Cash, apology settle UNC-CH soccer suit

Other colleges 'are looking at this case'

The sexual harassment lawsuit against UNC women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance never made it to a jury, but it gained national attention and helped draw boundaries between coaches and players.

After nearly a decade, the case was settled Monday, with the university agreeing to pay former player Melissa Jennings $385,000 and Dorrance issuing an apology to all his players. The deal also requires the university to conduct a comprehensive review of its sexual harassment policies and procedures.

The case centered around what were called inappropriate discussions about sex between Dorrance and his players. In the agreement, Jennings, who was recruited to the university to play goalie, stipulates that neither Dorrance nor his staff made a pass at her or pursued a sexual relationship with her. But they made overt sexual comments that were uninvited and offensive, she wrote. "As a result, I personally felt extremely uncomfortable," she said in a letter included in the settlement.

Dorrance's apology letter, contained in the settlement, said that between August 1996 and June 1998, he participated with his players in group discussions of players' sexual activities and relationships with men.

"I understand that my participation in those discussions was inappropriate and unacceptable," his letter said. "I apologize to Ms. Jennings and her family, as well as all other members of the soccer team."

Dorrance and the university had long argued that the discussions were harmless locker room banter. But last year Judge M. Blane Michael wrote in a majority opinion for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Dorrance's conduct "went far beyond simple teasing and qualified as sexual harassment."

The court's opinion was important, said Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a former Olympic swimmer who is now a Florida Coastal School of Law professor specializing in women's equity in sports. The opinion made the line defining sexual harassment much brighter, she said.

"It already did very good work in establishing that for female athletes -- and male athletes -- that that's not part of being on an athletic team," she said. "I do think schools around the country are looking at this case."

$12 million was sought

The lawsuit has had many twists and turns since it was filed in 1998 by Jennings and another player who together originally sought $12 million in damages. The university and the state fought the suit all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which last year declined to hear it.

A trial had been set for April in federal court.

In a statement Monday, Dorrance said, "Since August 1998, I have looked forward to clearing my name in court. That is still true today. I understand, though, that after nine years of litigation, it is best for the University, our soccer program and all of us involved in this case for it to end here."

The agreement with Jennings, who is now a school teacher living near Chicago, was the second monetary settlement in the protracted lawsuit, which has been an embarrassing and expensive chapter for the university and its star soccer coach.

In 2004, the other plaintiff, Debbie Keller -- a two-time national player of the year -- settled out of court for $70,000 and a requirement that Dorrance attend sensitivity training for eight years.

The university said the $385,000 would compensate Jennings for most of her legal fees. The money will come from the athletic department's operating budget, the university said, without the use of tuition dollars or state funds. The Attorney General's office, which handled the case, does not track costs associated with individual cases, so there is no way to know how much the state spent defending the lawsuit, a spokeswoman said.