Sarah Levine

Introduction

Sarah Levine, Stanford University’s head cheer coach for the past 18 years, stands accused by nine current and former members of the Stanford Cheer Team of fostering a hostile and intimidating environment, neglecting injured athletes and pushing students to their physical and emotional breaking points. The allegations were reported by the Stanford Daily on November 5, 2026, drawing on interviews, medical records, text messages and a formal complaint obtained by the student paper, and were amplified by the New York Post four days later. Levine has not publicly responded to the allegations.

Background Information

Levine began coaching Stanford cheer in fall 2008 as a volunteer assistant coach, transitioned to interim head coach later that year and was subsequently appointed head coach, according to Assistant Athletics Director Brian Risso. Stanford’s official athletics site lists her title as Head Cheer Coach. The cheer team is not a Division I sport, and its roughly 15 to 20 annual members are not recruited — students try out in the spring or fall — but several cheerleaders said they were expected to prioritize cheer above other commitments, including skipping class for games.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Accused of abusive coaching and injury neglect; no employment action announced. The allegations are unadjudicated — no lawsuit or charge exists, no investigation outcome has been announced, and Levine has not publicly responded to any of them.

The most detailed account came from a former cheerleader identified as Rush, who said he suffered a bicycle accident in October 2024 that left stitches in his forehead and told Levine he felt uncomfortable returning to stunting about a week and a half later. During a practice, a teammate fell from a stunt while Rush was spotting and he took the weight of the fall onto his head; he said he walked off the court in pain but Levine told him to repeat the stunt. That night he felt unfocused and stuttered while speaking with a friend; he said Levine dismissed his concussion concern and recommended waiting until morning for Stanford Athletics doctors. He went to the emergency room instead and was diagnosed with a minor concussion, according to medical records reviewed by the Daily, and later learned Levine had told teammates the concussion was caused by his bicycle accident. When a teammate hit his head again during a stunt that February, he said Levine yelled at him for walking off the court, and he quit the same day.

Another former cheerleader, using the pseudonym Ashley, described a back injury suffered during an extra small-group practice held outside usual hours on the hard floor of a volleyball court, with temporary mats instead of the team’s usual spring floor and only one or two “spots” present after a late cancellation. She said concerns about gaps between the mats were brushed aside by Levine and assistant coaches, and that Levine responded to her discomfort by saying there would be no safety nets on game day. After she fell forward with sharp pain shooting up her back and spine, she said coaches expected her to resume stunting after missing only one or two of the team’s four weekly practices. Text messages reviewed by the Daily show her writing that the gaps and lack of spotters scared her, and Levine replying that “tonight is a full practice” and later, “I will need a doctor’s note if you’re sitting out longer.” She said she re-injured the same area of her back months later.

A third former cheerleader, identified as Mark, filed a formal complaint with Stanford Athletics in October 2025 labeling her conduct “a serious abuse of her coaching authority,” writing that she “verbally abused and humiliated me by yelling at me in front of the entire team.” He said her behavior led him to take antidepressants before he quit after the 2023-24 season, and that after he was rejected at spring tryouts over an incomplete video, fall tryouts Levine encouraged him to pursue were never announced and she ignored his messages asking how to rejoin.

Beyond individual injuries, the nine described a culture of public humiliation and fear: cheerleaders said Levine yelled at team members while they were crying, publicly mocked mistakes, gave freshmen minimal guidance before berating them in front of audiences, fostered cliques in which teammates reported on one another to win her approval, and required sick members to attend practice — one said her only excused absence came with a 103-degree fever. Several said the pattern drove members to quit mid-season and drove “intense levels of anxiety”; one former cheerleader said she would “actually characterize her as evil,” and another summed it up: “It is a coach’s job to push athletes but not to break athletes. And I think that she broke athletes.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

Stanford Athletics did not address the specific allegations. Risso told the Daily, “Stanford Athletics will continue to prioritize and support the health, safety and well-being of all individuals affiliated with its student support groups,” declining further detail on reports, allegations and procedures, citing legal and privacy concerns. Assistant coach Elijah Simeon Buenarte, a former team captain who served four years under Levine, defended the program, writing that the team does not prevent members from pursuing academics, prioritizes “academic excellence,” and remains “dedicated to maintaining a positive, communicative environment.” The New York Post said it reached out to Levine, Stanford Athletics and the university for comment; Levine did not respond.

Current Status

Levine remains listed as Stanford’s head cheer coach on the university’s official athletics site, and no suspension, leave or investigation outcome has been announced. The one formal complaint the Daily obtained went nowhere: Mark met with Associate Athletics Director Ted Seilheimer to discuss it, then stopped pursuing it, and nothing came of the report. No cheerleader has sued or gone to authorities, and all but two of the nine spoke anonymously — seven citing fear of retaliation — so the accounts remain untested and unanswered in public.

Impact on Their Career/Life

An 18-year tenure that began as a volunteer assistant now carries public allegations that Stanford’s own student paper framed under the headline “She broke athletes,” including medical records and text messages the Daily said it reviewed and verified. Former members described lasting harms — anxiety, mental-health treatment, antidepressants — and a program whose entire roster largely turns over each year. No athletic-department action against Levine has been announced, leaving the complaints contested, her position intact, and the program’s culture under public scrutiny for the first time in her long run.

Sources

• The Stanford Daily, “‘She broke athletes’: Cheerleaders allege injury neglect, hostility by head coach of 18 years.” source
• New York Post, “Stanford cheerleaders accuse head coach Sarah Levine of abuse, pushing injured athletes to perform.” source
• Stanford Cardinal Official Athletics Website, “Sarah Levine.” source