A former
Penn State women's basketball player filed a federal
discrimination lawsuit Wednesday against coach Rene
Portland. The suit, filed by former player
Jennifer Harris in federal district court in
Harrisburg, Pa., accuses 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's 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's attorneys have said that while the
player is not lesbian, she was perceived to be lesbian
by her former coach.
Representatives of Portland and Curley declined
comment Wednesday night, saying they had not seen the
lawsuit. University spokesman Tysen Kendig also
declined comment Wednesday, saying he was not aware that a
lawsuit had been filed. In earlier statements Portland
has maintained that Harris's 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." 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 2004-2005
season after finishing as the team's third-leading
scorer at 10.4 points. She is redshirting at James
Madison University.
The Lady Lions are rebuilding this year and head
into Thursday's game against St. Francis with a
5-5 record. (AP)
