Alma College's former women’s soccer coach Kate Parney has filed a lawsuit against the school for alleged gender discrimination that her attorney claims resulted in her wrongful termination.
Parney’s attorney, Thomas Newkirk, said Parney is one of many women who face gender stereotyping when holding leadership roles.
“The purpose of this lawsuit, for both for Kate and for our firm, is to expose the challenges that women face around the country,” Newkirk told WCMU. “It’s become an epidemic around the country that is almost exclusively harming women, but because some other reasons, it's starting to affect men as well.”
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Alma College said they aren’t able to comment on the specifics of the case because it’s a pending legal matter.
“Alma College takes all allegations of discrimination seriously and is committed to providing a workplace that is equitable, inclusive, and respectful for everyone," a spokesperson wrote.
Alma College is a private liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan that has about 1,200 students. Alma's women's soccer team competes in the NCAA Division III and is a part of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Conference.
When Parney coached the team in 2022, she led them to a 4-7-2 record, according to Alma College's website. In 2023, the team went 1-12-1.
The lawsuit, filed on July 8, reads that Parney’s student athletes expressed discomfort with her coaching demeanor.
Parney started at Alma College on July 1, 2022, and a little over a year later was approached by the athletic director who shared concerns raised by a parent, the lawsuit reads. That’s when Parney was placed on a performance improvement plan.
The lawsuit claims that Parney was documented to improve in all areas, but she was still terminated on Sep. 9, 2024.
“No specific incident or performance failure was cited,” the lawsuit reads. “When she asked for clarification, vague references were made to ‘visibility’ and ‘team trauma.’”
Newkirk argues that Parney’s case highlights a gender bias toward women in leadership roles and says they're expected to be both nurturing and authoritative at the same time.
“A female coaching just like a man or often less aggressively than a man, but still get complaints that labeled her as problematic or abusive or harmful, even though she's doing nothing wrong,” he said.
According to the lawsuit, Parney requests compensation for her injuries. She's asking for her old job back or a payout of lost wages, benefits and other emotional pain.
The next step for the case is for it to be formally delivered to the college, Newkirk said.
“We're always hoping that Alma College will hear our plea for them to come deal with this issue,” Newkirk said. “We much prefer to engage in collaborative approaches to resolving these claims in terms of making a difference for women everywhere, rather than just forcing it into litigation where everyone's driven into a corner.”
