Post by simplycurious on Jun 4, 2008 15:11:27 GMT -5
Ok, here is today's topic of discussion:
Former Volleyball Coach Draper Suing University
Former head Volleyball coach Amy Draper has filed a lawsuit against the University of Tennessee at Martin, Athletics Director Phil Dane and Assistant Athletics Director Danelle Fabianich for violation of constitutional rights, Tennessee's Human Rights Act, Title VII and Title IX.
Draper filed the law suit in U.S. Federal Court in Jackson, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 28.
Draper also filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Office in March 2008 alleging UT Martin's violations of Title IX, the 1972 law that bans discrimination on the basis of gender in educational institutions that receive federal funds. The complaint is currently under review.
University Spokesman Bud Grimes said that university officials cannot comment on the pending litigation, as required by the University of Tennessee System.
According to the suit, Draper faced several instances of sexual discrimination during her two-and-a-half years as UT Martin's Volleyball coach.
The suit's examples of discrimination include receiving no support or praise for the team's first winning season in four years in Fall 2006, while Dane frequently supported male coaches and male teams; being required to claim annual leave while away from UT Martin, while male coaches did not; and being denied access to complaints from her players so that Draper could personally address the problems, even though male coaches had access to such complaints for their respective teams.
The suit also states that the Women's Volleyball team worked under unequal conditions compared to the male sport teams which have larger budgets and better facilities. The team is not allowed to practice on the main court of Skyhawk Arena, and is forced to share space with UT Martin's intramural sports and physical education classes.
According to the suit, the Volleyball coaches' office is far inferior to those of male sports' coaches' offices, and the Women's Volleyball offices were once a closet with no air circulation other than a window. Draper was denied a request to move the team's office to an open office in Women's Basketball office, and the office was instead given to a male coach.
The suit also states that UT Martin violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by having different requirements for their coaches. Male coaches of female teams are not required to have played the sport they coach, while female coaches of female teams are required to have played competitively at the college level in the sport they are coaching.
The discrimination faced by Draper led her to e-mail Dane and Fabianich on November 16, 2006, stating "I sense that you are targeting me for unequal treatment here at the athletic department. I sense this could be due to the fact that I am a strong and capable woman. I believe that gender may be playing a role not only in the investigation into my meal expenditure but also in other forms of treatment I receive."
A meeting was scheduled for the following day to discuss Draper's allegations. According to the suit, Draper requested that she either bring her graduate assistant coach or be allowed to tape record the meeting.
Dane said he would not meet under those conditions, and held the meeting as planned. Draper's suit states that Dane and Fabianich criticized her during the meeting, threatened to pull some of the team's scholarship money, and Dane told her that if her allegations of discrimination continued he would "bring the curtain down" on her.
Draper says in the suit that discrimination continued in 2007, when Dane and Fabianich failed to provide the Volleyball team with a full time assistant coach that was promised as part of an increase to UT Martin's student activities fee to support the athletic programs. Draper believes that Dane retracted the promised coach as retaliation for speaking out about the discrimination.
Many of the male sports teams did receive an additional full time assistant coach.
Draper e-mailed Dane and Fabianich saying that she believed the retraction of an assistant coach was gender discrimination.
According to the suit, Dane responded "I am stunned that you would write two e-mails to your supervisors in the tone these were written, and I am offended that you have accused Danelle or me of discrimination."
Dane met with Draper again in August 2007 to tell her not to expect him to be "chummy chummy" with her during the upcoming school year. Dane did not directly talk to Draper after the August meeting, except to make Draper change her game schedule to accommodate the Men's Football schedule.
The suit states that Fabianich informed members of the community that Draper would be fired at the end of the season. At the end of the 2007 season, Draper was told by Dane to resign or she would be fired for reasons of poor team performance and conflicts with the Volleyball players.
Draper was required to clean out her office by that night and within minutes of the meeting with Draper, Dane named her graduate assistant Darrin McClure as the interim head coach.
Draper suit's states that she was placed on administrative leave, but Dane had her e-mail account suspended immediately, her office emptied, her keys turned over to athletics, her biography taken off the UTM Sports Web site and her University car — assigned to her under the terms of her contract — returned. Draper considers these to acts of retaliation.
Draper is represented by Don Donati of the Memphis-based Donati Law Firm, LLP, who has represented many clients who have faced discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Cheryl Wattley, a civil rights attorney from Dallas, Texas, is Draper's co-council.
"This case is about the gross inequities between women's and men's athletics at UT-Martin," Donati said in a press release. "My client was discriminated against and retaliated against because she sought to improve conditions for her athletes. Even though she had exemplary job performance reviews, Phil Dane, the athletic director, and Danelle Fabianich, assistant athletic director, violated her civil rights and displayed appalling bad judgment in how they treated Ms. Draper.
"Unfortunately, this happens all too often to females in head coaching positions. There is a long track record of universities not taking corrective action regarding the inequitable treatment of women's athletics. It's unfortunate that UT-Martin, and the entire UT system, have turned a blind eye to this blatant discrimination," Donati said.
Draper's law suit, pending a jury verdict in her favor, would require the university to provide back pay, lost benefits, front pay, the future value of lost benefits since is it not feasible for her to be reinstated and compensatory and punitive damages against the defendants as determined by the jury.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
www.utmpacer.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=2dc61dea-9438-4518-9574-5b7c362eb327
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Draper's law suit may be viewed in its entirety on Courthouse News Service Web site: www.courthousenews.com/2008/05/29/UTennVBall.pdf
Comments have already begun here: www.utmpacer.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticleComments&ustory_id=2dc61dea-9438-4518-9574-5b7c362eb327#d8cbba42-8897-4a4f-ba4f-62711024b8fa
Former Volleyball Coach Draper Suing University
Former head Volleyball coach Amy Draper has filed a lawsuit against the University of Tennessee at Martin, Athletics Director Phil Dane and Assistant Athletics Director Danelle Fabianich for violation of constitutional rights, Tennessee's Human Rights Act, Title VII and Title IX.
Draper filed the law suit in U.S. Federal Court in Jackson, Tenn., on Wednesday, May 28.
Draper also filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Office in March 2008 alleging UT Martin's violations of Title IX, the 1972 law that bans discrimination on the basis of gender in educational institutions that receive federal funds. The complaint is currently under review.
University Spokesman Bud Grimes said that university officials cannot comment on the pending litigation, as required by the University of Tennessee System.
According to the suit, Draper faced several instances of sexual discrimination during her two-and-a-half years as UT Martin's Volleyball coach.
The suit's examples of discrimination include receiving no support or praise for the team's first winning season in four years in Fall 2006, while Dane frequently supported male coaches and male teams; being required to claim annual leave while away from UT Martin, while male coaches did not; and being denied access to complaints from her players so that Draper could personally address the problems, even though male coaches had access to such complaints for their respective teams.
The suit also states that the Women's Volleyball team worked under unequal conditions compared to the male sport teams which have larger budgets and better facilities. The team is not allowed to practice on the main court of Skyhawk Arena, and is forced to share space with UT Martin's intramural sports and physical education classes.
According to the suit, the Volleyball coaches' office is far inferior to those of male sports' coaches' offices, and the Women's Volleyball offices were once a closet with no air circulation other than a window. Draper was denied a request to move the team's office to an open office in Women's Basketball office, and the office was instead given to a male coach.
The suit also states that UT Martin violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by having different requirements for their coaches. Male coaches of female teams are not required to have played the sport they coach, while female coaches of female teams are required to have played competitively at the college level in the sport they are coaching.
The discrimination faced by Draper led her to e-mail Dane and Fabianich on November 16, 2006, stating "I sense that you are targeting me for unequal treatment here at the athletic department. I sense this could be due to the fact that I am a strong and capable woman. I believe that gender may be playing a role not only in the investigation into my meal expenditure but also in other forms of treatment I receive."
A meeting was scheduled for the following day to discuss Draper's allegations. According to the suit, Draper requested that she either bring her graduate assistant coach or be allowed to tape record the meeting.
Dane said he would not meet under those conditions, and held the meeting as planned. Draper's suit states that Dane and Fabianich criticized her during the meeting, threatened to pull some of the team's scholarship money, and Dane told her that if her allegations of discrimination continued he would "bring the curtain down" on her.
Draper says in the suit that discrimination continued in 2007, when Dane and Fabianich failed to provide the Volleyball team with a full time assistant coach that was promised as part of an increase to UT Martin's student activities fee to support the athletic programs. Draper believes that Dane retracted the promised coach as retaliation for speaking out about the discrimination.
Many of the male sports teams did receive an additional full time assistant coach.
Draper e-mailed Dane and Fabianich saying that she believed the retraction of an assistant coach was gender discrimination.
According to the suit, Dane responded "I am stunned that you would write two e-mails to your supervisors in the tone these were written, and I am offended that you have accused Danelle or me of discrimination."
Dane met with Draper again in August 2007 to tell her not to expect him to be "chummy chummy" with her during the upcoming school year. Dane did not directly talk to Draper after the August meeting, except to make Draper change her game schedule to accommodate the Men's Football schedule.
The suit states that Fabianich informed members of the community that Draper would be fired at the end of the season. At the end of the 2007 season, Draper was told by Dane to resign or she would be fired for reasons of poor team performance and conflicts with the Volleyball players.
Draper was required to clean out her office by that night and within minutes of the meeting with Draper, Dane named her graduate assistant Darrin McClure as the interim head coach.
Draper suit's states that she was placed on administrative leave, but Dane had her e-mail account suspended immediately, her office emptied, her keys turned over to athletics, her biography taken off the UTM Sports Web site and her University car — assigned to her under the terms of her contract — returned. Draper considers these to acts of retaliation.
Draper is represented by Don Donati of the Memphis-based Donati Law Firm, LLP, who has represented many clients who have faced discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Cheryl Wattley, a civil rights attorney from Dallas, Texas, is Draper's co-council.
"This case is about the gross inequities between women's and men's athletics at UT-Martin," Donati said in a press release. "My client was discriminated against and retaliated against because she sought to improve conditions for her athletes. Even though she had exemplary job performance reviews, Phil Dane, the athletic director, and Danelle Fabianich, assistant athletic director, violated her civil rights and displayed appalling bad judgment in how they treated Ms. Draper.
"Unfortunately, this happens all too often to females in head coaching positions. There is a long track record of universities not taking corrective action regarding the inequitable treatment of women's athletics. It's unfortunate that UT-Martin, and the entire UT system, have turned a blind eye to this blatant discrimination," Donati said.
Draper's law suit, pending a jury verdict in her favor, would require the university to provide back pay, lost benefits, front pay, the future value of lost benefits since is it not feasible for her to be reinstated and compensatory and punitive damages against the defendants as determined by the jury.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
www.utmpacer.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=2dc61dea-9438-4518-9574-5b7c362eb327
-----
Draper's law suit may be viewed in its entirety on Courthouse News Service Web site: www.courthousenews.com/2008/05/29/UTennVBall.pdf
Comments have already begun here: www.utmpacer.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticleComments&ustory_id=2dc61dea-9438-4518-9574-5b7c362eb327#d8cbba42-8897-4a4f-ba4f-62711024b8fa