3rdgensooner
12/3/2010, 05:00 PM
Belmont disputes gay coach was fired (http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101203/SPORTS06/12030362/Belmont+disputes+gay+coach+was+fired)
Sexuality brought ultimatum from school, players say
Belmont University (http://www.belmont.edu/) women's soccer coach Lisa Howe (http://www.belmontbruins.com/sports/w-soccer/coaches/HOWE_LISA?tmpl=/information/directory/bio-template) is without a job today, and the reason may involve her sexual orientation.
The university issued a release Thursday night with Athletics Director Mike Strickland stating that Howe decided to resign on her own without offering further explanation.
However, several members of the soccer team say Howe told them she was pressured into resigning after telling school administrators and the team she and her same-sex partner were having a baby.
Howe, who has been at Belmont six seasons, informed the t
eam Thursday that she had resigned. She could not be reached for comment but is quoted in the release as saying, "I am at a point in my life where I am satisfied to move on."
Erica Carter, a senior on the team, said Howe told her and her roommate Ashley Hudak, a junior on the team, Tuesday that athletics department officials had given her the choice to resign or be terminated because she had told the team her partner was pregnant with a baby due in May.
"She said she went to the administration to get permission to talk to us about (the pregnancy) so that she could bring us to light on her becoming a mother," Carter said.
"She didn't want us to hear it from other sources. She has never talked about her personal life before. We always hear rumors, speculation and things. She wanted this to come directly from her."
Carter said Howe told her administrators did not immediately give her permission to address the team about the matter. She said Howe said she asked again several weeks later and still was not given permission.
"By then people were finding out, so she went ahead and took the initiative and told us, even though they didn't clear her to tell us," Carter said.
Hudak confirmed that the coach said she was given the choice to resign or be terminated because she had revealed her sexuality by telling the team about the pregnancy.
"She said she needed to resign or she was going to be fired because of the choices she had made with her life," Hudak said. "She said she had tried to clear telling us she was having a baby through the athletic department and they weren't allowing her to."
Team captain Sari Lin said she met with Strickland on Tuesday and he told her Howe had violated a university policy pertaining to individual sexuality.
"He basically said we have the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy and when she told us about the pregnancy, it violated that," Lin said. "She was telling us what her sexual preference is. He said you can hide your sexuality, but you can't hide a baby. He pretty much told me that once the baby was born she was going to get fired anyway, so it's better to do it sooner than later."
Sexuality brought ultimatum from school, players say
Belmont University (http://www.belmont.edu/) women's soccer coach Lisa Howe (http://www.belmontbruins.com/sports/w-soccer/coaches/HOWE_LISA?tmpl=/information/directory/bio-template) is without a job today, and the reason may involve her sexual orientation.
The university issued a release Thursday night with Athletics Director Mike Strickland stating that Howe decided to resign on her own without offering further explanation.
However, several members of the soccer team say Howe told them she was pressured into resigning after telling school administrators and the team she and her same-sex partner were having a baby.
Howe, who has been at Belmont six seasons, informed the t
eam Thursday that she had resigned. She could not be reached for comment but is quoted in the release as saying, "I am at a point in my life where I am satisfied to move on."
Erica Carter, a senior on the team, said Howe told her and her roommate Ashley Hudak, a junior on the team, Tuesday that athletics department officials had given her the choice to resign or be terminated because she had told the team her partner was pregnant with a baby due in May.
"She said she went to the administration to get permission to talk to us about (the pregnancy) so that she could bring us to light on her becoming a mother," Carter said.
"She didn't want us to hear it from other sources. She has never talked about her personal life before. We always hear rumors, speculation and things. She wanted this to come directly from her."
Carter said Howe told her administrators did not immediately give her permission to address the team about the matter. She said Howe said she asked again several weeks later and still was not given permission.
"By then people were finding out, so she went ahead and took the initiative and told us, even though they didn't clear her to tell us," Carter said.
Hudak confirmed that the coach said she was given the choice to resign or be terminated because she had revealed her sexuality by telling the team about the pregnancy.
"She said she needed to resign or she was going to be fired because of the choices she had made with her life," Hudak said. "She said she had tried to clear telling us she was having a baby through the athletic department and they weren't allowing her to."
Team captain Sari Lin said she met with Strickland on Tuesday and he told her Howe had violated a university policy pertaining to individual sexuality.
"He basically said we have the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy and when she told us about the pregnancy, it violated that," Lin said. "She was telling us what her sexual preference is. He said you can hide your sexuality, but you can't hide a baby. He pretty much told me that once the baby was born she was going to get fired anyway, so it's better to do it sooner than later."