Ex-Penn State fencer, university settles lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by former coach

A former Penn State fencer who alleged her celebrity coach sexually harassed her for years while the university knew about it but failed to take corrective action settled her lawsuit, according to a document filed Friday.

The terms of the settlement between four-time All-American Zara Moss, the university and now-retired Penn State fencing coach Wes Glon were not disclosed.

An attorney for Moss wrote in an email to the Center Daily Times that the matter was “resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.” Messages were left with the university and Glon’s lawyers on Monday.

Moss accused Glon of verbally and psychologically abusing her throughout her four-year career at Penn State, which began in the fall of 2017. The team was, she alleged, a “hotbed of sexual assault and gender discrimination.”

She claimed the old coach disparaged her about her weight, regularly hurled sex-based insults and injured her when he forced her to shield him without any protective equipment. Moss, an Olympics hopeful, developed an eating disorder and required weekly therapy and prescription medication.

“They really let me down in the way they handled my case,” Moss told the CDT in April 2022. “It felt like I was being betrayed by a family member or a best friend, someone I knew and cared about for the rest of my life. whole life.”

Glon’s alleged conduct “crossed the line between aggressive coaching and sexual harassment,” U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann wrote in an August 2023 ruling that allowed Moss’ lawsuit to move forward. He also wrote that Glon’s action was “certainly inappropriate for a collegiate athletics professional.”

In court filings, Penn State denied allegations that it failed to act after receiving formal complaints about Glon’s conduct. The university completed a full investigation and offered to discuss the results with Moss, but she declined.

Glon was placed on probation for six months before retiring in April 2023, capping a career that included 37 years as an assistant or head coach for the men’s and women’s programs. Penn State announced the move in a news release that did not include any statements from Glon or athletic director Pat Kraft.

Glon helped the Nittany Lions to 13 combined national team titles. As a head coach, the Polish native produced fifty All-Americans and a half-dozen individual national titles. He also coached numerous U.S. national teams, including at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.