Two former Cal Poly Humboldt cross country student-athletes have issued complaints about their former head coach, Jamey Harris, accusing Harris of inappropriate behaviors which led to serious mental health issues for his players and eventually the players leaving the program.

The two Humboldt players who spoke with the Times-Standard, Melissa Pinter and Mariska Kessler, both left the program following what they deemed negative experiences with Harris and the Humboldt Athletics department. The complaints include being encouraged to compete while injured, painful massages from a lacrosse ball that was administered by Harris himself, discussing the sex lives of student-athletes, and emotional abuse.

Kessler spent the 2022-2024 seasons with the ‘Jacks while Pinter was a part of the 2021 and 2022 Humboldt cross country teams before transferring to Chico State in 2023. Both were initially thrilled to join the ‘Jacks program, with Kessler thrilled to fulfill her collegiate dream while Pinter received a scholarship that made her athletic and scholastic goals accessible. But after getting to Humboldt, both players realized the experience was not exactly what they had imagined.

“I have first-handedly witnessed Jamey repeatedly emotionally and physically damage the runners of the Humboldt women’s cross country team,” Kessler said. “I regret recruiting girls into this team and have a sense of guilt for bringing them into this environment. I thought if I was a strong enough leader, I could shield them from the issues the team has had in the past, but that was extremely naive.”

The Times-Standard reached out to Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics with questions for Harris and Nick Pettit, executive director of intercollegiate athletics, but was told that the university “cannot comment on personnel matters regarding the cross country program.”

Cal Poly Humboldt did provide the following statement via Drew Gwerder, a spokesperson for Humboldt Athletics:

“These matters are handled confidentially, but the University is working to address concerns expressed by our student-athletes. Their health and well-being are fundamental to the Athletics program, and we’re committed to creating a safe and respectful environment. Our students also have space to provide feedback to administration regarding their experiences during the evaluation process. If we are made aware of situations of concern we engage appropriate university leadership to address potential issues to support our student-athletes.”

Kessler and another student-athlete did meet with Pettit and Amanda Nelson, Humboldt’s associate athletics director and senior woman administrator, to detail their experience with the cross country program. Nothing, Kessler said, to her knowledge, ever came of it. And Pinter and her father wrote a letter to Humboldt Athletics in February. There was no response, they said.

“Melissa tried to cope with the abuse from her coach without letting her family know what was happening to her,” Pinter’s father wrote in the letter. “I was aware that Melissa had been having injuries as well as other medical issues, but I didn’t know the root of most of her problems was Coach Harris. Sometimes she would phone me, crying … as a parent, it was heart-breaking. When I finally heard the details of his abusive physical and verbal treatment of my daughter, my heart fell into my stomach and I felt so guilty for being unaware and unable to help her in her time of need.”

The Times-Standard reached out to Harris directly about the allegations. He did not respond ahead of the Times-Standard publishing deadline.

Melissa Pinter’s story

Pinter was honored to join Cal Poly Humboldt’s program but she felt Harris used the scholarship she received against her, allegedly using it as leverage to coerce her into competing even if she was injured

“I paid too much money to have you here for you to not race,” Pinter claimed Harris told her.

“Coach Harris’s actions drove me to the brink of suicide. The emotional and physical abuse that I endured under his coaching left me feeling isolated, insignificant, and powerless over my own life. My financial dependence on the scholarship he provided left me vulnerable to his manipulation and exploitation,” Pinter said.

Pinter, who had a boyfriend on the team, said she suddenly saw her relationship become a topic of discussion for her coach during practices. As the season prolonged, Pinter struggled with mental health issues and gained weight, both of which didn’t help her in competitions. Pinter eventually had a conversation with Harris about her problems.

“I opened up to him about what I went through the year before mentally, the depression, unhealthy habits, and the weight gain,” Pinter said. “When I told him how much my weight gain affected me, he replied with ‘well it seemed to work for your boyfriend.’ After that, I really did not feel like I could be vulnerable around him and I just felt very uncomfortable.”

Early in her Humboldt career, Pinter developed Achilles tendinitis. Following the diagnosis, Harris allegedly requested Pinter meet him at the track alone, where Pinter claims that Harris accused her of not caring about the sport and then performed a treatment on Pinter’s legs.

“He proceeded to have me lay on the floor while he pressed a lacrosse ball into my calf and dragged it along my legs. The pain was almost unbearable and I left covered in bite marks from trying to stifle my cries,” Pinter said. “When I stood, I found that my legs were bright red with patches turning purple and I could barely walk. I called my boyfriend for help and he ended up carrying me back to my dorm. This would become a regular occurrence.”

Another ‘Jacks cross country student-athlete who wished to remain anonymous said that the same lacrosse ball massage had been done on them. Humboldt athletic trainers allegedly told the student-athlete not to let Harris perform that treatment.

Pinter battled injuries before transferring out of Cal Poly Humboldt, but not before another odd interaction with her coach.

“Coach Harris would check in occasionally, and on one particular occasion, he texted me something that seemed out of place,” Pinter said. “To this day, I am unsure of what his intentions were. He said, ‘Do you want to hang out later?’ At the time, I just hoped he had sent me the wrong message. Unsure of how to respond, I just made something up to push it to the side.”

Mariska Kessler’s story

Kessler began having health issues stemming from her blood pressure after arriving in Humboldt, which led to her first issue with Harris. According to Kessler, Harris viewed her health issue as more mental than physical. After receiving medication to treat her blood pressure, Kessler returned to full health and began training for the upcoming season. She said the training resulted in her immune system crashing, and she then got sick multiple times during the season.

“I think he really thought this was a mental problem, and then it got to the point where there was a lot more evidence showing it wasn’t a medical problem,” Kessler said. “A lot of times, he’ll have very strong opinions on what’s wrong with people and the trainers will say something else, so sometimes athletes will have to play both sides because the trainer is telling them one thing, but then Jamey’s telling them another.”

Kessler continued through the season, but on her way to a race later that season, she had another health issue stemming from her blood pressure issue, which resulted in an emergency room visit. After running tests, Kessler was cleared to compete and did so, beginning a race and immediately dropping out, which wasn’t something out of the ordinary for the program. The Humboldt’s women’s cross country team had limited numbers but needed racers to ensure that the team would have enough racers to qualify for the event. Harris didn’t attend the meet but did send Kessler a text message the night before the event, encouraging her to participate in the race.

“That night Jamey messages me, the first I have heard from him since I left for the meet,” Kessler said. “He tells me he wants me to race the next day. I respond with the other coaches, ‘don’t think it’s safe and are sending me home early in the morning.’ He ignored this text.”

What’s next?

Jamey Harris remains as Cal Poly Humboldt’s head cross country coach and recruiting coordinator. He was hired by Humboldt in 2017 after serving as the head track and cross country coach UC Santa Cruz from 2014-2017.

Humboldt’s women’s cross country team finished ninth of 11 teams in the CCAA in 2024.

Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.