The Nevada Supreme Court has affirmed a line of rulings against the University of Nevada at Reno’s former woman’s soccer coach, who had alleged that she was fired for reporting alleged violations of NCAA rules and Title IX.
Plaintiff Terri Patraw argued unsuccessfully that the state court judge who ruled against her was biased and that he should have been disqualified before he granted summary judgment for Nevada.
Patraw was hired in 2004 as the school’s coach. Two years later she reported that UNR Golf Coach Rich Merritt committed NCAA violations, and she complained that the men’s teams were routinely given priority over women’s teams in the use of athletic facilities.
In 2007, Patraw threatened to resign. When she recanted that offer, UNR Athletic Director Cary Groth allegedly fired her anyway. Patraw claimed she was fired for reporting the aforementioned transgressions.
School officials denied that claim, maintaining that they accepted her resignation because they had become increasingly concerned about her job performance, and because they were unhappy with her alleged inability to deal with “adversity.”
A Nevada state court judge dismissed her claim and ordered her to pay more than $110,000 in attorney’s fees and costs to the Nevada System of Higher Education.
The high court was unmoved by her appeal.
“Patraw fails to demonstrate bias or prejudice on the part of Judge Flanagan,” the justices wrote.
They added that there was sufficient evidence to support the university’s decision to fire Patraw, including “Patraw’s failure to follow directives, UNR’s lack of trust and confidence in her, Patraw’s numerous threats to resign, and Patraw’s performance evaluations.”
Kent Robison, lawyer for the university, said that “the Supreme Court, like the other courts and hearing officers that have considered Ms. Patraw’s hyperbole and false accusations, has recognized the obvious truth that Ms. Patraw’s cases were based on a total absence of truthful evidence. We are very pleased that the innocent and good people abused by Ms. Patraw in her lawsuits have once again been totally and completely exonerated.”
Patraw was represented in the case by attorney Jeffrey Dickerson.
