not the coaches in her farewell post.
And after Chloe Cardy wrote her farewell post, former Stanford guard Jzaniya Harriel, who also transferred away from Stanford, commented, “Go where people see your true value!! #freed.”
“Not a great environment,” the parent of a player who had been with the program under both VanDerveer and Paye, told The Standard. “It’s not the same program anymore.”