The University of Texas (UT) has reached a settlement with former women’s track coach Bev Kearney, who sued the school for allegedly discriminating against her — on the basis of race and gender — when it fired her five years ago.
The settlement, which was disclosed by Kearney’s attorney to the Austin American-Statesman ends a very contentious lawsuit in which Kearney sought close to $4 million, which included the total value of a new contract that she was set to sign before she was fired in January 2013.
The decision came a year after the Texas Supreme Court denied UT’s petition to review its arguments to dismiss the claim.
The ruling sent the litigation back to a district court in Austin, where Kearney’s attorneys promising to restart discovery.
The impetus for the lawsuit was the athletic administration’s decision to place Kearney on paid leave in November 2012, shortly before she was to receive a substantial raise. UT’s decision was reportedly fueled by a revelation that Kearney had engaged in what she termed to be a “consensual intimate relationship” with an “adult student-athlete” in 2002.
UT cited a provision in its Handbook of Operating Procedures, created in 2001, which states: “In the event that a consensual relationship exists or begins to develop, the individual in the supervisory, teaching or advisory position shall immediately notify his or her immediate supervisor of the relationship and cooperate with that supervisor in making the arrangements necessary to resolve the conflict of interest.”
Incensed with UT’s decision and the rationale for it, Kearney wasted little time securing counsel and ultimately filing her lawsuit.
Kearney initially sought $1 million in damages, arising from lost and future wages, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish and court costs.
The core of Kearney’s legal argument was that UT showed a double standard by punishing Kearney for an inappropriate relationship with a student-athlete, while turning a blind eye toward comparable scenarios.
“Based on information and belief, other University employees (all of whom are white males) have been involved in relationships with students or direct subordinates and have not been subjected to termination, let alone any meaningful disciplinary actions,” alleged the plaintiff.
“These University employees include Major Applewhite, other coaches within the University’s Athletic Department, current and former law school professors, current and former professors within the University’s undergraduate school, and a department chairperson. Based on information and belief, a high-level administrator within the University’s Athletic Department has carried on a prolonged intimate relationship of approximately three years with a subordinate employee with whom he has direct involvement in setting her pay.”
Applewhite’s salary was reportedly frozen for nearly 20 months as discipline for the transgression.
At the time, Mask intimated that the Applewhite comparison was critical to her case.
“The way Kearney was treated by the university is very different from the way they treated Major Applewhite, who was once a star quarterback for the Longhorns and is now an offensive coordinator for the team,” attorney Jody Mask told The Monitor, a south Texas newspaper.
“Major Applewhite had an affair on his wife, who was pregnant at the time in February 2009. The university swept it under the rug and no one knew about it.
“Why does a white male football coach get a different set of rules than the African-American, female coach? Why was no press release issued for Major Applewhite saying he was investigated? We believed that they set the standard with Applewhite and that standard was not followed with our client.”
