Information by Megan Bakker
Illustration by Micheal Uribes

New lawsuits forthcoming
By Megan Bakker

In addition to lingering legal battles over former women̢۪s basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein̢۪s $19.1 million dollar settlement, new allegations of discrimination have been leveled at the Fresno State athletics department by an administrative assistant, Iris Levesque, and softball coach Margie Wright.

Levesque, a former administrative assistant from the men̢۪s basketball team, is suing the university for age discrimination and claims the school is not hiring her back because she has made several complaints about NCAA violations and gender discrimination when she was an employee.

Jessica Albert, one of Levesque’s attorneys, said that Levesque’s case was unique, because it shows a “culture of gender-based discriminationâ€Â that “heavily affected the support staffâ€Â in addition to affecting coaches like Johnson-Klein and Lindy Vivas, and associate athletic director Diane Milutinovich.

According to the formal complaint filed with the law office of Seigel and Yee – the same office that represented Johnson-Klein – Levesque was hired in 2000. She initially worked as an assistant for Jerry Tarkanian, and she said she had a good working relationship with him. She later worked for Ray Lopes after Tarkanian left.

It was while working under Lopes that the trouble allegedly began. Levesque̢۪s complaint describes several incidents, including an alleged theft of notepads that she was using to document NCAA violations committed by Lopes. Levesque kept these notepads in a locked cabinet in her office.

Lopes later resigned due to several NCAA violations related to recruiting practices.

The complaint also said that as Levesque reported the violations, Lopes increased her workload so that she could not take federally mandated lunch breaks. He also allegedly instituted policies that made it impossible to leave her desk, even briefly to go to the bathroom.

Levesque was fired in 2005, but according to her complaint, she was promised by Fresno State President John D. Welty and Human Resources Director Jeannine Raymond that she would be rehired to a permanent position.

Since 2005, Levesque has applied to more than 60 permanent and temporary positions at Fresno State, has been interviewed for 12 and has only received two temporary positions.

Levesque is seeking damages for lost wages and benefits, as well as punitive damages against the university.

Albert described her client as someone who “deeply lovesâ€Â Fresno State. “This is about being treated fairly,â€Â Albert said.

Levesque̢۪s trial date is set for June 2009. For now, Levesque̢۪s and Fresno State̢۪s lawyers are gathering paperwork and evidence to be used in the trial.

The second employee, Coach Wright, has not formally filed a lawsuit yet. She has retained the services of Dan Seigel, the lawyer who represented former women̢۪s basketball coach Johnson-Klein, and now represents Levesque.

According to an article in the Fresno Bee, Wright said that her pay is not comparable to other softball coaches throughout the nation, or to other coaches at Fresno State.

Wright is beginning her 23rd season with the Bulldogs. She is the NCAA̢۪s all-time winningest softball coach with 16 outright or shared conference titles and two Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament championships. She is the only Fresno State coach to have won a national championship, in 1998.

“She had to fight with the school to get everything she’s got,â€Â said Albert, who is also a colleague of Wright’s lawyer, Seigel.

According to the Fresno Bee, Wright renegotiated her contract shortly before she was to testify in the Johnson-Klein case, but the university held off signing her new contract until after she had testified. She said she felt as if the administration was waiting to see what she would say before approving the contract.

Wright is working with Fresno State to resolve the issue of her pay before she files a lawsuit.

Johnson-Klein appeal begins
By Megan Bakker and Joanne Lui

In an effort to reduce the $19.1 million awarded to former women̢۪s basketball coach Stacy-Johnson Klein, Fresno State was granted a hearing last Friday for three separate appeals to the case.

However, it is going to be a while before a decision is announced. The judge at the hearing, Donald S. Black, chose to go into submission. This gives him time to review the case further. He must announce a decision by Feb. 9, due to time limits placed on the court.

The first two appeals asked for a new trial, and to move the trial outside of Fresno County. Fresno State attorneys said that the atmosphere in Fresno was highly pressurized and “pollutedâ€Â by media coverage, and the other two lawsuits from former women’s volleyball coach Lindy Vivas and former associate athletic director Diane Milutinovich. Vivas’ case is also still being appealed.

The third appeal asked that the award be reduced, saying that the jury had decided to award a high amount of money as punitive damages, something that the judge asked the jury not to do with Johnson-Klein̢۪s case.

The debate on Johnson-Klein reached the state capitol as Fresno State President John D. Welty and California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed appeared before the Senate Select Committee on Gender Discrimination and Title IX Implementation in Sacramento on Jan. 17.

In addition to criticizing Fresno State for the way it handled the three sexual discrimination cases, the panel also questioned Welty and Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh regarding Title IX compliance. Fresno State recently announced it would be adding women̢۪s lacrosse and reinstated women̢۪s swimming and diving teams to its roster of sports to better comply with Title IX.

Shirley Armbruster, director of news services for Fresno State University Communications, said that Fresno State is “always very much concerned about procedures and policies,â€Â and that the university is in the process of reviewing “many things.â€Â Armbruster said this process is not just because the university was sued.

The panel, led by Senator Dean Florez, also heard testimony from Johnson-Klein, who demanded an apology from Reed for his comments to the Fresno Bee regarding her case after it was settled. Reed stood by his comments, which included calling Johnson-Klein’s behavior “increasingly bizarre and embarrassing.â€Â

While the select committee has no legal power, Florez said that he is drafting legislation, calling it “California’s version of Title IX.â€Â