DePaul University’s former associate athletics director for health and wellness has filed a federal lawsuit against the school and athletics director DeWayne Peevy, alleging she was illegally laid off while seven months pregnant in violation of her civil rights.
As reported by Sportico, Lucero Amaya says in a complaint filed last month that she was terminated from her $76,168-per-year job in December, about four months after informing her supervisor she was pregnant. According to her lawsuit, Amaya was on pregnancy-related medical leave and short-term disability when she was let go as part of the Blue Demons’ “reduction in force.”
The lawsuit marks the second time in six years that DePaul has been sued by a mental health provider who worked with the school’s athletes, Sportico's Daniel Libit reported.
Amaya joined DePaul in October 2022 and, according to her lawsuit, created and oversaw the athletic department’s mental health education programming, per Sportico's report. Her hiring came after allegations of a toxic and abusive culture within the department surfaced in a 2020 lawsuit filed by Jennifer Conviser, a sport psychologist who had consulted with DePaul’s athletic department from 2005 to 2018.
Conviser’s case, which was partially dismissed for lack of standing, accused legendary DePaul softball coach Eugene Lenti of verbally and mentally abusing his athletes and physically assaulting a staffer. Conviser also accused the school’s then-athletic director Jean Lenti Ponsetto — Eugene Lenti’s sister — of protecting him from a Title IX investigation into his alleged misconduct. Conviser claimed the school ultimately terminated her contract in 2018 in retaliation for “blowing the whistle.”
Per Sportico, Amaya says she was a strong performer who ran a program that Peevy had previously touted as a cornerstone of the athletic department in his five-year strategic plan.
Last fall, according to the lawsuit, Peevy informed athletic department staffers that there would be budget reductions, but said he would endeavor to apply them to benefits spending rather than cutting salaries or positions. However, he subsequently sent an email saying that he would have to “eliminate a few staff positions,” according to the lawsuit, as reported by Sportico.
"Amaya says she learned her job was being eliminated in early December, and was offered $10,253.45 in exchange for signing a severance agreement," Libit wrote Monday. "She says the school refused to further compensate her for maternity leave and short-term disability benefits that she would have been eligible for if she was not terminated. Amaya ultimately declined to sign the severance agreement and her employment officially ended on Dec. 12.
"In May, Peevy was given a contract extension through 2031, the financial terms of which have not been disclosed. The university’s most recent tax filing shows Peavy earned $594,789 in compensation in 2024. The return also shows DePaul paid a $863,500 buyout last fiscal cycle to former head men’s basketball Tony Stubblefield, who was fired in early 2024 after less than three seasons on the job."
