Sports Law Memo Re: Firing

Sports Law

Memo re: Firing of George Baloney

University President Allen, Board of Regents

Mr. Baloney:

Thank you so much for contacting my office concerning your dismissal as the head of both the women's track and volleyball teams at Cheaton Hall University. After some preliminary research into your case, I would like to provide you a brief overview of your rights and advise you that it would seem worthwhile at this point for you to consider bringing civil litigation against the university.

First, the bad news. The university does have the option of firing for "for cause." You are an at-will employee, which means that you have relatively few job protections, like most workers. The fact that you hold a prominent position at the university because of the importance of sports to its overall reputation (and the support of its alumni) does not shield you from being fired.

The fact that both teams have had losing records since you took over (albeit both have shown improvement under your guidance) is indeed sufficient for the university to dismiss you. Your dismissal, per se, does not constitute a wrong perpetrated against you and if this were the only issue, then you would not have a case that the university had committed a wrong, or tort, and so there would be no likely way that you could win in a civil case.

That said, the rest of the facts are much more in your favor. You have not committed any act that would qualify as moral turpitude, such as violating NCAA regulations, committing a felony, or engaging in an improper relationship with any member of either of the teams.

The major point in your favor, however, is that the university's action seems to be in clear violation of Title IX. Title IX, as you must know, requires that universities provide as much funding and other forms of support to women's sports as to men's. President Allen announced in the same press conference that your firing was in all likelihood a precedent to the teams' being dissolved. Given this fact, it will certainly be arguable in court (as well as in the preliminary documents that we will file, which may well lead to a settlement from the university rather than having to proceed to court) that your firing was simply a pretext that would allow the university to cut funding to women's sports. Such a clear violation of federal law is definite grounds for a lawsuit.

We have additional support for such a lawsuit in that President Allen has make a number of statement supporting the importance of male teams and has consistently attended the games played by the male teams and has yet to attend a single game played by the women. This is prima facie evidence of bias on his part.