Stanford has hired a former member of the university’s general counsel office to investigate allegations that Cardinal water polo coach Brian Flacks has retaliated against players who cooperated with an earlier investigation into allegations that he has verbally and emotionally abused players throughout his three years at the school.

Sejal H. Patel, who worked as a senior university counsel in Stanford’s general counsel office before going into private practice in 2024, has been retained by the school to “investigate claims of retaliation against Coach Flacks,” according to emails sent by Stanford employees and consultants obtained by the Southern California News Group, a partner organization of the Bay Area News Group.

Patel’s hiring caught Stanford players and their parents by surprise as some of them had been contacted by university vice provost Patrick H. Dunkley only days earlier about scheduling intake meetings with the school human resources department.

Stanford has also received allegations that Flacks and Duke Rohlen, a Bay Area entrepreneur, Stanford graduate and father of a current Cardinal water polo player, also received a copy of the report or information from it, according to emails from university officials as well as interviews.

Neither Flacks nor Rohlen were authorized recipients of the report, Dunkley confirmed in emails obtained by SCNG.

A four-month investigation conducted by attorney Kate Weaver Patterson and completed in February did not substantiate the allegations of bullying and abuse against Flacks, according to the university. Stanford has not released the details of its findings.

“Upon receiving concerns regarding the men’s water polo program, the University initiated an independent third-party investigation,” Stanford said in a statement. “The investigation did not substantiate the claims that were raised, and the university will continue to follow established processes to review any new claims.”

Flacks did not respond to email and phone requests for comment. His public relations representative, David Shane, contacted SCNG on Flacks’ behalf, providing the following statement:

“In response to the first such accusations of his career and after an independent investigation, Stanford found absolutely no wrongdoing by Brian Flacks; he has been fully exonerated and this matter is appropriately closed. Any allegations of retaliation against players are as preposterous as they are false. Stanford confirmed that Coach Flacks never received a copy of the report or confidential information.”

Patel and Dunkley did not respond to requests for comment.

Flacks, Shane and Flacks’ attorney, Rebecca Kaufman, have declined repeated invitations for Flacks to comment on the record.

Rohlen did not respond to a request for comment.

While Patel’s investigation will be conducted with oversight from Stanford’s human resources office and its employment and labor relations unit, any final decisions or actions following the completion of the investigation will be taken by the athletic department, a human resources employee suggested in an email obtained by SCNG.

Alden Mitchell is serving as Stanford’s interim athletic director after the previous AD, Bernard Muir, resigned in February. Mitchell is also the athletic department’s chief operating officer and is the former head of distribution for the Pac-12 Network. Flacks reports directly to executive associate AD Angie Jabir, according to multiple people familiar with the situation, after previously reporting to senior associate AD Brian Favat until late 2024. Jabir and assistant AD Richard Zhu have been monitoring each Stanford water polo practice in recent weeks as part of an agreement between the university and families concerned about Flacks’ retaliating against players, according to eight people with direct knowledge of the practices.

Cardinal players were guaranteed by both Patterson and Phung Truong, Stanford’s assistant vice president for employee and labor relations, that the contents of their interviews with Patterson would remain confidential, according to multiple emails sent by Patterson and Truong to Stanford players and parents.

But since the conclusion of the probe, Flacks has repeatedly targeted players with verbal and emotional abuse, threatening to reduce the playing time of players allegedly suspected of cooperating with the investigation if they returned for the 2025 season, 10 people allege in emails and letters to top Stanford officials including university president Jonathan Levin.

At least one player said he feels “unsafe on campus.”

Dunkley, who previously also worked as a senior university counsel at Stanford as well as the school’s interim athletic director, informed Cardinal players and their parents the last week of March that employee and labor relations manager Mark Wohrle would conduct “intake” meetings with players to “address the retaliation concerns,” according to multiple emails from Dunkley.

“The non-retaliation policy is important to the university,” Dunkley wrote to players, “and if there is sufficient evidence to support a violation of the policy Stanford will take appropriate action.”

As recently as April 4, Dunkley was following up with Stanford players about scheduling meetings with Wohrle.

Four days later, Wohrle and Patel were informing players that Patel had been hired by Stanford to conduct the investigation.

Wohrle wrote in an email to a player that Patel was hired because Stanford wanted “to ensure a prompt investigation, but we also believe that her training and experience are particularly well-suited for this investigation.”

After graduating from Northwestern Law School, Patel worked as a special U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia. She worked as an adjudicator and evidentiary specialist for Stanford Title IX Office from 2016 to 2020.