Officials at Prairie View A&M University fired the women’s basketball coach March 22 after an alleged Title IX violation the coach claims was approved by the school.
Former Coach Dawn Brown says the decision to remove two players from her team for dating was supported by the university’s Title IX coordinator. Dawn said she felt, “betrayed” by the school’s decision to let her go, according to khou.com.
The students who were removed from the team, Haley Videckis and Layanna White, later filed a Title IX lawsuit against Prairie View arguing that students were protected by Title IX against discrimination based on sexual orientation. A federal judge ruled in favor of that claim in December after the Association of Title IX Administrators had supported that idea in October.
Brown cited a university rule that forbids athletes from having relationships with other athletes as the reason for removing the players. She also said she “collaborated with [my] Title IX office” when she made the rule.
The athletic director for Prairie View declined to comment on the incident.
The university’s internal investigation found that the players experienced discrimination due to their sexual orientation and that the rule violated Title IX.
Brown said she plans to appeal the university’s ruling once she receives evidentiary basis for her termination from the school.
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