The women’s softball players were getting dressed when the male assistant coach barged into their locker room. He needed to use the microwave oven. Again.
Greg Bachkora had made a habit of it.
“Some girls would have to cover themselves or duck behind the couch, scrambling to cover themselves,” a player’s father said.
Another player, new to the University of Missouri-Kansas City team last year, said an older player told her Bachkora’s visits were so frequent that he “has seen me naked more than my boyfriend has.”
Bachkora had also kissed some of the players and once joked in front of them about female genitalia.
But last May, when three players told university officials their allegations of sexual harassment — backed by the coach’s later admission that much of it was true — Bachkora didn’t get disciplined.
He got a new microwave.
Nine months later, an open-and-shut case has pried open again, revealing a lingering unease on UMKC’s softball team and hard feelings between former players, their parents and university officials. Privacy experts say, in fact, the university violated federal law by releasing identifying information about the young women who made allegations in the case.
As the team begins its 2019 season this month, all of the players who complained have left the program, though they had eligibility remaining.
“I actually left because it was such a bad situation,” one of the former players said. “I just thought it was weird. I’m just happy to be out of the school. It made me uncomfortable.”
Bachkora is still the assistant coach. And he’s still making appearances in the women’s locker room, according to a current player.
“I still see the same behavior. I don’t think he comes in as often, but he still does it,” said the player, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. Recently, she said, the coach entered while a player was in the shower, with no curtain, and “my teammates had to yell at him to get out.”
She hasn’t reported the alleged incident to university officials. Nor has anyone else complained since May, university officials said.
The Star does not identify the alleged victims of sexual harassment unless they agree to be named. Their parents are not named in this story to protect the women’s identities.
Even though the players have moved on from UMKC, their parents are still fuming. They expected the coach would be punished.
“The parents encouraged the girls to tell someone about this,” said the mother of a former player. “They were afraid to say anything, but we told them that in today’s ‘Me Too’ environment they would be protected. Then when they do talk, nobody does anything.
“They gave him a microwave. That was devastating. The girls needed to know that somebody cared.”
Keep Reading>>>