Yegidis v. FGCU Day 1

In a Florida federal court, a trial began Tuesday in the Title IX retaliation case between Florida Gulf Coast University and its former provost Bonnie Yegidis, who was fired from the position, she alleges, because she urged the president to take seriously coaches' allegations of gender discrimination in athletics. According to press, FGCU President Wilson Bradshaw testified consistent with the university's defense that Yegidis was fired instead for being part of an ineffective "hornets' nest" of a senior management team. While acknowledging her positive evaluations and past performance, he nevertheless characterized Yegidis as "such a disruptive force that I had to take action."

Former Athletic Director Merrily Dean Baker also took the stand and described her role in underlying Title IX dispute, meeting with female coaches and compiling their concerns about discrimination in a letter to Bradshaw's predecessor, Richard Pegnetter.