$2 Million Lawsuit

[smupony94]

I think Lieberman has always had a relationship with the Collis.

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???

Don't do that to Lassie

[J.T.supporta]

I think Lieberman has always had a relationship with the Collis.

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???

Don't do that to Lassie

her and the dog kind of look alike

[Stallion]

as long as the actual reasons given for her suspension were based on a reasonable belief based on a good faith investigation of the facts then SMU should be able to win on summary judgment. The problem however is that often employers don't really give the real reasons for a dismissal-they make snap judgments-the so called pretexual reasons. That's when employers often-very often-get themselves in trouble and that's when you get into defamation issues if that pretexual false information was "published" to others. etc. Sounds like what might have been published (sexual orientation) is admitedly true if I'm reading the reports correctly.

If a defendant produces sufficient factual evidence that the stated reasons are pretexual then she might survive a summary judgment and this case could get very expensive. You can't go back later and change the reasons for her dismissal. You can't go back and say we cut her because she was a poor player or hadn't lived up to other unstated terms of her Agreement with SMU.

Also, not sure what kind of Statutes are availiable though that even protect an individual from discrimination based on sexual orientation-just never researched it although I've had many cases on sex(M/F), medical leave, disabilities etc.

If there is no statute protecting sexual orientation then it will be difficult to recover because scholarships are annually renewable. So even if they pulled her scholarship in the middle of the year her damages might get cut off at the end of the next year and in fact she was not earning any salary during that time playing basketball anyway.

[couch 'em]

Doesn't this have more to do with the fact that relationships among team members affect the team, much like inter-office relationships? Orientation has nothing to do with it.

[Stallion]

From the statements of the Plaintiff's attorney, he spoke of a "retaliatory" dismissal which is legalese for some kind of prohibited discrimination based on a protected classification. Many federal and state statutes have not only prohibitions for discrimination but also harsh sanctions for "retaliatory" actions taken in response to revealing legitimate discriminatory actions. For example, firing an employee in a state Whistleblower case. Those statutes are in place in a state like Texas because most employees are at-will employees who could otherwise be fired for any reason. Again, I'm having difficulty determining any statutory basis that I'm aware of-which would leave common law actions like defamation.

[Phxfan]

From the statements of the Plaintiff's attorney, he spoke of a "retaliatory" dismissal which is legalese for some kind of prohibited discrimination based on a protected classification. Many federal and state statutes have not only prohibitions for discrimination but also harsh sanctions for "retaliatory" actions taken in response to revealing legitimate discriminatory actions. For example, firing an employee in a state Whistleblower case. Those statutes are in place in a state like Texas because most employees are at-will employees who could otherwise be fired for any reason. Again, I'm having difficulty determining any statutory basis that I'm aware of-which would leave common law actions like defamation.

Sorry, have to comment. If SMU has a non discriminatory policy re: sexual orientation, which I think they have have, this may well be the reason for this lawsuit. I would think the UMC may be getting tired of this stuff by SMU. Statutes do not necessarily have anything to do with policy/procedure. The only way that statutes should/would/could/might be a part of this, is if SMU did/didn't follow their own policies. This would not have happened at Syracuse.

[Phxfan]

http://www.law.smu.edu/career/documents ... Policy.pdf

[couch 'em]

Sorry, have to comment. If SMU has a non discriminatory policy re: sexual orientation, which I think they have have, this may well be the reason for this lawsuit. I would think the UMC may be getting tired of this stuff by SMU. Statutes do not necessarily have anything to do with policy/procedure. The only way that statutes should/would/could/might be a part of this, is if SMU did/didn't follow their own policies. This would not have happened at Syracuse.

Again, unless I misunderstand, the problem the Coach had was with players on the team dating each other, not players on the team being lesbians. If it was a co-ed sport of some kind, the Coach would have a problem with male-female dating as well. How is that discrimination? I'm getting tired of your homosexual-persecution complex. Not EVERYTHING is discrimination against your pet cause, Jesse Jackson-II.

[Phxfan]

Sorry, have to comment. If SMU has a non discriminatory policy re: sexual orientation, which I think they have have, this may well be the reason for this lawsuit. I would think the UMC may be getting tired of this stuff by SMU. Statutes do not necessarily have anything to do with policy/procedure. The only way that statutes should/would/could/might be a part of this, is if SMU did/didn't follow their own policies. This would not have happened at Syracuse.

Again, unless I misunderstand, the problem the Coach had was with players on the team dating each other, not players on the team being lesbians. If it was a co-ed sport of some kind, the Coach would have a problem with male-female dating as well. How is that discrimination? I'm getting tired of your homosexual-persecution complex. Not EVERYTHING is discrimination against your pet cause, Jesse Jackson-II.

I understand this, I really do. I have no clue if this is discrimination or not. I do remember the JW thing. The library thing. The UMC conference thing. I am sure she is not an idiot or would not be given admission to SMU. She may have a point. If this were 1966 and this board existed, what would they/your family have said about Jerry Levias???? Maybe some heads need to roll. SMU needs to stay out of the national news for awhile. Unless they start to win. I am kind of amused that this came up a few day's after all my posts. I really do wish this thing was not necessary, but, I guess it is.

[RGV Pony]

I really do wish this thing was not necessary, but, I guess it is.

x

what the he!! are you talking about?

[The XtC]

[quote="PonyFanSweetie"]I think it is the coach's business if two players are involved with one another. Nothing good can become of that situation for the team. I don't think that position can be considered sexual harrassment. This girl is stretching. I think she was just hoping for a settlement to keep this out of the media.[/quote]

No, they want as much media attention as they can get. This isnt really about money, that they know they arent going to collect. It's an attack on the coach and the program. They want media attention, their intention is to drag the program through the mud.

[The XtC]

[quote="RGV Pony"][quote="abezontar"]Maybe one of our law students could use his/her free access to pacer and download the complaint.[/quote]

not a law student. But I have the complaint downloaded from PACER. 17 pages. Can't copy and paste Adobe reader. Some highlights:

-alleges that at the first team meeting Rhompola made it clear she did not approve of gay relationships[/quote]

I cant say if this is true, or not, I obviously wasnt there for a team meeting. I can ask some of the players who were there, but it's been awhile, and they may not remember specifics. I've talked to 4 players who were on the team at that time, and the words "ridiculous" and "desperate" come up frequently.

[quote="RGV Pony"]
-alleges that a teammate stole her English paper and turned it in as her own, causing three of them to be brought before the "Honor" folks
[/quote]

Why threee people?

[quote="RGV Pony"]
-alleges she was ostracized after her scholarship was yanked
[/quote]

Actually, I can say honestly that this one was true. Most of the players and people around the program wanted to keep as far away from the Colli's as possible, after they went to Orsini and demanded Rhonda be fired.

[quote="RGV Pony"]
-says Orsini was the one who told her no more scholarship, and that she asked Orsini who he talked to, and alleges Orsini only talked to coaches
[/quote]

Partially true. It was Orsini who yanked her scholarship. According to other players, Orsini did speak to them before dismissing the allegations.

[quote="RGV Pony"]
-cites Breach of Contract, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Promissory Estoppel, Fraud, and Breach of Duty-Good Faith.[/quote]

I have no idea, I'm not a lawyer.

[The XtC]

[quote="bagice"]

My guess is that it will be quietly settled for a much smaller sum and that the staff will face some "quiet' disiplinary action.[/quote]

Disciplinary action for..................... what? Orsini looked into the Colli's claims 2 years ago, and found nothing. What would he discipline them for?

[The XtC]

[quote="Roach"]Speaking of her sister, how much do you want to bet that two of the former players who signed those papers both carried the Colli surname? If their witch hunt is unfounded - and it sure sounds that way - then whoever or whatever is driving this thing undoubtedly got both to sign. Those two, at the very least, should be thrown out of the equation.[/quote]

One of the players is Jen's older sister, Juli. Another is CHelsea Tiner, who was Jen's best friend in high school, and walked on at SMU for one year. I would imagine They will both continue to back up Jen's story. The other 2 players who originally went along when the Colli's tried to instigate a mutiny within the team both regret ever getting involved and want no more to do with this.

[The XtC]

[quote="regis"][quote="FriscoPMG"][url]http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa080925_mo_smubball.b1586207.html[/url]

More details regarding the case from WFAA. In one interview she says she's trying to protect her teammates, but now she's ratting on them for smoking weed and underage drinking.
Unfortunately Katie Gross is one of the 4 teammates who signed an affadavit. The other 3 are insignificant -- pretty sure Chelsea Tiner is/was Jennifer's significant other.[/quote]


Why is Nancy Lieberman jumping into this?[/quote]

Nancy Lieberman was once teammates and roommates with Rhonda when they were at Old Dominion. They were friends after college, but 5-6 years ago they had a falling out that apparently has turned extremely bitter. That's why Nancy always claims that Rhonda is on the hot seat and close to being fired, when she's the color announcer for one of our TV games. She also has a long standing business relationship with the Collis, and coached the girls in summer league. When the Colli's demanded that Rhonda be fire, Nancy was the one they proposed to replace her.