Yale Athletic Executives Allegedly Involved in Relationship
According to a deed obtained, two high-ranking officials in Yale University athletics purchased a home together in 2018, prior to one of them being hired by the university. Former colleagues claim the officials, Anne Marie Gurrieri and Mary Berdo, were romantically involved, suggesting that one of them resigned to facilitate the other’s hiring.
Gurrieri is Yale’s assistant executive director and chief operating officer for athletics, while Berdo serves as associate director of athletics. Their home purchase in Milford, Connecticut, occurred in June 2018, and Berdo joined Yale in April 2019.
Both executives previously worked at Colgate University’s athletic department. In February 2018, Yale’s president appointed Victoria Chung as athletic director, and both Gurrieri and Berdo took their positions in July of that year.
Two former employees from Yale’s athletics department assert that Gurrieri and Berdo were indeed in a romantic relationship. Additionally, some former staff allege that managers felt compelled to accept voluntary severance packages, thereby opening a position for Berdo.
Interestingly, Gurrieri’s relationship with Berdo seems not to breach Yale’s workplace guidelines, which advise employees to avoid romantic relationships where there could be supervisory overlap. Documents indicate that Gurrieri and Berdo, while both reporting directly to Chung, do not supervise one another.
While technically within policy, opinions vary. One former coach described the situation as “totally unprofessional” for the two leaders to have a personal relationship. It was reportedly common knowledge within the athletics department that Gurrieri and Berdo were a couple, though they kept it somewhat discreet.
Concerns were raised about the hiring of Berdo coinciding with the departure of a senior associate athletic director, who was pressured into accepting a severance package shortly before Berdo’s hiring. A source familiar with the situation highlighted that this former director had “no choice” but to accept the severance, as a vacancy had opened right before Berdo’s recruitment.
In October 2018, the senior associate athletic director was asked to resign, and soon after, Berdo was brought on board. The details seem to align with comments from former Yale men’s hockey head coach Keith Alleyne, who noted consistency in reports of the pressure to resign correlating with Berdo’s hiring timeline.
While sources have denied Gurrieri’s involvement in Berdo’s hiring process, doubts linger about the objectivity of that process, especially given Berdo’s previous connections to Colgate.
Yale has refrained from commenting on specific personnel matters but affirmed the existence of robust human resources policies. Berdo’s background includes stints at Colgate, NCAA National Headquarters, and the University of Michigan, where she played basketball.
One anonymous former official suggested that Berdo’s hiring might have appeared to be predetermined due to her prior connections, raising questions about preferential treatment.
A recent letter authored by Keith Alleyne and directed to Yale’s president alleges that a “toxic environment” has developed within their athletic teams, attributed to the athletic director’s self-promotion and management style.
The circumstances surrounding a former employee recording meetings without university knowledge have also surfaced, leading to further inquiry into Yale’s recording policies and any possible breaches.
Inquiries made to Gurrieri and Berdo via official channels have gone unanswered, yet the situation continues to unfold amid dissatisfaction among some former staff members regarding managerial practices within the athletic department.
