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ELIZABETH A. PERRY
Friday, February 23, 2007
A
former
Penn
State
University
basketball
player
has
settled
a
lawsuit
against
the
women’s
basketball
head
coach;
the
terms
were
not
disclosed.
Jennifer
Harris,
in
a
lawsuit
filed
in
December
2005,
accused
coach
Rene
Portland
of
“humiliating,
berating
and
ostracizing
her”
and
claimed
she
was
told
she
needed
to
look
“more
feminine.”
Harris,
who
says
she’s
not
gay,
also
claimed
Portland
tried
to
force
her
to
leave
the
team.
Portland,
athletic
director
Tim
Curley
and
Penn
State
University
spokesperson
Bill
Mahon
declined
to
be
interviewed
for
this
story
but
issued
a
statement
saying
they
had
reached
an
“amicable
settlement”
of
the
case.
Harris,
who
now
plays
basketball
for
James
Madison
University,
also
declined
to
be
interviewed
but
said
in
a
statement
that
she
is
“proud
to
have
brought
the
case”
and
“thrilled
to
have
been
able
to
resolve
it.”
Recent
ankle
surgery
could
keep
Harris
from
playing
ball
the
rest
of
this
season,
the
AP
reported.
In
her
complaint,
Harris
said
Portland
discriminated
against
her
and
other
players
on
the
basis
of
race,
gender
and
perceived
sexual
orientation.
The
document
also
referred
to
Portland’s
discriminatory
policy
as
“no
drinking,
no
drugs,
no
lesbians.”
Harris
filed
the
lawsuit
two
months
after
filing
a
complaint.
She
amended
the
suit
in
May
2006,
adding
defamation
charges
against
Portland.
The
university
conducted
an
internal
investigation
and
in
April
2006
concluded
that
Portland
had
discriminated
against
Harris
by
creating
a
“hostile,
intimidating
and
offensive
environment
because
of
Harris’
perceived
sexual
orientation.”
Penn
State
levied
a
$10,000
fine
against
Portland
and
issued
a
written
reprimand,
warning
her
that
she
would
be
dismissed
if
the
discriminatory
behavior
continued.
She
was
also
ordered
to
undergo
diversity
training.
Harris
was
a
star
athlete
at
Central
Dauphin
High
School
in
Harrisburg,
Pa.,
where
she
accrued
2,191
points
as
a
member
of
the
girls’
basketball
team.
She
was
also
recognized
as
an
“All
American”
player
on
a
number
of
national
honorary
team
rosters.
From
the
time
she
was
in
junior
high,
she
was
on
the
radar
of
a
number
of
colleges
and
universities.
When
she
was
a
high
school
senior
she
was
recruited
by
Portland
to
play
basketball
for
Penn
State
on
a
full
scholarship
and
enrolled
in
September
2003.
The
lawsuit
cited
figures
from
Associated
Press
polls
showing
some
impressive
statistics
for
the
team
under
Portland’s
25-year
tenure.
The
university
finished
in
the
Top
25
Division
I
Women’s
basketball
teams
19
times,
with
17
winning
seasons
under
the
direction
of
Portland.
The
team
participated
in
the
NCAA
tournament
in
21
out
of
24
years
and
went
to
the
final
four
in
2000.
Karen
Doering,
senior
counsel
with
the
National
Center
for
Lesbian
Rights,
defended
Harris.
She
said
Harris
wanted
to
take
a
stand
against
discrimination
so
no
one
else
would
have
to
go
through
what
she
did.
In
a
statement
in
response
to
Penn
State’s
internal
investigation
of
the
matter,
Doering
said
other
players
were
also
affected
by
Portland’s
homophobic
stance,
but
stayed
quiet
for
fear
of
losing
their
athletic
scholarships.
“The
courage
and
bravery
of
Harris
finally
has
exposed
Rene
Portland’s
reign
of
terror,”
Doering
said.
“I’ve
spoken
directly
with
a
number
of
women
who
played
for
coach
Portland
over
the
past
three
decades
and
who
were
traumatized
by
her
anti-lesbian
policy.”
Last
spring
USA
Today
published
names
and
quoted
the
experiences
of
five
former
Penn
State
University
women’s
basketball
players
who
had
run-ins
with
Portland.
The
incidents
reportedly
took
place
between
1982
and
2005.
While
some
who
have
followed
the
case
are
disappointed
that
Portland
is
being
allowed
to
remain
in
her
coaching
position,
Doering
said
the
outcome
would
have
been
the
same
whether
the
case
went
to
trial
or
was
settled.
“The
court
won’t
order
an
employer
to
fire
someone,”
she
said.
“If
Jennifer
Harris
was
still
at
Penn
State,
they
could
have
ordered
injunctive
remedy
training
for
the
coach.
The
idea
is
to
put
steps
in
to
help
ensure
discrimination
does
not
occur
in
the
future.”
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