The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

She won

Jane+Meyer%2C+former+senior+associate+athletic+director+at+the+University+of+Iowa%2C+gets+a+hug+from+her+partner+Tracey+Griesbaum%2C+right%2C+following+a+news+conference%2C+Thursday%2C+May+4%2C+2017%2C+in+Des+Moines%2C+Iowa.+A+jury+on+Thursday+awarded+more+than+%241.4+million+to+Meyer+ruling+that+the+university+had+discriminated+against+her+because+of+her+gender+and+sexual+orientation.+%28AP+Photo%2FCharlie+Neibergall%29
AP
Jane Meyer, former senior associate athletic director at the University of Iowa, gets a hug from her partner Tracey Griesbaum, right, following a news conference, Thursday, May 4, 2017, in Des Moines, Iowa. A jury on Thursday awarded more than $1.4 million to Meyer ruling that the university had discriminated against her because of her gender and sexual orientation. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Associated Press
DES MOINES — A jury on Thursday awarded $1.43 million to the former University of Iowa senior associate athletics director, ruling that the university had discriminated against her because of her gender and sexual orientation.

Jane Meyer alleged she suffered workplace discrimination as a gay woman in a relationship with the school’s longtime and highly successful field-hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum, that the school retaliated against her for complaining about Griesbaum’s firing, and that she was paid less than a male counterpart for similar work.

Judge Michael Huppert said the eight-person jury found in favor of Meyer on all five counts.

“This is for everyone who has fought for discrimination,” Meyer said. “It’s much bigger than Jane Meyer.”

The trial lasted nearly three weeks and featured testimony from Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz and wrestling coach Tom Brands.

The jury began deliberating Wednesday and delivered its sealed verdict on Thursday. One of Meyer’s attorneys, Jill Zwagerman, said she expects Iowa to appeal the verdict — partly because of the size of the award.

But Zwagerman also said that the $374,000 in lost wages the jury awarded to Meyer can be tripled under Iowa law because the jury found Iowa’s actions to be willful. Zwagerman also said that they will file a request through the courts to investigate claims of gender discrimination at Iowa.

A lawsuit filed against the university by Griesbaum is set to begin early next month.

Meyer, who was Iowa’s the top-ranking female athletics administrator for a decade, filed the lawsuit after being transferred to another department soon after Griesbaum was fired. Meyer’s job was eliminated in 2016.

Meyer’s lawyers closed their case by bringing up a memo from Meyer to Athletics Director Gary Barta that outlined many of the concerns of gender and sexual discrimination that ultimately led her to sue her former employer. A day after Meyer gave the memo to Barta, she was reassigned outside of athletics.

“This is a landmark case … Jane is amazing. She stood up and fought for herself and a lot of other women,” Zwagerman said.

Meyer’s lawyers also brought up an email from the university acknowledging that it was moving Meyer from the department because Griesbaum had threatened to sue the school and that she had made their relationship public through the Associated Press.

Coaches Ferentz, Brands and baseball’s Rick Heller criticized Meyer as not being responsive to their requests, especially involving plans to improve athletics facilities. Barta testified some coaches were no longer willing to work with Meyer, prompting him to decide to hire Gene Taylor as his deputy.

Iowa Assistant Attorney General George Carroll told jurors that Meyer ultimately was moved out of the department because she had behaved “intolerably” in the months following Griesbaum’s firing. Carroll also argued that Iowa had no history of discrimination against gay coaches.

Jurors awarded Meyer $444,000 in past emotional distress and $612,000 in future emotional distress in addition to lost wages, according to Huppert.

Jeneane Beck, the UI assistant vice president for External Relations, said the “university is disappointed by the jury’s decision” but had no further comment.

Still, the ruling was a blow to Barta, who has been with Iowa since 2006 and received a contract extension in early 2016 that guarantees him $4.6 million in compensation through 2021.

As for Meyer, she said throughout the trial that her career in athletics was likely finished no matter what the jury decided. But after winning on every count, Meyer might reconsider that stance.

“I would love for an institution to hire me. To stand up and say ‘You know what? She stood up and wants to do the right thing.’ ”

Associated Press Writer Ryan J. Foley contributed to this report.

History

Jane Meyer, the former University of Iowa senior associate athletics director, filed a suit against the University of Iowa in November 2015. She claimed she was discriminated against as a gay woman in a relationship with former field-hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum. Griesbaum was fired in August 2014 after some field-hockey players complained about the way they were treated, and in April 2015, Meyer was transferred to another department. The lawsuit argued that Meyer’s reassignment was unfair and an act of retaliation for speaking up about gender inequality and that she had experienced discrimination on wages because of her gender and sexual orientation.

Verdict

A jury awarded Jane Meyer $1.43 million Thursday after 13 days of testimony, ruling that the UI had discriminated against the former UI senior associate athletics director because of her gender and sexual orientation. Meyer was compensated for lost wages and emotional distress, past and future. The jury of five women and three men heard testimonies from Athletics Director Gary Barta, football coach Kirk Ferentz, wrestling coach Tom Brands, and baseball coach Rick Heller.

Testimony highlights:

  • After a complaint arrived on Barta’s desk about former field hockey coach tracet Griesbaum abusing players verbally, he started an in-house investigation. In her testimony, Meyer contended it felt like she was the one being investigated in 2014 as the university probed into her relationship with Griesbaum.
  • On Dec. 4, 2014, Meyer sent Barta a memo on a number of gender-equity issues that had been building up, including the unequal pay between Deputy Athletics Director Gene Taylor and her and her treatment because of her sexual orientation, she said in her testimony.
  • Barta testified that he had numerous staffers in the Athletics Department come to him in 2014 complaining about Meyer’s behavior. He said he decided in 2014 her attitude had gotten too disruptive and made it impossible to do his job.
  • Ferentz, Brands, and Heller testified that Meyer was not responsive to their requests, especially involving plans to improve athletics facilities. Barta testified some coaches were no longer willing to work with Meyer, prompting him to decide to hire Taylor as his deputy.
  • Liz Hollingsworth, who serves as chairwoman of the school’s Presidential Committee on Athletics, testified she encountered several troubling meetings with Meyer. Hollingsworth said she didn’t know about Meyer and Griesbaum’s relationship until three months after Griesbaum’s firing.
  • Hollingsworth testified that Meyer gave her a list of lesbian coaches at Iowa to interview about potential discrimination.
  • Brands testified there was “no dialogue” with Meyer, and it was always a “one-way street” working with her. Ferentz and Brands both testified they did not go straight to Meyer with complaints.
  • Griesbaum testified that when Barta fired her, she asked him three times “What have I done wrong?” She also denied his claim that she refused to change her ways as head coach.
  • Griesbaum said she was also asked about her relationship with Meyer during the field-hockey investigation.
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