Patraw hearing set for January
Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007 @ 2:20 am
Motion to dismiss whistleblower complaint denied
A state hearing officer denied Sunday the University of Nevada, Reno’s motion to dismiss the whistleblower complaint of former Nevada soccer coach Terri Patraw.A public hearing will take place on Jan. 17.
Nevada State Personnel Commission administrative hearing officer Bill Kockenmeister also ruled that Patraw and her lawyer, Jeffrey Dickerson, can tack on sexual harassment allegations to the original complaint and granted a motion for discovery that will allow Dickerson to build a case by interviewing people involved.
Patraw, who was terminated in August days before her team opened the regular season against Oregon, alleges in the whistleblower complaint that she was terminated for reporting violations of NCAA regulations, Title IX requirements and the Nevada ethics code to the administration.
She is suing the university for financial restitution and her job.
Dickerson said in an e-mail that a favorable ruling at the hearing in January could get Patraw her job back next semester.
Patraw, who led the Wolf Pack to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006, must prove in the hearing that the violations happened, that she reported them to the proper officials and that she was fired for doing so.
Patraw alleges in the complaint that men’s golf coach Rich Merritt violated NCAA regulations by betting on college football and basketball games, that he paid men’s and women’s golfers more than usual for babysitting his children and that he gave one of his players, Chase Cooper, a personal frequent flyer airline ticket to participate in a US Open qualifier this summer.
She also alleges that Merritt, while coaching the women’s golf team during then-coach Jody Dansie’s maternity leave, bought players dinner while at a tournament at New Mexico State in Oct. 2006 and gave them per diem.
The complaint alleges Merritt bet golfer Melanie De Leon $10 on the same trip to “huck a loogie,” and another $20 to eat food a teammate had chewed and spit up.
The athletics department deferred all questions regarding the lawsuit and whistleblower complaint to UNR general council Mary Dugan, who did not return phone calls before press time Monday.
UNR President Milton Glick said after Patraw filed her lawsuit on Nov. 8 that the university had investigated the possible violations.
“Obviously we don’t talk about lawsuits other than that we think we’ve followed up on any reports she’s made on NCAA infringements,” Glick said. “We’ve investigated them and reported them to the NCAA. But we can’t comment on legal matters.”
Merritt was suspended for the first three tournaments of the fall season for violating unspecified NCAA regulations.
The alleged Title IX violations mostly pertain to use of facilities.
Patraw alleges in the complaint that her team could not use its locker room and the weight room because men’s programs were using them. She alleges that her team’s field-use was restricted or infringed on because of men’s teams.
She also alleges inequity in the number of courtesy cars provided to coaches of women’s sports and how she had to pay $20,000 for extended studies for her camps over four years while other coaches did not have to pay.
Additionally, the complaint alleges that Nevada associate athletic director Keith Hackett told Patraw the university paid track coach Shantel Twiggs more money because Twiggs is black.
Nevada director of athletics Cary Groth said after the lawsuit was filed that Patraw was not fired for the reasons in the whistleblower complaint, but could not elaborate.
“I know why we terminated coach Patraw, and it was not for those reasons,” Groth said.
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