Former Fordham Runner Accuses Track And Field Program of Perpetuating Racist Culture, Former Coach Thomas Dewey Denies Allegations
Former Fordham track and field runner Michael Petersen is accusing former Fordham track head coach Thomas Dewey and former team captain Ryan McGann of multiple racist incidents during the 2016-17 season, Petersen’s freshman year. Petersen transferred to Western University in London, Ontario, Canada after that year.
In a series of Instagram stories Tuesday night, Petersen wrote what he said occurred during the season.
“The racist culture was from the men’s track and cross country seniors, many of which just blindly followed the men’s team captain (McGann),” Petersen said.
He posted a photo of several men’s runners dressed as “Pilgrims and Indians.” He said the students were running through buildings on the Rose Hill campus chasing a turkey. However, he said neither he nor any of his Black, Puerto Rican or Pakistani teammates were considered “Pilgrims.”
He went on to say that Dewey helped perpetuate this culture by delegating many tasks to the team’s seniors. In what Petersen describes as a “sick idea,” he said McGann assigned sprinters and a hybrid group mostly comprised of non-white athletes to pick up garbage after a meet. According to Petersen, the mostly white seniors oversaw the garbage pickup, and McGann “followed and harassed” Petersen to do more. At first, Petersen thought he was being hazed like his teammates, but he said he realized that his white teammates were not joining him.
Dewey denied allegations that he helped foster this culture. He also says that the story about being forced to pick up the garbage alone is an exaggeration.
“He’s full of s—, quite honestly,” Dewey said. “Ask anybody, how many times did you have to clean? I mean, that’s ridiculous. He just overstepped. If he was going to lie, maybe they shouldn’t have put the one thing.”
Dewey said that Petersen was set on leaving Fordham after his first year and in the transfer process, he gave a list of 18 schools and didn’t know all of them. According to Dewey, he also submitted a school called “Georgia Institute of Technology,” which wound up being Georgia Tech. Finally, Petersen transferred to Western University, which was not on his original list. The year after he transferred, Petersen talked to Dewey at a meet in Boston and, according to the coach, offered no sign that anything was wrong.
“Well the next year,” Dewey says. “We had a meet in Boston, and who comes up but Michael? Comes up, sits down, talks to me, talks to the guys on the team, no problem. Then we saw him one other time after that. So that’s just to give you an idea, all of a sudden this horrendous thing.”
However, Petersen refutes that account of the conversation. He says he was only at the meet to compete for Western and he wanted to say hello to his former Fordham teammates. “I had that conversation with him and if he thought that was a great civil conversation then I don’t know what kinds of conversations he has on a day-to-day basis,” Petersen said.
Dewey also said that he was unaware of any issues on the team and deflected blame to his captains.
“My thing, and I coached for 55 years, and this is why it’s really ticking me off,” he said. “Unblemished, and now we have this? Should I have been asking every week, guys, what’s going on with the captains? Are we alright? Yeah, maybe I should’ve. But I didn’t think there was any problem.
Another incident took place when the team attended a party later in the season. Petersen alleged McGann once again hazed him by giving him a Smirnoff Ice in a garbage bag and tried to force him to pick up the trash after the party, which Petersen describes as an “abuse of power.” However, as Petersen tells it, McGann viewed the incident as a “joke.” Petersen says that McGann “pushed the racist agenda to a point that I could not bear” and that the team’s other seniors “just followed the leader.”
McGann has not responded to several requests for comment.
Shortly after publishing his stories regarding McGann, Petersen then directed attention toward Dewey. He alleged that Dewey tried to make Petersen sign a contract to restrict him from transferring after he initially brought forward his issues. Petersen also said Dewey always reminded Petersen that he was paying his scholarship, a situation Petersen describes as “letting me know that he ‘owned me.’” Dewey retired before the 2019-20 school year after 39 years at the helm.
Dewey responded to that comment in conversation with The Fordham Ram.
“Bottom-line, if you want to be mean, Fordham did own him,” Dewey said. “But that’s not what happened. He had to be reminded that we were paying his way and he wasn’t really interested in competing. How would you like it if some guy that you found out was sitting next to you at Fordham while you had to pay your whole way at Fordham, he was getting $35,000, $40,000 to not do anything. Would that piss you off?”
In an interview with The Ram, Petersen said that Dewey tried to instill fear in his runners. And according to the former Fordham track runner, part of that was reminding them who was responsible for their education.
“He always made everyone know that he was top dog,” he says. “He was a source of fear. He would use threats. Coach Dewey would always let you know that he had your scholarship and he was the one paying it and he would always threaten to hold you back from competitions.” Petersen also told us that keeping athletes out of competition is “oxymoronic” because coaches “should be promoting this urge to represent your school [and] represent yourself.” He also added that Dewey was “making people hate being on the team.”
Dewey said why he thinks Petersen would come forward with his claims.
“Quite honestly, some of the minorities use their color as an excuse, which is horrible,” he said. “You’re trying to make somebody better. You can’t turn around and tell me, for example, just the black kids had to pick up the garbage. That’s horses—. That’s never been the case.”
Petersen says that comments like these show who Dewey is.
“Dewey’s abuse of power is very closely related to his racist ideals,” he says. “He might not see them as racist but his abuse of power and his excess abuse of power with minorities is wrong and I don’t think anybody should live through that stuff.”
Dewey said he thinks Petersen is trying to earn himself sympathy with his allegations.
“Does he consider himself a slave?,” he said. “That’s using today’s happenings to get sympathy. I taught English and communications for 45 years, I understand what words mean. There was nothing in that “he owned me” other than the slave. That’s great. Well, if I owned him, then he probably owes us ¾ of a scholarship because he hardly ran.”
In an investigation into that season, The Ram found that Petersen competed in most of the team’s indoor events, including the 2017 Atlantic 10 Championship. He says he suffered an injured hamstring towards the end of the season but Dewey urged him to continue despite the risks involved.
“He’s saying he wants my scholarship back, the fact that he has the audacity to say something that is baffling to me,” Petersen says. “That is crazy talk. I ran every single weekend for most of the season until I got injured. Once I got injured, I said, ‘no. I cannot run. This hamstring is hurt, it will only get worse.’ I had to go to another trainer, to another team, because the coaches wouldn’t believe me from what I said.”
Petersen’s allegations come after a week in which a new Instagram page called Black at Fordham (@blackatfordham) has aired stories publicly; included on that page are anonymous allegations that Fordham Men’s Soccer coach Carlo Acquista made several racist comments last season and that Fordham Swimming fostered a culture of racism under head coach Steve Potsklan. Petersen is the first Fordham athlete current or former to put his name to an accusation of this nature.
“Actually, I was going to stay anonymous but I think if we are looking for real change you should know who is responsible,” Petersen wrote.
The Ram is reaching out to more sources and will update this article as needed.
George Matthaei • Jul 2, 2020 at 2:46 pm
There are pro and cons on this issue and they all need to be heard. That said THE RAM should not be allowing people to sign on as “Anonymous” or “Dewey’s Mom” with comments that spew hatred and contempt at the people involved. This should be a forum for bringing us all to a mutual understanding.
Sincerely,
George Matthaei
Fordham Track 82
David Carreiras • Jun 30, 2020 at 9:48 pm
I am truly grateful for the opportunity I was given to run at Fordham during Coach Dewey’s tenure. I can’t speak to the brief experience that Mr. Peterson had while at Fordham, but that was not my experience nor that of many of my teammates. I will continue to donate to Fordham Track because of what Coach Dewey, my teammates and the program meant to me.
Anonymous • Jun 29, 2020 at 2:06 am
The experiences previous athletes had with Coach Dewey’s does not disregard or change Michael’s negative experience. His horrifying experiences of racism within the team should be addressed by the university. The response Coach Dewey gave demonstrated the absence of a respectful and open coach-athlete relationship that is expected in ANY standard of coaching.
Furthermore, the shocking response of “Quite honestly, some of the minorities use their color as an excuse,” is unacceptable and a clear example of unconscious racism.
Anonymous Athlete • Jun 28, 2020 at 4:00 pm
My time on the team did not overlap with Michael’s and I cannot speak to his personal character. However, his story and statements 100% mirror my experience being “coached” by Dewey. I can validate and confirm that Dewey has repeatedly mistreated and harassed the very athletes he was supposed to support. Much of this is rooted in his archaic training philosophy of high mileage and refusal to adjust training for the countless individuals that became injured from his stubbornness and negligence. For me personally, his training methods resulted in multiple, season-ending injuries. Any attempts I made to advocate for my health (and follow my doctor’s orders to rest and heal) were perceived by Dewey as laziness or an effort to dodge competition. Through my injuries and struggle to recover Dewey made endless threats towards me and my family, holding my financial scholarship in jeopardy and constantly reminding me that yes “he owned me”. Michael is not trying to “push an agenda” or accuse Dewey of “being a slave owner”. His experience is completely valid and as time unfolds I’m sure many athletes abused and silenced by Dewey will have the strength to come forward and share their similar stories. For those sharing their positive 4 years with Dewey, that’s wonderful you had an enjoyable experience on the team, but your 4 year window and perception of Dewey does NOT represent 39 years of coaching and absolve Dewey of anything!! As teammates and “one Ramily” we should be listening to each other’s stories, reflecting and working to ensure future athletes are supported and successful. I also want to make clear — although you may not have seen Dewey act outwardly racist and hostile towards BIPOC athletes, you have to acknowledge that his leadership and coaching style created a toxic team culture, where voices were silenced and captains were given too much power (during the 2010s he’d appoint 5-6 captains, all workouts, instructions and feedback were communicated through them, facetime or access to Coach was non-existent). Racism and mistreatment thrives in an environment like this, and Dewey as head coach is absolutely responsible. In this very article he admits — “Should I have been asking every week, guys, what’s going on with the captains? Are we alright? Yeah, maybe I should’ve.” The article states “Dewey also said that he was unaware of any issues on the team and deflected blame to his captains”. Failed leadership and inexcusable behavior for a 39 year tenured coach. Do better Fordham. Thank you Michael for your bravery in coming forward, your story is starting a conversation years overdue.
Carlos Zervigon • Jun 28, 2020 at 3:57 pm
I ran track and cross country at Fordham University my freshman year in 2016-2017 before transferring to Tulane where I continued to run track and cross for the remainder of my undergraduate career. For further context, I will add that Michael has been one of my best friends since we ran together freshman year. With that said, his message bringing to light the toxic and racist team culture that persisted during our time on the team is nothing new; in fact, it is consistent with everything I remember as a runner on the team and a friend of Michael. For anyone that actually took the time to read this article, it should be blatantly obvious that there was undeniably a racist, conflict-driven mentality that ate away at the foundation of this team.
What is the surest way to show everyone that you are not indeed racist after being accused of being racist? I am pretty confident that it is not responding with vitriolic anger against the person who made such a claim.
What is the surest way to show everyone that you are a compassionate coach that cares about your athletes & their well-beings (as so many feel that Dewey did for them)? I am pretty confident it is not insinuating that your athlete is stupid, lazy, fraudulent, in debt to you, and using his “color as an excuse.”
I cannot personally refute other people’s positive experiences with Coach Dewey. In fact, aside from frustrations with training and practice policies, I rarely had a personal conflict with Dewey. Although I did not ever feel the overwhelmingly positive vibes that other people in this comment section seemed to pick up on from Dewey, I can say with confidence that they surely existed for some people. People who were almost always white male members of the distance / cross country team and a select few field athletes.
The reality is that there was a huge disconnect between the distance / cross athletes on the team and the sprints / field athletes on the team. People have mentioned that Dewey intentionally fosters diversity on his teams; however, all minority athletes were in sprints and field events. This was a disconnect. An unnecessary disconnect at that. We were not “one team.” White members of the distance team rarely, very rarely interacted with minorities in other events. My point here is to say that it took an ~effort~ and awareness to see the discrimination that was happening to minority athletes on the team from the perspective of a male distance athlete. It really felt like no one on the distance side made that effort at all.
I was fortunate enough to be friends with Michael and hang out with the “hybrid” (short and long sprints) group often. The juxtaposition between the treatment from the coaching staff of the two groups was shocking. From my experience those in the hybrid group were often characterized by Dewey and other coaching staff as being lazy or not taking the sport seriously (as put on full display in this article by Dewey himself). Some were told to get haircuts, despite the length not exceeding that of the white athletes on the team. One athlete was cut from the team and IMMEDIATELY removed from the roster; whereas, a white distance runner who was cut remained on the roster for the rest of the year.
Racism was alive and well on the team, living and creating a rift between the experiences of the minority athletes and the white athletes. I have a lot of respect for almost all of my teammates of the time; however, I was also extremely disappointed and angry with the social toxicity that persisted among them. This was one of the main reasons I eventually transferred to Tulane. Although Tulane was not free of its own problems. I can assure you, this level of racism and toxicity did not exist.
Anonymous • Jun 27, 2020 at 10:15 pm
Mr. Dewey has always gone out of his way to ensure his teams were diverse and his athletes had equal opportunity to compete. I was a member of the program 5 years and my captains/teammates spanned the racial spectrum from White, Hispanic, Asian, and African,…which was deliberate. The comments of my teammates and captains above, despite being 30+ years removed from the program are not gaslighting, it is our experiences which are ongoing and always evolving. That is our experience then and now, because if you were a member of the program today or yesterday, you’re always a member of the program and Mr. Dewey has made sure we have been connected through mail, e-mail, and ongoing annual events. Tom Dewey is and always will be a teacher, mentor, coach, friend, and leader for each and every one of us. He taught us humility, leadership, and compassion. He has a right to be angry and anyone placed in his position should be. He was a person that did not profit from his position, wanted to mold young people into leaders and contributing members of society, and now he is being called into question. Wouldn’t you be angry if somebody called you a slave owner after they signed a contract to receive room and board in exchange for the privilege of running? His door was and is always open to his athletes, young and old. At times, he was a father, friend, and sounding board for many of near and far from home. I challenge the Ram: : look at the diversity of the teams and the captains throughout Mr. Dewey’s tenure and compare it to society as a whole and the comparable teams in the Northeast. Look at the graduation rate of his teams during the same time periods for the same demographics. Then judge him. Actions have always spoken loader than words. In the meantime, I will continue to direct my annual donations to the program to give youth the same opportunity that I and my teammates were afforded. It’s the least I can do to repay the privilege that I had to be a member of the program Mr. Dewey oversaw and the teammates I would have never had the opportunity to meet without the vision of Mr. Dewey.
Brendan Costello • Jun 27, 2020 at 8:07 pm
It speaks volumes that instead of acknowledging Petersen’s experience, Dewey vulgarly dismissed them and attacked Petersen’s character. Dewey tried to frame Petersen as a disgruntled athlete who was about to lose their scholarship and is out for revenge, but you really don’t have to look far to see why Petersen earned every cent of his scholarship.
On his Fordham athlete profile you can see his numerous contributions, including; Atlantic 10 champion, Metropolitan champion, rookie of the week, and all-conference rookie team. The fact that Dewey tried to discredit Petersen rather than discredit his experience is a red flag. If the best he can do is to say that Petersen made no contributions to the team when he clearly earned his scholarship, it just shows that Dewey is grasping at straws to try to make this go away rather than thinking about it and learning something.
Link to Petersen’s roster profile: https://fordhamsports.com/sports/mens-track-and-field/roster/michael-petersen/7358
Laurel Fisher • Jun 27, 2020 at 4:59 pm
I’m writing this comment because I feel as though our personal experiences with Coach Dewey are TOO IMPORTANT not to share as his character is being called into question.
As a former member of the team and someone who ran with Peterson, I can attest to the fact that Coach Dewey ONLY had issues with athletes who were unable to comply with the basic rules and guidelines of our team. Each athlete was expected to be committed to the team philosophy, maintain a good academic standing, and put forth an honest effort on the track (both at practice and at meets). Coach Dewey would NEVER treat an athlete differently because of their skin color, gender, or religious affiliation.
Even though I never witnessed/heard anything, I don’t deny that Peterson may have experienced racism during his time at Fordham. However, I adamantly refute the claims that Coach Dewey is/was racist or is now racial gaslighting. Additionally, the claims that he promoted a racist culture on the team are patently false. Coach Dewey is a human and is therefore infallible, but that doesn’t make him a racist. Anyone who ran for Coach Dewey knows that he doesn’t always speak with the political correctness that many desire nowadays. However, Coach Dewey was constantly learning and adjusting to meet the diverse needs of his athletes. In short, he was becoming increasingly sensitive to the gender and racial issues of our time. Coach Dewey was committed to making the changes necessary to enrich everyone’s experience on this team. For example, in the last two years I ran for Coach Dewey he encouraged struggling athletes to seek help with Fordhams sports psychologist. Although he personally preferred struggling athletes to seek advice/support from their teammates, he quickly transitioned to directing athletes (in need) to this new resource. Sports psychology was a relatively new concept to Fordham at the time, his open mindedness to this transition should speak volumes about his commitment to adjusting his coaching style to meet the needs of his current athletes.
Coach Dewey only wanted the best for his runners. Anyone who says otherwise probably didn’t take the time or put forth the effort to get to know Coach Dewey. To better illustrate this, he had an open door policy, whereby he encouraged his runners to meet with him in his office to talk about any personal concerns (academic, social, etc.). Furthermore, to make it convenient for his athletes to speak with him, he would show up to campus early and was always available to talk before team practices. It always felt as though the athletes who disliked Coach Dewey and his coaching staff never really bought into the program.
Coach Dewey consistently encouraged his athletes to volunteer within the Bronx Community. Under his tutelage, the team often volunteered in charitable efforts such as toy drives, the Healthy Kids Running Series, Habitat for Humanity builds, sneaker donations, events for Women’s Sports Foundation and UNICEF, and countless other efforts.
Coach Dewey has done incredible things for SO many of his athletes both on and off the track REGARDLESS of their gender, race, or religious affiliation. He doesn’t deserve to be attacked like this by people who don’t even know him. Coach Dewey was an incredible coach to me and so many others. He’s done so much for his runners and made so many sacrifices for us throughout the years. He has helped me reach new heights athletically and academically. He goes above and beyond what a coach is required to do for their athletes, as so many current and former runners can attest.
In rereading the everchanging article as well as the comment section, I believe it would be in the best interest of Michael Peterson, Coach Dewey, and Fordham athletics to take this offline and discuss this in private. This issue feels more like a personal grievance which would be better resolved in a private setting and among the parties involved. The only way change can be made is through effective conversations and the comment section will only serve to further divide the Fordham track community.
Will Whelan • Jun 27, 2020 at 3:13 pm
It’s certainly interesting to now hear and read all these blind acquisitions that Dewey has been a racist. I can’t speak on behalf of Peterson, but I can speak on being a person of color. I have been treated equally amongst my own teammates and held to the same standard as everyone else. Was he strict? Yes. Was he hard on freshmen and other athletes? Of course. But was he racist? Not at all.
Anonymous • Jun 27, 2020 at 3:10 pm
Unblemished? Multiple athletes have reported this coach to the athletic director about his actions in the past. In fact, he was reported by another BIPOC athlete who he ruined the year before Petersen arrived to the school and nothing was done about it. Fordham has been given the option to take action numerous times and nothing has ever come from it. This is in line with all of the other racial abuses that the school has perpetuated as a whole to BIPOC as evident by the amount of stories that are now coming out.
Anonymous Poster • Jun 27, 2020 at 3:03 pm
I want to thank the Fordham alumni for sharing their honest experiences with coach Dewey, and I want to apologize on behalf of my generation. Be thankful that you graduated college when you did, because this is unfortunately a good representation of what universities look like currently. Evidence, reason, and honest searches for truth are not very popular right now. Emotion, outrage, and “justice” have taken their place.
That is not the whole picture, though. Many recent graduates that I have spoken to also share your positive experiences with coach Dewey, but we are terrified to speak, especially on social media. Anyone who even suggests that there are two sides to a story is asking to be crucified by the social justice mobs.
A closing point, something Dewey would never use in his defense but should be mentioned to those who don’t know him: Dewey’s grandchildren are people of color. Something to consider, and hopefully that gives you pause the next time you think of insulting a man you don’t know and insulting his family based on one person’s Instagram post.
Anonymous Poster • Jun 27, 2020 at 2:41 pm
It should be noted that a lot of these people who have commented are people who do not know Dewey at all, and are friends of Petersen’s. They claim that any comment in support of Dewey and his character as a coach, his character towards people of color, is aimed to discredit Petersen. Isn’t the character of a person defined by their interactions with everyone who knows them? People of color exclaiming how positively they view their experiences with Coach Dewey should be just as important as negative accounts, especially when they overwhelmingly outnumber the negative accounts.
But why would Petersen lie? Surely Dewey must have gotten much more racist since the 90s, surely that explains why recent accounts don’t match older ones. Lets think about why Petersen would lie about, exaggerate, or misinterpret his experiences:
1. When this picture surfaced on social media, Petersen, viewing an image of himself grinning ear-to-ear in Native American garb, had two options: admit to himself that he voluntarily participated in something wrong, ignorant, and potentially racist, or make the claim that he was forced to do it because of his skin color (a claim that has been corroborated by no one on the team, because it is false).
2. Given the current climate, the number of “woke points” someone gets for shouting racism in any direction can be reason enough for some people. I’m not saying this is the case for Petersen, but lets not pretend that there aren’t social incentives for viewing and sharing one’s memories with an increasingly racial lens.
Charlie Kutch • Jun 27, 2020 at 12:46 pm
It is unfortunate that Michael Petersen has such bad memories about his experience and I wish him the best of luck going forward. I am not looking to diminish his experience as I only spoke to him briefly on a couple of occasions at meets so I don’t know him. My reason for posting is to dispute any attack on Coach Dewey’s reputation. I came to know Coach Dewey when he began recruiting my son. I had the honor of getting to know him over the past several years and I have no question in my mind that his life has been about helping young men and women grow into quality people. A path as a Catholic school teacher and track coach is not a path to wealth. The hours he has given, the personal sacrifices he has made clearly show his passion was always to help those he taught/coach. I also saw the genuine love his former athletes displayed years after their college career ended. Coach Dewey was invested in their success as human beings. Sadly every coach will have athletes that don’t enjoy their experience but that shouldn’t diminish that coach’s reputation. Sometimes situations don’t work out, it is a fact of life but let’s not use these situations to paint of picture of Coach Dewey that is blatantly untrue. The hundreds of former athletes that stay in touch with Coach Dewey reflect the love and concern he invested in them. He is a man of integrity who truly wanted every athlete to not only be successful on the track but in life. I am grateful for all that Coach Dewey did for my son and proudly call him a friend
Janice Mervyn • Jun 27, 2020 at 11:43 am
I read this article and feel intense feelings of disappointment. I have the perspective of a parent of an athlete on Thomas Dewey’s team during the time with which Micheal Peterson was a member. In my view, Micheal Peterson displayed tremendous courage in coming forward and sharing his personal experience. If you follow his sharing on instagram there has been an outpouring of athletes from Fordham who acknowledge and validated similar feelings (so Micheal is not an anomaly). Thomas Dewey was then gifted a week’s worth of time to pause and take in what some (I fully recognize not all ) of his athletes have shared. To think that a man of his tenure would choose to respond the way that he has been quoted in this article is incredibly shocking. Mr. Dewey at no point acknowledges his athlete’s perspective…. or his part in his athlete’s experience. To say that he “owned Micheal” and suggesting that Micheal owes some of his scholarship back is preposterous !!! When we were researching NCAA experiences for our child Fordham’s “NON PERFORMANCE BASED Scholarship” specification was part of the decision making process. At an invited open house meeting in the lovely Keating Hall, I asked this specific question: “what is your perspective with regard to injury and performing”… at which point Mr. Dewey referred to the Non-performance based scholarship rule at Fordham. “no one will be pushed past there limits… if you don’t perform to your potential or you suffer an injury your scholarship is not at risk”. So Mr. Dewey’s quote in this article comes as a shocking contradiction. Micheal Peterson “owes” you nothing. You, Mr. Dewey, were granted the opportunity ( I would say privilege) to connect, coach and shape each of your athletes. Here an athlete is bravely telling you, from his perspective, what his experience was like. Mr Dewey shows zero appreciation for his athlete’s well-being. Coach Dewey could have used this opportunity to acknowledge his athlete’s experience, however, instead he chose to be defensive, challenge details and share what HE thinks of minorities (“Quite honestly, some of the minorities use their color as an excuse”) . I would counter that you, Mr Dewey, OWE Micheal Peterson much more …. and respect would be a start.
Emma • Jun 27, 2020 at 11:10 am
Just reading these comments it seems as though the past generations of runners at Fordham are trying to discredit Michael’s experience in his years on the Track team. I’ve known Michael for a while and he is not the type to pull stuff out of thin air just to make a story. He’s honest and genuine. So just because you had a pleasant experience does not mean Michael did too.
And for all those trying to say he’s “using current events to push his agenda“ that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Michael told me this story a couple years ago and I’m sure has told other friends/teammates in some form or other about why he left Fordham (Before this movement started). As a fellow athlete and friend these things come up and leaving a team for something of that nature (not because of coaching style, tactics or team talent) is the last thing I’d want to hear. This is RESURFACING now because it is contributing to the many stories that are now being made known, it is keeping the momentum going so it doesn’t die down and will hopefully lead to positive change. With this movement that is the biggest I’ve seen in my generation, it has the power to change the current systems.
To add, this article kind of presents this situation as just a disagreement between 2 people. It is not. It is much bigger and it is the culture in athletic departments that needs to change.
Pat Dormer • Jun 27, 2020 at 11:02 am
I have known Tom Dewey since I started at Fordham in 1986 I was lucky enough to walk on the team and through hard work I was able to become captain my senior year. I have also as a track coach sent many young men to run at Fordham. I would not have sent anyone to Fordham if there was a racist culture. Many of my teammates were men of color and I can luckily say that they are friends to this very day
I can not speak to the experience that Mr Peterson had during his only year at Fordham but I can speak to the experiences of all the young men of color who I did. Coach and who were coached by Tom Dewey and I know that they had a very different experience than Mr Peterson described in his social media posts A very Positive experience
Danielle Fitzgerald • Jun 27, 2020 at 11:01 am
Everyone deserves to be treated as an equal member of the community. Michael coming forward and sharing his story shows a lot of courage. Speaking up for yourself and others is not easy. Michael choosing to share his story now should not discredit the weight of his words. He told his story when he was ready to.
The personal experiences of other athletes with Dewey does not change Michael’s experience with him. There are multiple racist quotes directly from Dewey within this article. Giving someone a scholarship does not give you ownership of that person. No matter your personal bias, Michael earned the scholarship. It is a coaches job to guide an athlete to a higher level of performance no matter how they acquired the funding for their education. Later in the article, Dewey dismisses the challenges faced by people of colour when saying “Quite honestly, some of the minorities use their color as an excuse, which is horrible,”.
Dewey’s reputation is clearly more important to him than the impact of his actions. I would like to thank Michael for sharing his story. I hope that others in the Fordham community feel empowered to share their stories when they are ready to do so.
Karina Estrella • Jun 27, 2020 at 11:01 am
To all the people here coming out of the woodwork to post their positive experiences with Dewey — they are completely irrelevant to this case and conversation. It doesn’t matter if, in your four-year Fordham career, Dewey was a good coach to you. Your experience in 1996 does not invalidate Michael’s story in any way, or suggest in the slightest that these things did not happen. It is fully hateful and oppressive to suggest that anyone speaking their truth about experiencing discrimination is an “agenda”. It means you don’t recognize that racism is real and systemic. It affects every person in America through their upbringing. Stop trying to deny its existence and instead, listen intently to the stories of people who experience it so we can hope to uproot it.
Why is it hard to believe, in any way, that leadership at Fordham turned a blind eye to racism? At a school where there have been so many accounts of racist acts against BIPOC, from microaggressions in class to finding the N word written on a black student’s door? Why is it out of the question for you that your beloved coach Dewey partook in a culture that fostered racism, when the entire US has a culture that institutionalizes it? Racism is not just explicit hate – it can take the form of conscious and unconscious bias. A real leader would read up on the subject and reflect on his past behavior, open to the idea that he could have been better, and wants the future team to have higher standards.
Instead we have this quote, which should tell you everything you need to know: “Some of the minorities use their color as an excuse, which is horrible.” If you came here to claim Dewey as an entirely non-racist person, when this direct quote is included in the article, then it’s clear that you don’t know what racism means.
Owen Babcock • Jun 27, 2020 at 10:47 am
Michael Petersen has been a rival of mine for several years now in the USports circuit and he has always been a genuinely kind and respectful individual within the T&F community. Although I cannot speak on Fordham, I have every reason to believe Petersen’s story and can vouch for him being a honest and honourable guy.
Ontario Runner • Jun 27, 2020 at 10:43 am
I remember racing Michael when he was a young 800m star. He is incredibly passionate about track and very humble about his talents; the kind of guy you won’t know is fast until you watch him race. He’s years removed from his time at Fordham and with coach Dewey retired, Michael has nothing to gain from speaking out, but he has to face all the hate we see in the article from coach Dewey and in these comments. Good on you Michael – it takes courage to speak up.
Shannon Marie • Jun 27, 2020 at 10:33 am
I’m not sure how all of these comments can say with such conviction that Dewey is not racist after reading this article. You can see the disdain he has for BIPOC, especially in the line “minorities use their color as an excuse”. The fact that he is clearly lying about Michael’s track record is quite telling to me as well. Bullshit article, gtfoh with these comments of support from people who knew him 30+ years ago.
K Magoffin • Jun 27, 2020 at 10:27 am
Thank you Michael for sharing your story! Regardless of others’ positive experiences with this coach, people can express different sides of themselves to different people. Following an injury and thoughts about leaving, a head coach should be supportive to young athletes, especially ones who are so far from home. The way he responded even in this article speaks a lot to his character, and I hope he and this team have learned to be more actively anti racist from Michael’s story.
Estrella • Jun 27, 2020 at 10:09 am
Having positive experiences with Coach Dewey does not invalidate the negative experiences of other athletes. If you have not personally witnessed or have not been subject to the racist culture on the team, this does not mean it was not happening or has not affected others.
To address those accusing Michael of using this story to further his “agenda,” the only thing on the “agenda” is to make the team a safe, inclusive, uplifting space. Sharing his story is emotionally taxing, as it is for all athletes speaking up. As alumni, it is our job to listen to each other and recognize that we were (and still are) on the same team. We cannot tear down and gaslight our teammates when they need our help and support. We want athletes to flourish. We want a better program. We need to be better listeners in order for that to happen.
Alina Kwiatkowski • Jun 27, 2020 at 9:43 am
By responding to a person’s experience by saying this is the first time you’ve heard of it, or by mentioning that you yourself never had the same experience, or by saying it was harmless, you are racial gaslighting.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where a person or group uses denial, misdirection, contradiction, and misinformation to destabilize and delegitimize another person‘s reality.
Coach Dewey’s statements are a form of racial gaslighting. Almost all of the comments before me are a form of racial gaslighting. By engaging in this rhetoric, he and you are perpetuating the racist track team culture you claim does not exist.
Please be mindful of your comments. This is a real story and an essential one to hear. It is not okay to deflect important conversations about racism and silence POC voices.
Anonymous • Jun 27, 2020 at 9:14 am
Coach is an absolute dirt bag. He treats his athletes like garbage and gets away with it time after time. Half of his athletes get injured because of his outdated training and when they do they’re blamed for it and have their scholarships held over their held. Additionally, he refuses to let anyone red-shirt and if attempts to block all who tries to transfer from the program. He’s run numerous people while they were completely injured or sick and doesn’t care about their well-being. Many of his athletes end up hating their time running for his program and end up wondering about what they could have been if they ended up at a different program with a good coach. So many athletes had great talent wasted at the hands of this terrible coach and Petersen was lucky to get out of the toxic program when he was able to.
Dewey’s Mom • Jun 27, 2020 at 9:10 am
Tom Dewey is a major racist scum bag. Mike Petersen must be the nicest and most humble guy on the planet. Dewey is writing all these comments himself also, I would know since he still lives at home with me.
M. Lucki • Jun 27, 2020 at 8:37 am
I believe Michael. Why would he make this up? He was clearly mistreated which cause him to transfer. As a D1 runner myself I know that no athlete wants to transfer and have a bad college experience. It would have spoken volumes if more members of the Fordham track community would have just acknowledged the mistreatment Michale received from the team’s captain, who the coach is responsible for, instead of trying to discredit him and minimized his experience. Just because you didn’t experience the same treatment as Michael doesn’t mean it’s not real.
Anonymous • Jun 27, 2020 at 8:11 am
As a white person who picked up trash at every meet for four years, I can say that the any story claiming that only people of color picked up garbage after meets is categorically false. This lie ought to give new color to the rest of the accusations, as should the falsehood about having no choice but to dress up as an Indian
Keithan Sivapragasam • Jun 27, 2020 at 6:30 am
Michael is my current teammate and friend. To say he is uninterested in competing is blasphemous. Michael has a drive that so few people possess. He continues to better himself and does his best to help others every single day. I don’t know who this Dewey guy is but he needs to step off his high horse. Not believing your athlete is injured, that’s disgusting.
Furthermore, many athletes in the NCAA don’t even compete in their first year, so many are red-shirted and still receive their scholarship.
I truly believe what Michael about his former Coach, and the Fordham running culture. If you have trouble believing that, read this article again and how Dewey puts his words together. Dewey is in denial and is turning a blind-eye. His words are poorly articulated, and he didn’t mention that Michael was injured, being the reason he couldn’t run. He made it sound as if Michael chose to sit out (which he didn’t).
Michael is a phenomenal student and athlete. I stand with my friend proudly, that he had the courage to come out and speak on the issues at Fordham.
Alina Kwiatkowski • Jun 27, 2020 at 4:23 am
By responding to a person’s experience by saying this is the first time you’ve heard of it, or by mentioning that you yourself never had the same experience, or by saying it was harmless, you are racial gaslighting.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation where a person or group uses denial, misdirection, contradiction, and misinformation to destabilize and delegitimize another person‘s reality.
Coach Dewey’s statements are forms of racial gaslighting. Almost all of the comments before me are forms of racial gaslighting. By engaging in this rhetoric, he and you are perpetuating the racist track team culture you claim does not exist.
Please be mindful of your comments. This is a real story and an essential one to hear. It is not okay to deflect important conversations about racism and silence POC voices.
Anonymous • Jun 27, 2020 at 2:41 am
So in response to these accusations, Dewey is stating that “Fordham did own him” and that “some of the minorities use their color as an excuse” — this alone should paint the whole picture. He responded to accusations of racism with more racism. This is the definition of gaslighting, and the fact that there are people in the comments defending this, given the present national climate, is mind boggling. He is attempting to discredit Michael’s valid experiences with racism by attacking the integrity of his character, which is on the one unnecessary and cruel, and on the other untrue. I know Michael personally and know him to be both hard-working and driven, contrary to what Dewey insinuates, as well as a morally upstanding individual who would not tear down another person for no reason, under false pretense. Dewey’s refusal to offer any sympathy for his experiences is symbolic of the chasm in this country between the experiences of those who face marginalization for their skin color, and those who fail to understand how their complicity is harmful.
Nina Bodden • Jun 27, 2020 at 2:36 am
Mr. Dewey’s statement that “minorities use their colour as an excuse which is horrible” is exactly what white privilege looks like. To claim that people of colour, who have been systematically oppressed and assimilated for centuries (among other horrible things) in America, use the colour of their skin for “personal gain” against other people shows that Dewey is not an ally in the fight against racism and is so privileged that he could not fathom someone being hurt by his actions because he has never been disadvantaged by the colour of his skin. Petersen spoke bravely about his personal experience at Fordham (which has nothing to do with other people’s experiences almost 40 years ago I might add. Re some of the comments) yet it seems that the writer of this article only gave Dewey the opportunity to speak. I commend Petersen for speaking his truth and am appalled to see a coach that is so quick to react in anger rather than reflect on his abilities to care for his athletes and be an ally against racism.
Andrew • Jun 27, 2020 at 2:30 am
FUCK UR STUPID SLAVE OWNER MENTALITY. U DONT OWN SHIT U RACIST PRICK
George Matthaei • Jun 26, 2020 at 10:31 am
I ran for Fordham from 78-82. Coach Dewey became my coach when he took over the Track Program in 1980. I seems strange to me that after 39 years of coaching at Fordham he is accused of perpetuating a racist culture the year after he retires. I sounds like someone is using the current situation in this country to push their own agenda.
R. Jones • Jun 26, 2020 at 6:40 am
I have known Tom Dewey for over 30 years, I ran for him as a student athlete, captained the team, and coached with him as an assistant. I am black and am proud to call Tom, friend, mentor, and father figure. I cannot speak to the experience of the young man who initiated the complaint but that is not the Tom Dewey that I know.
As to the article, over the course of 39 years in any situation you will find persons who have had bad experiences, for whatever the reason. As a student-athlete you are expected to give an honest effort in the classroom, in practice and on the field, when that does not occur you will get pushback from any coach and hopefully from your fellow students. That does not make it racist.
I continue to donate to and support Fordham Track every year financially because of Tom Dewey and what he represents to me, and I know I do not stand alone.
George Matthaei • Jun 25, 2020 at 10:08 pm
I ran for Fordham Track from 78-82. Dewey was my coach when he took over the program in 1980. Are you telling me in the 39 years he coached at Fordham there is suddenly a Racist Culture accusation when he finally retires? Sound like someone is using current events to push their agenda.
Kathleen Devine • Jun 25, 2020 at 6:30 pm
“Quite honestly, some of the minorities use their color as an excuse, which is horrible,” he said.
That’s a disgusting thing to say. How easy it would have been to acknowledge this athlete’s feelings? Instead, Dewey settles on calling him a liar, simply because he didn’t mention anything at the time. This is truly sad to read.
Just because other athletes had a positive experience with this coach does not mean Petersen did not have to put up with the racist incidents he described.
Dewey seems more angered by Petersen tainting his “unblemished” reputation than he is with his former athletes.
Samuel • Jun 25, 2020 at 4:10 pm
Yo. Why is there an anonymous comment in the article. Seems odd….
Anonymous Poster • Jun 25, 2020 at 9:29 am
I was a member of the team during the year in which Petersen was a member. While I can’t speak to all of Petersen’s troubling allegations, many of which stem from personal interactions he had with Ryan McGann and coach Dewey, I am certain that Petersen’s claim about not being seen as pilgrim is false. Petersen, who is in the bottom-right of the picture smiling in headdress and body paint, was allowed to choose between “pilgrim” and “Indian” like everyone else (notice the number of white students in “Indian” attire). He was also allowed to not attend the tradition if he did not want to.
This tradition, which at the time seemed to us to be a harmless rendering of pilgrims and Native Americans working together to catch a Thanksgiving turkey (reminiscent of the sorts of naive representations many of us acted out in elementary school), has been stopped in response to concerns from the student body that this may be offensive to Native Americans. As this picture recently resurfaced on Instagram, members of the team who participated in the tradition have reflected on it with regret, seeing its potential for harm more clearly in the new political climate. Petersen’s framing of his involvement suggests the team required people of color to be “Indians”, thereby falsely absolving himself of moral responsibility for this problematic tradition that we all participated in. I want to again state that this is a response only to Petersen’s false framing of the turkey chase tradition. If McGann and Dewey were motivated by Petersen’s race to treat him differently, then their actions should be condemned accordingly, but I have no information in support or refute of those claims.
Tim Dearie • Jun 25, 2020 at 9:24 am
I have known Coach Dewey for 35 years and have sent many, many of my athletes to compete for him at Fordham. I reject any claims that this man has any racist tendencies. He treats athletes as human beings and would do anything for them, on a personal level. If I in any way had scene or heard anything to indicate this accusation, I would not have sent our athletes to Fordham.
Joe Pantginis • Jun 25, 2020 at 9:00 am
Class of 91. While we live in very volatile times, I can state unequivocally that Tom Dewey as a coach and mentor was a grand unifier and has earned the respect of generations of athletes
Gary Villatoro • Jun 24, 2020 at 10:14 pm
I was member of ‘92-‘96 Track and Cross Country teams under Coach Dewey’s helm. I have to say we had a very diverse team and were all treated the same. All that was expected from us was to keep our GPA’s up and perform to our levels week in week out. Because of him I was given the opportunity as a first generation Guatemalan-American from Newark, NJ to earn a top quality education and compete at a D1 level program.
Pius • Jun 24, 2020 at 8:12 pm
I ran track at Fordham from 93 – 96 with Coach Dewey. I was on track scholarship from Nigeria and without going into details, I can tell you he went above and beyond for me.