A California jury has awarded Beth Burns, the former women’s basketball coach at San Diego State University history (SDSU), $3,356,250 after considering her wrongful termination claim against the school.
SDSU terminated Burns in April 2013 with four years left on her new 5-year contract. The jury found that SDSU acted improperly by firing Burns after she had expressed concerns about gender equity at the school.
The institution had claimed its decision to remove Burns was based, in part, on an internal investigation, which found a “history” of mistreating her staff. This history allegedly culminated with her actions during a 2013 home game between the Aztecs and Colorado State University, in which she had incidental physical contact with a male assistant coach on the Aztecs’ bench during the heat of the close game.
SDSU issued a statement in which it wrote that it respects “the deliberative process and the findings of the jury … . (T)he university is reviewing the verdict and is in the process of determining next steps as it relates to this case.”
Burns was represented by Sanford Heisler LLP and Patterson Law Group. Lead counsel Ed Chapin of Sanford Heisler suggested that the jury viewed SDSU’s explanation for letting Burns go as “fabricated in response to her outspoken and unapologetic advocacy for equality in women’s athletic resources at the University.
Attorney Allison Goddard, who was also part of Burns’ legal team, added that the verdict “reaffirms the principle, embodied in laws like Title IX and the Whistleblower Protection Act, that coaches who stand up for female athletes should not have to fear retaliation by their employers. This protection is the cornerstone of Title IX, and cases like this prove how important that is.”
