Who Is Rudy Meredith? New Details About The Yale Soccer Coach Involved In The College Cheating Scam Ring
He pressured his players into writing papers.
Yale Athletics A former Yale women's soccer coach is being accused of abusing his title with his team to help wealthy parents scam their way into getting their children admitted to prestigious colleges.
Rudy Meredith is one of many college professionals who assisted William Rick Singer in what police are calling "Operation Varsity Blues." Singer ran a "charity" that served as a front for parents like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman (who have since been arrested and charged) to pay for forged SAT and ACT tests or fake athletic profiles to help get their kids into top schools.
While Meredith is already coming under fire for his alleged involvement in the scam, he's now being accused of scamming the system in another way.
So who is Rudy Meredith? Here's everything you need to know about the former Yale soccer coach's latest accusations.
1. He used his players to write papers for him.
A new report from Yale Daily News claims that Meredith had players from his team help him write papers he needed for graduate courses he was taking at Ohio University. Two of his players — who were not named — said that he asked them to edit his papers and even write portions of it themselves.
The anonymous sources added that they felt obligated to help their coach because they thought it meant they would be treated better on the team. In 2018, Meredith received his degree in recreation and sports science and coaching education.
2. The athletics department took no action.
One of the former players claims that the team members took their concerns to the Department of Athletics and University President Peter Salovey, and still nothing was done.
The players allegedly sent Salovey a letter describing what Meredith was having his players do. The Human Resources Department interviewed the coach and a few team members but took no action. The same source said that there had been multiple complaints about Meredith over many years.
“I don’t know how it didn’t become more of an issue because to me it was a clear abuse of power,” one of the former players told Yale Daily News.
3. He wasn't very motivating.
Even prior to the Operation Varsity Blues scandal, Meredith wasn't held in the highest regard at Yale. One source said that he didn't keep his players motivated and that many of them "felt like they got worse over the four years playing at Yale."
“He didn’t put as much effort into his job as you would hope for from a head coach,” one of the former players said. “He also struggled to motivate the team and connect with players in a way that would inspire us to play for him. We didn’t have practices that gave us the preparation necessary for games, in terms of fitness or scouting other teams or things in between.
4. He solicited $400K during "Operation Varsity Blues."
As for Meredith's part in the college admissions scandal, he reportedly solicited a bribe of $400,000 to admit one person to Yale as a recruited soccer player. He also tried to get another person into the college for $450,000 without Singer's involvement — but the FBI was listening in on the exchange.
He got $4,000 from an FBI-controlled bank account, which was used as evidence of wire fraud. Since April 2018, he's worked for the FBI as a "cooperating witness."
5. He's being charged.
On Tuesday, it was announced that federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice are charging Meredith with "accepting bribes in exchange for granting applicants admission to Yale as recruited soccer players." The DOJ is calling "Operation Varsity Blues" the biggest admission scandal it's ever prosecuted.
Unsealed DOJ documents revealed that Meredith is pleading guilty to wire fraud, honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
His first court appearance is scheduled for March 28.
Emily Blackwood is a writer and editor living in California. She covers all things news, pop culture and true crime.