A former clinical psychologist in Providence College’s athletic department is suing the school, claiming gender discrimination and alleging her departure came after she complained that leadership was not addressing racial issues related to high-profile incidents involving the men’s basketball team.
As reported by local NBC affiliate WJAR, Dr. Jessica Stewart filed the lawsuit, seeking damages, in federal court in Providence.
Stewart’s lawsuit claims she was “demoted, isolated and ultimately terminated in retaliation for raising concerns about gender-based discrimination and pay disparities, exclusion from institutional decision-making, and the racially disparate treatment of Black student-athletes and staff.”
Providence College denies the allegations, according to WJAR.
The lawsuit further alleges that the college “has engaged in a pattern or practice of discriminating against women/female employees” and that “there was never a day at PC that Dr. Stewart did not have to endure acts of sexism, gender-based discrimination and mistreatment, and microaggression as a woman/female working in PC’s athletics department.”
Per the reporting of WJAR's Brian Crandall, Stewart alleges she did not receive a pay raise after twice being promoted and that Providence “subjected her to a hostile work environment on account of her being a woman.”
She claims she “was treated in a discriminatory fashion by male colleagues,” including current athletic director Steve Napolillo, who Stewart alleges told her to “smile more and be less direct” after a meeting.
Stewart’s lawsuit also claims she reported to superiors that a Black clinician at the college's counseling center “was being treated with hostility by White colleagues.”
Stewart states she raised concerns to school leaders that backlash directed at basketball coach Ed Cooley after he left Providence (in March 2023) was “racially charged, abusive and intrusive, and that Providence College’s failure and refusal to publicly denounce the racist undertones of this backlash signaled institutional indifference to anti-Black sentiment.”
In addition, according to Crandall, Stewart’s lawsuit claims that after basketball player Alyn Breed was arrested in 2023, she complained Breed “was receiving less institutional support and resources than White students and that PC’s response appeared to reflect institutional discomfort with defending a Black student in the eyes of donors and the broader public, thereby reinforcing a racially discriminatory double standard.”
“Dr. Stewart further stated that PC’s earlier silence and, in some cases, inflammatory messaging around the vilification of Ed Cooley, contributed to a climate in which the similarly harsh treatment of Black students like Mr. Breed was tolerated, thereby reinforcing a racially hostile environment,” the lawsuit states, as reported by WJAR.
Stewart claims in November 2023 she “presented concerns of sex/gender-based discrimination within PC’s organization against herself and other female colleagues during an in-person meeting with PC’s leadership.”
Additional allegations in the lawsuit, per WJAR's Crandall, include:
- Stewart alleges she was told weeks later her $165,000 salary position was being eliminated, and her new role would pay $110,000.
- She claims in January 2024 basketball coach Kim English confided in her that PC President Father Kenneth Sicard “wants you gone," and Stewart alleges she was informed soon after that her position was being terminated.
- Stewart claims English wanted her to keep working with the basketball team, but PC leadership rejected him.
Providence College responded in a statement to WJAR, “We remain confident that these claims are without merit and that the court will agree.”
Associate vice president Steve Maurano said in the statement that Stewart “raised these unsubstantiated allegations last year with the RI Commission for Human Rights after she elected to resign following her decline of a full time, supervisory position with the College. The College submitted significant information and documents to the Commission refuting those allegations.”
Stewart said, in a statement provided by her lawyers to WJAR, “I had no choice but to pursue this lawsuit because I believe by remaining silent, I would be complicit in the misconduct of Providence College’s leadership.”
“Our client’s termination was an obvious effort to silence her for challenge institutional injustice," added Richard Sinapi, an attorney representing Stewart. "She has brought this lawsuit not only to seek relief for the economic and emotional harm she sustained, but to seek positive change on behalf of other women and student athletes and staff of color at Providence College.”
