There are more questions than answers after University of Texas women’s track coach Bev Kearney, who coached her way to six national championships for the Longhorns, resigned earlier this month.
The resignation was fueled by the athletic administration’s decision to place Kearney on paid leave in November shortly before she was to receive a raise that would have bumped her salary, plus bonuses, from $270,000 a year to $397,000 a year.
According to a report in the Austin American Statesman, UT’s decision was fueled by a revelation that Kearney had engaged what she termed to be a “consensual intimate relationship” with an “adult student-athlete” in 2002.
There is a provision in UT’s 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.”
Kearney has maintained that she did not know the provision existed.
Meanwhile, Patti Ohlendorf, the university’s vice president for legal affairs, told the Statesman: “In the case of a head coach and a student-athlete on his or her team, the university’s position is that that cannot be condoned in any event. ‘It can’t happen’ is what the university’s position is on that.”
“We believe Bev is a good person. Bev has done a lot for the university over the years,” she continued. “We think this is a terrible mistake, and I know it’s something she regrets. But it’s not the type of thing that can happen between a coach and a student-athlete on the team.”
Between the time she was placed on paid leave and the announcement of her resignation, Kearney retained Austin attorney Derek A. Howard to represent her legal interests in the controversy.
Howard sounded like he was gearing up for a legal fight in his comments to the Statesman: “We believe that Ms. Kearney has been subjected to a double standard and has received far harsher punishment than that being given to her male counter-parts who have engaged in similar conduct. It is a shame that this remarkably talented female African-American coach, who has devoted her life to helping others, is being bullied and scapegoated by the University of Texas.”
Further, he told The Daily Texan that a lawsuit might look not only at relationships between other UT head coaches and their student athletes, but also between faculty members and their students as well.
Skeletons in the Closet
Given that most large universities have some skeletons in their closet, there may be elements of truth to Howard’s allegation, which could lead to some form of settlement.
Clearly, the dance has begun. Kearney told the Statesman “she might be forced to sell her house and liquidate some of her possessions to help support those close to her.” Kearney added “the vulnerability of having to ensure my daughter has a roof over her head and food on her table supersedes anything that has happened to me, whether fairly or unfairly.”
She continued: “I love Austin, I love the University of Texas, I love my community. I feel like I’ve served it with all my heart and my soul. More than anything else, I apologize to all those entities if in any way anything that I have done has brought any embarrassment to anyone.
“I have no ill will toward anybody. No matter what happens, no matter how everything has played out or will play out in the future, I refuse to look back on my career here at Texas, which has consumed a major part of my life, with any type of remorse, any type of resentment, any type of anger. I have loved my time and I feel like I’ve given of myself and I have represented this institution with integrity and with the pride that it so desires and deserves.”
Based on a recent interview with CNN, she sounded like she believes the university turned on her.
“I think the one thing that I hired an attorney for is not to deny, because the moment it was brought to my attention, I openly admitted to its existence, and so it was never to deny, it was just to guarantee I was given equal treatment because I had grown to not trust the university that I served in terms of equal treatment.”
Kearney also seemed to imply that she was out for more than just money.
“I don’t want anybody to lose their job. I don’t want to create harm to anyone but I do want to bring to light that you don’t get to arbitrarily administer your rules and decide who is punished at what levels because of something that you don’t like, because you never know if it’s because of that particular situation or is it because of the fact that you may be harboring some type of ill will towards that individual.”
