Lawsuit against school claims gender inequality

Former assistant athletic director says department did not comply with Title IX

By BILL J. PERRY

Diane Milutinovich, a former Fresno State assistant athletic director who claims she was dismissed from her job for speaking out against the athletic department, filed a lawsuit against the school on the week of Oct. 24 in Fresno County Superior Court.

The suit names university president John Welty, human resources director Jeannine Raymond, the athletic corporation and athletic director Scott Johnson as defendants.

“She was one of the people that advocated that the school must comply with the law,” said Milutinovich’s lawyer, Rayma Church. “Her job was to advocate on behalf of [the university] and get them to comply. And she did. The problem is she did it too well.”

The federal law mentioned in the lawsuit is Title IX, which requires educational institutions receiving federal funding, to provide equal opportunities for male and female students in all their programs, including athletics.

Pat Tift, administrative assistant in the office of Fresno State’s vice president of administrative services, said the university doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Janette Redd Williams, general counsel for the university, said the university has been notified of the legal action. But she also declined to comment on the case.

The lawsuit details five causes of complaint, Church said.

“There’s discrimination in violation of [the Federal Employment and Housing Act], retaliation in violation of Title IX, retaliation in violation of FEHA. There’s also a whistleblower retaliation cause of action and unfair business practices on the part of the athletic corporation,” she said.

“The facts and evidence overwhelmingly prove that I was terminated from the athletic department because of my support and advocacy for fairness and gender equity in compliance with Title IX,” Milutinovich said in a statement. “On the fairness part, I’m referring to fairness for both men’s and women’s sports.”

Milutinovich now works as director of the University Student Union, but she said she misses her job in the athletic department.

“I enjoy working with students and staff here at the Student Union,” she said, “but my whole life was there.”

Milutinovich worked in the athletic department from 1979 until 2002. Her lawsuit states that on April 16, 2002, she was called into Johnson’s office where she was informed about her removal as associate director of athletics. She was told to turn over her keys and identification, and then escorted to her office to remove a few personal belongings, the suit claims.

Raymond, who was present during the incident, had the locks changed on Milutinovich’s office, according to the lawsuit.

Milutinovich was told she was terminated from the athletic department because of budget cuts, the suit claims. However, a month after her dismissal, three new associate athletic director positions became available. When Milutinovich applied for two of the positions, the job postings were canceled, the lawsuit states.

Although Milutinovich was terminated from her job and required to resign or transfer to a position outside the athletic department, the suit states that other similarly situated male administrators, whose positions also were eliminated, were not cut from the department. She was the only person removed from the department because of a lack of funds, the suit claims.

The lawsuit also alleges the university and athletic department officials believed that in 1995, Milutinovich had initiated and cooperated in a Title IX compliance review of Fresno State by the Office of Civil Rights—the U.S. Department of Education branch that enforces Title IX compliance—that resulted in a settlement called a Corrective Action Plan. Because of that perception, Milutinovich was subjected to hostility and retaliation on the job, the suit states.

“Some people believe that she turned in Fresno State 10 years ago,” Church said. “That’s not true. But it was payback time.”

In the Student Union, Milutinovich earns a salary similar to what she made in the athletic department, about $90,000 a year.

But that’s not the job she’s worked for, Church said.

“Her life centered on providing student athletes with quality programs and opportunities in a manner consistent with fair play,” she said. “She’s a nationally recognized Title IX expert. But she can have a job anywhere in the university, except in athletics.”

When asked about damages the lawsuit is seeking, Church said: “Would she like her job back? Yes.

She can do so much more in the athletic department. But, it’s not about the money. That’s something that a jury determines when they hear the evidence. However, damage has been done to her reputation by the way they treated her. And this is especially damaging to the athletes.”

More than two years since her removal, Milutinovich says, Fresno State is still not meeting federal Title IX requirements for equity in men’s and women’s sports.

“I believe we are still out of compliance with Title IX today,” she said.

Church agreed. “In the last four years, the budget has increased about $2.6 million in sports. Eighty percent of the increase has gone to men’s sports. That’s just a piece of the puzzle.”

Fresno’s Athletic Corporation’s budget summaries for 2001-2002 and 2004-2005 show the department’s expenditures for men’s and women’s sports have risen about $2 million. Of that increase, nearly 80 percent is budgeted for men’s sports.

Church indicated the legal action could affect student athletes, as well as her client.

“Athletics is about learning about leadership and competition in a society that values rules,” she said. “But you have a department that doesn’t have to play by the rules. [Milutinovich] wants this situation fixed, to give Fresno State athletes the type of opportunities they should have. This is a fight she’s fighting for them.”