Alex Cooper Reveals Treadmill Trauma After Alleged Sexual Harassment by Former College Coach
- Jun 17
- 4 min read
17 June 2025
Alex Cooper, the 30-year-old host behind the wildly popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast and documentary subject of Call Her Alex, recently revealed a deeply lasting impact from alleged sexual harassment she endured during her college years, she can no longer step on a treadmill without reliving trauma. Speaking on Armchair Expert on June 16, Cooper opened up about how the experience has affected her ability to exercise in a space she once loved.
Cooper’s story is harrowing and complex. In Call Her Alex, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival before its Hulu debut, she accuses Boston University soccer coach Nancy Feldman of sexual harassment while Cooper was a scholarship athlete during her sophomore year. It began with what initially seemed like mentorship but soon became invasive, controlling, and deeply unsettling, marked by private meetings and suggestive personal interrogation.
On Armchair Expert, Cooper recalled how this psychological manipulation altered her relationship with fitness, especially running. “I loved running,” she said, but after these experiences, “I just can’t step on a treadmill…I can’t.” She recounts how Feldman would stand beside her as she ran, watching closely and silently, turning a once joyful routine into a source of anxiety. Those workout lines on gym treadmills now trigger memories she’d rather forget.
Cooper’s struggles, however, extend far beyond exercise. She described panic attacks and moments of isolation as her coach allegedly used her power to control Cooper’s playing time and social environment. When her close friend and teammate, also named Alex, was suddenly removed from the team, Cooper says it felt like a deliberate strategy designed to cut off her support network in her most vulnerable moments.
Despite reporting the harassment and providing documentation with her parents’ support, Boston University failed to investigate or hold Feldman accountable. Cooper eventually left the team before her senior year but retained her full scholarship, a bittersweet consolation in the face of institutional failure. Feldman later retired in 2022, but without any disciplinary action taken.
It took Cooper nearly a decade to share her story publicly. Fear of retaliation, doubts about being believed, and the complexity of her coach’s gender contributed to her hesitation. Discussing it now, she said, “I didn’t have a platform. I didn’t have money. I came forward, and I got denied. I was failed.”
The release of Call Her Alex gave Cooper the opportunity to revisit her trauma with the support of the documentary’s director, Ry Russo-Young. Cooper described stepping back onto the college field during filming as a visceral blow: “I felt so small. I was 18 again… powerless with no voice” it was a turning point, an act of reclamation that catalyzed her decision to speak out.
Today, Cooper uses her substantial platform to highlight not only her own pain but also the systemic issues that continue to silence survivors. On Armchair Expert, she spoke with raw honesty about the privilege that finally made it possible for her to share her story, something many lack. “Can you imagine a woman who doesn’t have my privilege?” she asked, acknowledging that without her following, anything she said might have been ignored or erased
In response to her allegations, Boston University reaffirmed its “zero‑tolerance policy for sexual harassment,” emphasizing a “robust system of resources, support and staff dedicated to student wellbeing” Feldman has not publicly responded.
Yet for Cooper, institutional statements aren’t enough. She has turned her experience into activism, connecting with other women who have faced similar abuses and calling for systemic reform. She’s pledged to “bulldoze through every f---ing door for all of you out there,” framing her coming forward as “DAY ONE of changing the system”
Her revelation has sparked widespread conversation, from fellow survivors to advocates and critics about the pervasive abuse of power in sports and academia. Social media threads reflect deep empathy as well as frustration that Cooper's claims were ignored for so long.
Psychologically, the treadmill symbolizes more than fear; it embodies a violation of agency. For Cooper, the treadmill once represented strength and freedom. After the harassment, it became a confinement, a place where she felt watched, judged, and powerless. Her inability to use it is a testament to how trauma can embed itself in even the most mundane aspects of life.
Still, Cooper is forging a new path, one marked by resilience, accountability, and voice. She has reclaimed the narrative of her own body, her own story, no longer willing to be controlled or silenced.
The ramifications of her disclosure extend beyond her personal healing journey. They challenge institutions like universities and athletic departments to reassess how they respond to power imbalances and harassment. They engage the public in uncomfortable but necessary conversations about consent, trust, and authority.
For Cooper, the journey toward healing will be ongoing. She acknowledges that some places, like the treadmill, may always remain off-limits. But she’s discovering alternative rituals and alternative truths. One step at a time, she’s transforming the spaces of her trauma into sites of testimony and change.
In the end, Alex Cooper’s story is not merely one of endurance. It’s one of evolution, from athlete to advocate, from silence to speak out revealing not just an individual’s survival, but the collective movement toward validation, protection, and transformation.
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