Petition and Jury Demand Page 1 of 12 in the IOWA DISTRICT COURT
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E-FILED 2016 APR 15 1:10 PM POLK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT IN THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR POLK COUNTY NICHOLE MOODY, Case No. ________________ Plaintiff, vs. PETITION STATE OF IOWA, IOWA STATE and UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND JURY DEMAND TECHNOLOGY, and WILLIAM FENNELLY, Defendants. COMES NOW the Plaintiff, Nichole Moody, and for her cause of action hereby states as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. This is an action under the Iowa Civil Rights Act, challenging Defendants’ race discrimination and retaliation against Plaintiff. 2. Plaintiff Nichole Moody is a resident of Tarrant County, Texas. 3. Defendant Iowa State University of Science and Technology (the “University”) is a fully accredited four-year state university established pursuant to Chapter 260C of the Iowa Code, governed by the state board of regents, doing business in Story and Polk Counties in Iowa. 4. Defendant State of Iowa, a sovereign state as defined in the Iowa Code, has its principal place of business in Polk County, Iowa. 5. Defendant William Fennelly is a resident of Story County, Iowa. 6. The acts of which Plaintiff complains occurred in Story County, Iowa. Petition and Jury Demand Page 1 of 12 E-FILED 2016 APR 15 1:10 PM POLK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS 7. On approximately May 15, 2015, within 300 days of the acts of which she complains, Plaintiff filed charges of education discrimination against Defendants with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. 8. On approximately January 21, 2016, less than 90 days prior to the filing of this Petition, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission issued an Administrative Release with respect to Plaintiff’s charges. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 9. Defendant William Fennelly has been the head coach of the Iowa State University Women’s Basketball team since 1995. 10. Plaintiff Nichole Moody is a black female, protected from discriminatory practices by the Iowa Civil Rights Act. 11. Nichole graduated from Trinity High School in Euless, Texas in 2011. She was a three-time all-district selection, Texas Basketball Magazine All-State selection, 2011 McDonald’s All- American game nominee, and a top 100 recruit. 12. The University hosts an annual “Elite Camp” designed for elite high school players who have achieved All-Conference, All-Area, or All-State honors. Nichole attended the University’s 2010 Elite Camp and stood out as a skilled and promising player. 13. The first time that Nichole spoke to Defendant Fennelly was on the last day of the 2010 Elite Camp. Fennelly told Nichole that his coaching staff discussed the camp participants and had decided Nichole would be great for the University’s Women’s Basketball team. 14. Fennelly offered Nichole a full-ride athletic scholarship. Nichole committed to the University, and accepted the full-ride scholarship, about a month later. Petition and Jury Demand Page 2 of 12 E-FILED 2016 APR 15 1:10 PM POLK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT 15. At the time that Nichole committed, there was only one black player on Fennelly’s roster. 16. Nichole arrived on campus in June 2011. 17. Defendants treated Nichole and other black women’s basketball players differently than they treated white women’s basketball players. 18. While preparing for her first academic year, Nichole told Academic Advisor Jeff Sessler that she wanted to be a veterinarian, and that she wanted to pursue a pre-veterinary curriculum at the University. 19. Sessler told Nichole that he would have to check with Fennelly about her request. 20. Sessler denied Nichole’s request and explained that it would be too difficult to manage a pre-veterinary program and basketball. He gave her a limited list of different majors that she could choose from. Sessler told Nichole that “most of our athletes do communications.” 21. Sessler made it clear to Nichole that the Athletics Department only wanted athletes to pursue majors that could be manipulated by athletics staff. 22. Fennelly and his coaching staff immediately discouraged the black athletes from spending time together. 23. Throughout Nichole’s enrollment at the University, Fennelly called her names, criticized her, made negative comments about her and her family, and alienated her from fans, teammates, staff, and her own parents. 24. Early in her freshman year, Nichole was assaulted while visiting a bar near campus. Nichole was called before a University dean and made to answer for her involvement in the altercation. The dean declined to impose any discipline against Nichole when it was discovered that she was not the aggressor. Petition and Jury Demand Page 3 of 12 E-FILED 2016 APR 15 1:10 PM POLK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT 25. Even though Nichole was not the aggressor, Fennelly summoned her to a meeting in his office. 26. Fennelly called Nichole a “thug.” He told her that “everyone” told him not to recruit her because of her background. He said that he should have listened to them. 27. During practice later the same season, Fennelly loudly referred to Nichole as a “thug” in front of her teammates. 28. Fennelly called Nichole a “thug” many more times during her enrollment at the University. 29. Nichole injured her hand during a practice in the fall of her freshman year. She told an assistant coach that she could not shoot because of the injury. When Fennelly heard Nichole could not shoot, he became irate at Nichole and yelled at her, screaming that she was “failing anyways.” He then kicked her out of practice. 30. During an early morning practice, two white athletes were leading two black athletes in drills. Fennelly was not happy with their performance, but instead of reprimanding the white players, Chelsea Poppens and Hallie Christofferson, who were supposed to be leading the drill, he verbally berated black athletes Kileah Mays and Fallon Ellis. 31. During Nichole’s freshman year, Fennelly repeatedly demeaned Chassidy Cole, the only black athlete on the team who was not a freshman, in front of her teammates, saying such things as: a. Chassidy will end up in prison, just like her mother; b. Chassidy is a thug; c. Chassidy is ungrateful for what Fennelly has done for her; and d. The best thing to ever happen to Chassidy is Fennelly offering her a scholarship. Petition and Jury Demand Page 4 of 12 E-FILED 2016 APR 15 1:10 PM POLK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT 32. Fennelly continued to verbally abuse Nichole and the other black athletes throughout the 2011-12 basketball season. 33. In spite of the ongoing harassment and discrimination, Nichole played in all 31 games of her freshman season. She started 29 of 31 games and played more minutes than any other freshman. 34. After a game during Nichole’s freshman season, Fennelly called the team “ungrateful bitches.” The comment brought several white athletes to tears because they had not previously heard such crass language from Fennelly. Unfortunately, the black athletes were already familiar with his abuse. 35. In the spring of 2012, Fennelly made the entire team run sprints except for white athlete Chelsea Poppens. Fennelly yelled to the team that he knew they thought he had a favorite, that they were right, and that Poppens was his favorite player. 36. During Nichole’s sophomore year, Fennelly told her during a meeting that she “wouldn’t be anything” without him, that she “would be playing at Rice” if he had not offered her a scholarship, and that he “made” her who she is. Fennelly told Nichole that “all she does is bitch.” Another black athlete, Brynn Williamson, was present for the meeting. 37. In April 2014, during Nichole’s junior year, Fennelly called her into his office and said, “I know you are the one who wrote a bad evaluation about me. I know you are trying to get me fired.” Plaintiff had not written a negative evaluation about Fennelly at the time. 38. During Nichole’s senior year, there were three seniors on the team, all of whom were black. Fennelly told the freshman class that Nichole and the other seniors were “bad influences” and to “stay away from them.” 39. Fennelly had encouraged players to spend time around senior white athletes in prior years, but issued the opposite advice when the seniors were black. Petition and Jury Demand Page 5 of 12 E-FILED 2016 APR 15 1:10 PM POLK - CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT 40. In October 2014, Fennelly suspended Nichole after she asked Jadda Buckley, a white athlete, to stop shooting the ball so the team could work on their offensive plays during a practice. 41. The assistant coach who first reprimanded Nichole later apologized to her for the disagreement. 42. Fennelly told Nichole she was the “most selfish player” he ever had, and then kicked over a basketball rack, walked to a balcony, and glared at Nichole for the rest of the practice. 43. Nichole is the first player that Fennelly has ever suspended. 44. During a senior meeting, Fennelly told Plaintiff, “You have been trying to ruin my life, but I will get the last laugh. I can’t wait to tell coaches that call me all the negative things I know about you.” 45. During Plaintiff’s senior year, Fennelly told Nichole to stop checking on, and trying to help, Nakiah Bell, a black freshman, because “she sucks.” 46. In the fall of 2014, Nichole’s uncle passed away. When Nichole asked permission to go to the funeral she was denied and told she was selfish for asking. 47. White athlete Jadda Buckley was allowed to attend the funeral of an unrelated neighbor. She was not accused of being “selfish” for wanting to attend.