TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Five former FAMU women's basketball players are suing the university, claiming they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.
They claim the university allowed discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Two of the five players in this lawsuit are gay. The other three are their friends, but they claim they were also called derogatory names and harassed and, in the end, the former players say they were kicked off the team. One player alleges she was let go from the team for not having the "correct" sexual preference.
Here's part of what the lawsuit says:
"Ultimately, the coaches' strong opposition to gays resulted in a pattern and practice of bullying, harassment, ridicule and the untimely termination of all of the Plaintiff's athletic scholarships."
"I'm going to fight for this 100 percent. I'm not giving up on this." That was a mother we talked to in 2017.
She didn't want to show her face, but she said her daughter and others on the FAMU women's basketball team were mistreated by the head coach at the time, LeDawn Gibson.
"You send your child 500 miles away, and a person sits and they look you in your face and they tell you that, you know, 'I'm going to treat your child like she's my own,'" the mother said. "She looked me in my face and told that bold faced lie."
We first told you in April 2017 that three students were part of a Title IX investigation looking into the allegations. Now, two others have joined them to sue the board of trustees.
They claim Gibson told them she didn't like "gays" and had "no use" for people who "associated" with them. That attitude allegedly turned into "verbal abuse, bullying, and coaching by intimidation" when they were on the team between 2015 and 2016.
We reached out to the attorney representing the plaintiffs, and she was unavailable to comment Wednesday, but we did talk to a different attorney who looked at the suit. We wanted to know what could happen with this lawsuit.
"This is going to be a fascinating case. It's going to be one that's going to get a lot of attention," said Don Pumphrey, the owner and founder of Pumphrey Law. "I think what they're looking for in this case is pretty much they're looking for damages. They're looking for money damages, which is how, in civil courts, people are punished for doing things that are wrong, and that is assuming that the allegations are true."
The plaintiffs are suing the board of trustees on five counts. They include gender and sexual orientation discrimination, negligence, and breach of contract.
Gibson and an assistant coach were fired last month. The university didn't connect the news to the allegations, which the Title IX investigation found "unsubstantiated." Still, the players are holding the board of trustees accountable for allowing the alleged mistreatment and not doing anything about it.
We reached out to the university for comment and we're still waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, you can see the whole lawsuit for yourself here.
