Federal judges dismiss most of California Lutheran University softball team lawsuit
Federal judges have dismissed 11 of the 13 counts in a lawsuit filed against California Lutheran University in August 2021 by members of the university's softball program who alleged the institution falsely and publicly punished them for a "sham racially-derogatory event."
Three coaches and all 24 members of the 2019-20 team joined the suit, which accused the university and four administrators and university staff, including former President Chris Kimball, of "inflaming" outrage over a lip-sync performance at a softball team bonding event that some perceived as blackface. The team contends that the performance was misconstrued.
In August, judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed four of the suit's counts, including allegations of slander and libel, after the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California initially allowed them to proceed.
The District Court dismissed seven of the lawsuit's other allegations over months of court proceedings that culminated on Jan. 19, leaving just two counts to be litigated.
Still in play are the softball team's accusations that university leaders violated federal Title IX mandates and that they used the lip sync incident to retaliate against softball coach Debby Day for reporting alleged civil rights violations.
On Jan. 22, a commissioner from the Circuit Court awarded Cal Lutheran more than $124,000 in attorney's fees under California's Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation or SLAPP statute, a provision that allows defendants to strike some lawsuits that target protected free speech.
Joshua W.B. Richards, an attorney for university in Thousand Oaks, confirmed the court rulings in an email, saying they "reflect the strength" of the CLU's arguments, but would not comment further. University spokesperson Mark Berry declined to comment and pointed to the attorney's statement.
Lawyers for the softball team did not respond to interview requests.
As it happened: Former softball team, coaches file lawsuit against Cal Lutheran
How it started
At the center of lawsuit is a lip-synced performance of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's "Yo Home to Bel-Air," the theme song of the 1990's television series "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
During a post-practice event on Jan. 21, 2020, five team members dressed up as "dudes" in "hip-hop costumes" and scrawled beards on their faces with dark make-up, the suit says. Two team members donned dirty-blonde, curly wigs. The quintet performed to "Yo Home" and the team posted pictures and video of the routine to social media.
Two weeks later, then university president Kimball sent a campus-wide email denouncing what he termed a pair of "racist" social media posts that included blackface and the "n-word."
Kimball did not identify the softball team in his email, but Karin Grennan, a university spokesperson, told the Star in February 2020 that one of the posts Kimball referenced involved students lip-synching with dark makeup covering parts of their faces. Some in the campus community, Grennan said, saw that post and identified it as blackface.
Grennan said at the time that the second, unrelated incident involved a student using the "n-word" in a private Snapchat conversation.
"Those who are responsible will be held accountable," Kimball wrote.
The team contends that their performance's "clean, fun" intent was flipped and turned upside down by university officials and that the routine was not derogatory or offensive.
More: Racial social media posts by Cal Lutheran students denounced by school officials
The pair of counts remaining in the lawsuit allege that university officials used the incident to "publicly punish" the head coach in retaliation for complaints of unequal treatment Day filed in 2019.
The suit alleges that the university violated both Title IX, a federal civil rights law, and NCAA bylaws by unequally allocating money, equipment, services and facilities to other programs that it did not give to the softball program.
Day filed complaints about the alleged disparate treatment with the university, the suit says. The university hired a Los Angeles-based law firm Van Dermyden Makus to investigate some of the concerns, and the firm found that the inequities were not because of gender, according to court documents.
The findings, the suit allege, were "predetermined" and did not cover all of Day's concerns.
Missing from the investigation, the suit says, were the facilities that the men's baseball stadium enjoys but the softball field does not, including permanent dugouts, restrooms, covered bleacher seating, a snack bar and a press box.
The university's softball complex is currently being renovated, according to Feb. 6 address by university president Lori Varlotta, to include new dugouts with restrooms and storage, covered bleacher seating, covered concessions and a new press box and office.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled April 5 in District Court.
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Federal judges dismiss most of Cal Lutheran softball team lawsuit
