The former athletic director for girls' programs at The Albany (N.Y.) Academies is suing the school, claiming she was fired after she pressed for equal funding for girls’ sports.
As reported by the Times Union, Angela Marathakis was hired by the school in September 2021. She says she was let go on March 19, and now accuses the school of defamation, retaliation, gender discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination.
“Ms. Marathakis advocated for a more equitable budget for the girls' athletics programs — as the budget for boys' programs was significantly larger —which agitated the Academies' leadership, and certain male coaches,” the lawsuit said, as reported by Kathleen Moore of the Times Union.
When she did not succeed, she questioned whether the school was receiving any federal funding. If so, the school would have to follow Title IX, the federal law that protects the right of women to have equal access to sports and education, the lawsuit said. It is unclear if The Albany Academies, a private school, receives any federal monies, Moore reported.
“We have always been committed to creating a fair and equitable work environment for all our employees. It is our long-standing policy to keep all personnel-related matters confidential and we will not comment on this matter,” said Kayla Germain, the school's director of marketing and communications.
"According to the lawsuit, Marathakis was also criticized for focusing on girls' sports to the point that they were 'eclipsing and outshining' the boys' sports," Moore wrote. "As the director of girls' sports, she increased their social media presence, purchased additional gear and set up performance evaluations for the coaches. The lawsuit alleges some alumni complained that the girls’ teams were performing better than the boys’ teams and had more publicity and better equipment."
“In other words, Ms. Marathakis had the support of the school's leadership up until the point that she became too good at her job, too adept at promoting female athletics, and too vigilant in opposing and reforming the toxic culture that has long plagued the Academies, particularly in the area of athletics,” the lawsuit said.
The Academies was founded as a boys’ school, and later added girls in separate classes and separate buildings amid declining enrollment.
In her reporting for the Times Union, Moore constructed a timeline of events leading to the end of Marathakis' career at The Albany Academies:
In the fall of 2023, Marathakis responded to an email sent by an athlete, according to the lawsuit. The email directed the team to wear skirts or dresses to an event. But several other members of the team objected, and Marathakis sent out an email saying there was no such dress code requirement for the event.
Several months later, in January, Marathakis came under fire after she complained about a male coach’s behavior during an athletic event and, separately, refused to change a female coach’s positive performance review, the lawsuit claims.
On Jan. 11, she was officially admonished for the email sent months earlier about not requiring skirts and dresses at an event. She was told that her email was “overly aggressive,” according to the lawsuit.
On Jan. 18, she was called to another meeting about her behavior. At this meeting, according to the lawsuit, Head of School Christopher Lauricella said her efforts to change the school culture were hurting the school’s “comfort level.”
In March, the school created a safety plan to keep her away from the student who wrote the skirts and dresses email. The goal was “to support a pretext for her ultimate termination,” the lawsuit alleges.
Her colleagues were told to intervene if they saw her interacting with the student with “any harassing, intimidating, or bullying behavior,” which the lawsuit said was intended solely to discredit Marathakis.
“The references to Ms. Marathakis in the ‘School Safety Plan’ were completely unnecessary and unfounded, and were included solely to discredit and malign Ms. Marathakis for discriminatory and retaliatory purposes, as she never once engaged in any bullying, harassment or intimidating behavior toward the student in question,” the lawsuit said.
On March 19, she was fired for "ongoing performance issues and workplace conduct,” the lawsuit said.
At the end of that school year, other staff members were let go as part of the merging of the boys' and girls' schools.
