Ex - Penn St. Player
Sues for Discrimination
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web. December 21, 2005
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- A former
Penn State women's basketball player filed a federal discrimination lawsuit
against coach Rene Portland on Wednesday.
The lawsuit by former player Jennifer Harris filed in federal district court in
Harrisburg accused Portland of discrimination based on race, gender and sexual
orientation. The university and athletic director Tim Curley were also
named as defendants.
Harris, who is black, said in the filing that Portland repeatedly asked her to
change her appearance to look more ''feminine.''
''In pursuing her discriminatory policy -- known as 'no drinking, no drugs, no
lesbians' -- Ms. Portland has particularly targeted players who are
African-American,'' Harris' attorneys wrote in the lawsuit, according to a copy
of the filing provided by one of her lawyers, Karen Doering, of the National
Center for Lesbian Rights.
Harris' attorneys have said that while the player is not gay, she was perceived
to be gay by her former coach.
A spokeswoman for Portland declined comment Wednesday night, saying the coach
had not seen the lawsuit. In earlier statements, Portland has maintained
that Harris' departure was purely a basketball-related decision and firmly
denied that any racial or gender discrimination was involved.
''My career has been built on treating all Lady Lion players with respect,'' she
said in a statement last month after Harris filed a complaint with the
Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. ''I will continue to do so.''
Portland has said that Harris was disrespectful toward coaches and teammates and
alleged that her work ethic was ''unsatisfactory and detrimental to the success
of the team.''
University spokesman Tysen Kendig also declined comment Wednesday, saying he was
not aware that a lawsuit had been filed. Penn State announced an internal
investigation after Harris first made the accusations in October.
Doering said that Harris filed the federal lawsuit in part because of the
statute of limitations on some of her accusations, which span at least a couple
of years, and because they had not heard from Portland, who is not being
represented by university attorneys.
Harris alleged in the lawsuit that Portland ''harassed and targeted'' other
black athletes and that the coach had told team members not to associate with
some players.
Harris transferred after the 2004-5 season after finishing as the team's
third-leading scorer at 10.4 points. She is redshirting at James Madison.
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