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Rene Portland resigns,
lesbian athletes rejoice
By
Pat Griffin
 Rene
Portland, the Penn
State women’s basketball coach,
turned in her letter of
resignation yesterday evening. Advocates for social
justice in sport and women’s basketball fans everywhere are
celebrating a huge victory in on-going efforts to assure
that lesbians and gay men can participate in sport without
fear of harassment or discrimination.
First, a
little background, Portland coached the Lady Lions for 27
years. For most of that time, rumors and innuendo have
swirled around her “no lesbians on my team” policy. She was
quoted in a 1986 Chicago Sun-Times article saying of
lesbianism, “I will not have it on my team.” In 1991,
references to her policy surfaced again in a Philadelphia
Inquirer article. Portland was never formally challenged on
these alleged policies until 2005 when Jen Harris, a former
Lady Lion, filed a lawsuit claiming that Portland harassed
and discriminated against her because Portland perceived
Harris to be a lesbian.
Penn
State
conducted an internal investigation in response to the
lawsuit finding that Portland had created a “hostile,
offensive and intimidating” climate on her team in apparent
violation of Penn State’s own non-discrimination policy.
Unfortunately, the university merely gave her a small fine
and required her to attend diversity training. Last month
Penn State and the National Center for Lesbian Rights
announced that a confidential settlement had been agreed to.
It appeared at that time that
Portland
would continue to coach the Lady Lions.
Portland’s
resignation coming so soon after the settlement announcement
and just as the basketball season is winding down is the
best news I could imagine to finally end this sad saga. The
allegations against Portland would have tainted Penn
State women’s basketball as long as she was on the bench.
This way Penn State
has the opportunity to make a fresh start with a new coach,
along with some education about the consequences of
tolerating discrimination and harassment in the athletic
department.
The fall-out
from the lawsuit and Portland’s resignation sends a huge
message to other schools about the consequences of ignoring,
condoning or perpetrating anti-lesbian and gay
discrimination.
Penn State has endured two
years of bad publicity over the allegations against
Portland. Other former athletes and athletic staff have also
stepped forward to support Harris’ accusations, making
Portland’s denials less and less credible and Penn
State’s support for her more of a challenge. The combined
effects of this bad publicity and the financial costs of
defending itself against Harris’ charges, in addition to the
presumed financial settlement to Harris, have sullied the
good name of a major university.
I have
always hoped that, regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit,
other universities would learn from Penn
State’s experience that it is no longer
tolerable to condone or plead ignorance of discrimination
against lesbian and gay people in athletics. Now that
Portland has resigned, the message to other coaches is
equally powerful: Discriminate at the risk of losing your
job.
To lesbian
and gay athletes and coaches in the future who are targeted
by homophobia, the message is clear: This is a new day in
athletics. What once was accepted, is no longer. Finally,
for all of the lesbian athletes who have played at Penn
State under the reign of Rene Portland, for
all those women who have suffered and endured discrimination
in silence, for all those women who lost the opportunity to
play the sport they love because of a coach’s prejudice,
justice might be delayed, but it is served. Woo hoo!
Discuss this story
Pat Griffin, Director of It
Takes A Team! Education Campaign for LGBT Issues in
Sport, Author of "Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and
Homophobia in Sport." She can be reached at
griffin@educ.umass.edu |
