Mesa Coach Wins Damages in Retaliation Case

A jury in San Diego Superior Court found that Mesa Community College retaliated against former basketball coach when it terminated her position for speaking out against inequities in women's athletics, in violation of Title IX. Lorri Sulpizio's complaints had triggered an investigation by the Office for Civil Rights, which lead to an agreement by the college to remedy disparities in support and resources between men's and women's teams.

However, the jury did not find that the college discriminated against her directly on the basis of sex and sexual orientation, as she had alleged. This is not entirely surprising to me, given how hard it is for discrimination plaintiffs to successfully prove that an employer was motivated by bias. I did not witness the trial, but I am guessing the jury heard evidence that athletic director Dave Evans fired Sulpizio and her partner Cathy Bass, an assistant coach, soon after having been identified in a local news story as domestic partners. But the timing alone does not demonstrate that Evans acted with bias. The jury may have also may have heard testimony that suggested Evans had in the past asked questions and made derogatory statements about the sexual orientation of Sulpizio, given that these allegations are contained in the complaint as well. However, the jury could have found this evidence insufficient to support a conclusion that Evans was biased at the moment he fired his lesbian coaches. I think that the jury's finding that the college retaliated but did not directly discriminate against Sulpizio suggests that a retaliatory mindset may be an easier one to prove, given that it is response to the plaintiff's demonstrable conduct, i.e., complaining, whereas direct discrimination requires a link between the response and the plaintiff's membership in a particular group.

The jury awarded her $28,000 in damages. Attorneys fees and costs are not included in this award. While this award seems paltry in comparison to the million dollar jury verdicts in retaliation cases against Fresno State in recent years, the difference does not so much reflect a lesser culpability of Mesa than it does the degree of economic harm to Sulpizio that the retaliation caused; $28,000 is the equivalent of a year of Sulpizio's salary.

OCR Finds Title IX Violations at San Diego Mesa College

The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights validated the premise of a discrimination lawsuit filed by two former coaches when it confirmed "substantial and unjustified" Title IX violations at San Diego Mesa College this week. The coaches, Lorri Sulpizio and Cathy Bass, sued the college in July, alleging that they were fired in retaliation for complaining about gender inequities within the athletic department as well as for their sexual orientation. OCR lent support to the retalition claim when it found Mesa had discriminated against female athletes in the scheduling of games and practices, access to facilities and locker rooms, and access to medical training. This is consistent with the allegations by Sulpizio and Bass, who reported, for example, that their women's basketball team was frequently disrupted in their practice time by the men's football team and sometimes had to yield their locker room to visiting football teams. OCR also found that that softball, a women's sport, was the only sport that had to share a field with another sport (men's and women's soccer). However, OCR did not find sufficient evidence to conclude that Mesa was discrimination against female athletes in terms of access to coaching, equipment and supplies, and support services.

Mesa has entered into an agreement with OCR to resolve the inequities identified by OCR. It will hire an additional trainer to improve medical treatment for female athletes, it will avoid locker room scheduling conflicts posed by non-conference play, and it will construct a softball field by spring.*

Meanwhile, the lawsuit by Sulpizio and Bass against Mesa remains pending. Technically, the plaintiffs did not need OCR to validate their allegations about discrimination in the athletic department, since they only need to have reasonably believed that Mesa was violating Title IX in order to be protected from retaliation. However, it certainly plays better for a jury for the plaintiffs to say that they were fired for complaining about actual violation, rather than perceived discrimination.

* I'll be impressed if Mesa can really construct a softball field in such a short time. I am going to San Diego for a conference in January -- I think I should head over to the college while I'm there to check on the progress!

[Thanks, Courtney!]

Coaches' Lawsuit Charges San Diego Mesa With Homophobia, Retaliation

A lawsuit filed in California state court charges that San Diego Mesa College discriminated against former women's basketball coach Lorri Sulpizio and former director of basketball operations Cathy Bass when it fired them both last year. The coaches were advocates for gender equity and had challenged discriminatory treatment of their team, such as being barred from their own locker room during a November invitational because it was being used by visiting football teams, being disrupted in their practice by the men's football team, and other inequities.

Sulpizio and Bass had also recently been identified in a local news story as domestic partners, which the plaintiffs believe contributed to the Athletic Director's decision to fire them because he had in the past investigated and inquired about Sulpizio's sexual orientation. In fact, the AD had once told a faculty member that someone needed to restore “the image” of the team, and that “lots of people” in the community had been talking about “it.” (referring to Sulpizio’s and Bass’s sexual orientation).

Before her termination, Coach Sulpizio had spent five years as head coach, a year as interim head coach, and three years as an assistant coach of the Mesa women’s basketball team. During this time, the team was successful by several measures, including logging regular appearances in the conference tournament and winning a conference championship in 2002. Sulpizio also sent a higher-than-average percentage of athletes to play ball and receive degrees from four-year schools. Bass and Sulpizio met when both were assistant coaches in 1999; Bass later became an adjunct faculty member and the director of basketball operations.

Sulpizio and Bass are represented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (the folks who brought down Rene Portland) and two local law firms. NCLR's Helen Carroll, quoted in this story at Outsports.com, sounds confident as she puts the case in the context of the trend in retaliation cases (which we've noted on this blog before): “Women coaches, and especially lesbian coaches, are taught to not rock the boat... But I think we’re seeing a new wave of Title IX retaliation cases because I believe the coaches feel that they have help now with that. Before, coaches would be quiet and leave and just get another job somewhere. Now the courts are saying, ‘We’ve got your back.’”