A pair of former University of Delaware volleyball coaches will be granted a trial after a judge ruled they had āsufficientlyā demonstrated they were discriminated against by virtue of age, sexual orientation and marital status.
UD had filed a motion to dismiss a complaint by head volleyball coach Bonnie Kenny and associate head coach Cindy Gregory, who have been married since 2013 and were both fired by the university in October 2016. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews had ruled on UDās behalf in granting a motion to dismiss Kennyās and Gregoryās allegations that a violation of due process occurred.
According to a report from Delaware Online, Kenny and Gregory contend that they were fired without cause, but the ruling indicated that the firing was acceptable, as Kenny was paid through the end of her contract in June 2020 and Gregory didnāt have such protections in her contract.
Plaintiffs' attorney David Williams nonetheless argues that Kenny and Gregory were wrongfully terminated.
āEven if thereās a right to terminate a contract without cause, you canāt have an unlawful motive,ā Williams said. āThatās what the case is about at this point. Did the university have an unlawful motive? ... You canāt terminate for a discriminatory reason.ā
The original complaint asserted that Kenny was the fourth gay female coach over the age of 50 āforced outā by UD in recent years.
The case will now move into the discovery phase, which could take six to eight months.
āThe fundamental underlying claims are there ā discrimination, age, marital status, sexual orientation and Equal Protection, which is a constitutional claim that is also an assertion of a violation of those rights based on a discriminatory motive,ā Williams said. āWeāll have an opportunity now to gather the facts to support our case and weāre looking forward to that.ā