By Dr. Robert J. Romano, JD, LLM, St. John’s University, Senior Writer
On August 31, 2023, softball coach Shannon Guthrie filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Southern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville (SIUE) for discrimination, bias and gender stereotypes in the school’s assessment of her application for employment as the Head Softball Coach at SIUE. Coach Guthrie’s, who currently coaches softball for the University of Illinois at Springfield, two-count complaint alleges Gender Discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. and Gender Discrimination in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq.
The gravamen of Coach Guthrie’s lawsuit centers around the interview she had with SUIE’s athletic director, Tim Hall. SIUE, after moving its sport programs to Division I, was seeking to hire a new head softball coach, and Coach Guthrie, with her fifteen years of experience that included being Conference Coach of the Year for the GLVC in 2018, together with two NCAA Division II Regional Tournament Titles and one NCAA Division II Super Regional Title, applied for the position. At her interview, Coach Guthrie alleges that A.D. Hall only asked her two questions about her coaching experience and for the remaining time criticized other female coaches while being ‘overly complimentary’ of male coaches. Subsequently, SIUE hired P.J. Finigan for its head softball coach position, a man with no experience coaching softball. The message being sent, claims Coach Guthrie in her complaint, is that an ‘unqualified male is a stronger candidate than a qualified female’.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted to “assure equality of employment opportunities and to eliminate discriminatory practices and devices in the workplace”. Section 703(a)(1), specifically, makes it unlawful for a private employer or a state or local government “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” In addition, Title VII includes several provisions that makes it unlawful for an employer “to limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 provides that no person on the basis of sex shall “be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” In addition, Title IX proscribes “gender discrimination [against employees and students] in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.”
Therefore for Coach Guthrie’s Title VII to succeed with her failure-to-hire based on gender discrimination claim, she will need to demonstrate to the court the following: (1) that she belongs to the protected group; (2) that she was qualified for the employment sought; (3) that she was denied employment; and (4) that a person with equal or inferior qualifications was hired. This, however, only raises a presumption of discrimination. SUIE is then allowed to dispel such presumption by proffering a nondiscriminatory motivation for their actions.
Regarding Coach Guthrie’s Title IX assertion, because there is no established analytical framework for claims of gender discrimination by an educational institution, most courts apply “the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting test which is similar to the one used in analyzing discrimination claims arising under Title VII.” Per the McDonnell Douglas test, Coach Guthrie’s burden will be parallel to her Title VII claim as she will need to demonstrate the following: (1) she was a member of a protected class; (2) she suffered an adverse employment action; (3) she was qualified for the position; and (4) that “a comparable non-protected person was treated better.”
If Coach Guthrie is successful, in addition to monetary damages, she is requesting that the court order SIUE’s athletic department to undergo implicit bias and gender stereotypes training, together with audit to see if SIUE is in compliance with any and all federal and state gender equity laws and if not, to immediately rectify any failures or violations.
