|
(Minneapolis, MN) - A long-time women's basketball coach is drawing
protesters to this weekend's game between Penn State and the University
of Minnesota women's basketball teams. The protesters, who have the
support of OutFront Minnesota, the state's leading public policy agency
for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Minnesotans and their
allies, are drawing attention to allegations of 20 years of homophobic
discrimination against team members by Penn State coach Rene Portland.
"We know that the University of Minnesota opposes discrimination based
on sexual orientation, and all other forms of invidious discrimination,"
says OutFront Minnesota executive director Ann M. DeGroot. "But there
are many people in the GLBT community who are appalled at the inaction
of Penn State in the face of years of complaints about the conduct of
Coach Portland, and they plan to demonstrate their concern."
According to a federal lawsuit filed in 2005 by the National Center for
Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Coach Portland has a history, going back to the
1980s, of explicitly demanding that no lesbians play for the Penn State
women's basketball team. Those familiar with the lawsuit have said that
Coach Portland's disdain for lesbians has even led her to make
derogatory remarks about lesbian fans in the audience. More information
on the lawsuit may be found on the
NCLR website.
The focus of the lawsuit is on allegations that Coach Portland engaged
in a series of inquiries demanding to know the sexual orientation of
former Penn State player Jennifer Harris, leading to demands that Harris
change her appearance and finally, to the expulsion of Harris from the
team. According to NCLR, Harris has said: "My departure from Penn State
was very painful. I struggled with whether I should just walk away and
try to forget what happened. I finally realized that I could never put
this incident behind me."
"Fair-minded Minnesotans agree that people should be judged on their
abilities, and not on their sexual orientation," says DeGroot, "and that
this basic principle extends to athletes as well. It can be difficult
for some people to come out as it is, without the added pressure of
being exposed to ridicule and discrimination by professional coaches."
The University of Minnesota/Penn State game will take place Sunday,
January 29, 2006, at 5pm at Williams Arena. As a show of opposition
towards Coach Portland's practices crowds plan to wear lavender and
rainbow clothing as well as carry homemade signs with fair-minded
messages of equality for Portland. An overwhelming response to this same
type of action was seen January 5th at a Penn State game against
Michigan State University,
more information on the MSU game is available.
Contact:
Ann M. DeGroot, Executive Director
(612) 822-0127, ext. 107 |
