Saturday, December 08, 2007

FGCU softball coach fights dismissal

Gina Ramacci, the former assistant softball coach at Florida Gulf Coast University has filed a complaint with the university citing violations of both both Title IX and Title VII. Ramacci, who technically was not fired, rather her contract was not renewed, and her lawyer are saying that the investigation FGCU did into alleged misconduct (as reported by a student-athlete and her mother) of a sexual nature with a (different) student-athlete found no evidence of wrongdoing. She's asking for her job back and back pay.
This is not a lawsuit yet but filing the grievance with FGCU is a step in that direction should it come to that.
Also interesting to note is that it does not seem we are tiptoeing around a discussion of sexuality any longer. Ramacci is openly gay and she (through her lawyer) noted the not quite coincidental near simultaneous punishment of volleyball coach Jaye Flood this fall who was described by Ramacci's lawyer as having "the same sexual preference."
It should not be surprising that an institution that has created a hostile environment for its female coaches that includes retribution for advocating for gender equity has punished two gay coaches for their interactions with their student-athletes with little to no evidence of impropriety.