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Schweyen suing UM

GrizBaba said:
Sounds like there's going to be a lot of "mud" slinging.

DeCuire is in the crosshairs. Hauck, too, though the comparison is tougher to make stick. This has the potential to get ugly for UM.
 
Shannon I feel does not have a case in my opinion but I’ve not had an opportunity to read the briefs but we’ll just have to wait and see. Her coaching certainly did speak for itself which was a dumpster fire at best. How could someone who sat on the bench next to one of the most successful coaches in women’s basketball history for 24 years not learn how to run a successful program is beyond comprehension. All she will accomplish even if she wins her case is to diminish her great accomplishments as a player. I feel bad for her in that this is a no win situation she has gotten herself into and the end result will not reflect kindly on her.
 
Shannon now wishes she hadn’t signed that contract that wasn’t renewed. I get it.

But she will have to prove that the non-renewal was based on her gender, and not on her lack of success. And that’s a tough burden.
 
Sport said:
Shannon I feel does not have a case in my opinion but I’ve not had an opportunity to read the briefs but we’ll just have to wait and see. Her coaching certainly did speak for itself which was a dumpster fire at best. How could someone who sat on the bench next to one of the most successful coaches in women’s basketball history for 24 years not learn how to run a successful program is beyond comprehension. All she will accomplish even if she wins her case is to diminish her great accomplishments as a player. I feel bad for her in that this is a no win situation she has gotten herself into and the end result will not reflect kindly on her.

Her main point seems to be that she was offered a two-year contract, but the offer was withdrawn when two players quit and entered the portal. The claim is that citing the two players quitting as grounds for pulling the offer was a pretext for sex discrimination because male coaches were treated differently when their players quit.
 
I'm sure the investigation will uncover why players left the Lady Griz program in comparison to why players left the men's team. Shannon is painting the two team's transfer situation with a very broad stroke. Some transfers are player's decision, some coaches decision. I think she had much more of one than the other

Shannon inherited one of the best mid-major programs on the west coast and dwindled it down to painful mediocrity in 4 years. Thats reason enough to end the working relationship lol
 
goatcreekgriz said:
GrizBaba said:
Sounds like there's going to be a lot of "mud" slinging.

DeCuire is in the crosshairs. Hauck, too, though the comparison is tougher to make stick. This has the potential to get ugly for UM.

How so? I'm curious as to why you seem so bullish on Shannon's chances here?

I think this case has FAR more risk to further tarnish Shannon's reputation than it does to hurt UM in any sort of meaningful way. I'm actually somewhat shocked that she is willing to risk certain facts about her lack of professionalism coming out in open court.

Her legal standing on this discrimination issue is tenuous at the very best. She is going to have to prove that UM treated a similar scenario with Decuire different based on solely on gender. That said, Shannon and Travis' situations basically had zero similarity outside of the basic fact that players transferred out of the program. The reality is Shannon is bitter and grasping at straws. It would take a moron to look at the totality of both situations and not see they are world's apart.

Interesting that Shannon hired a lawyer from Bozeman as I know for a fact that multiple Missoula plaintiff's attorneys turned down her case.
 
gotgame75 said:
goatcreekgriz said:
DeCuire is in the crosshairs. Hauck, too, though the comparison is tougher to make stick. This has the potential to get ugly for UM.

How so? I'm curious as to why you seem so bullish on Shannon's chances here?

I think this case has FAR more risk to further tarnish Shannon's reputation than it does to hurt UM in any sort of meaningful way. I'm actually somewhat shocked that she is willing to risk certain facts about her lack of professionalism coming out in open court.

Her legal standing on this discrimination issue is tenuous at the very best. She is going to have to prove that UM treated a similar scenario with Decuire different based on solely on gender. That said, Shannon and Travis' situations basically had zero similarity outside of the basic fact that players transferred out of the program. The reality is Shannon is bitter and grasping at straws. It would take a moron to look at the totality of both situations and not see they are world's apart.

Interesting that Shannon hired a lawyer from Bozeman as I know for a fact that multiple Missoula plaintiff's attorneys turned down her case.

I’m not bullish, I just read the complaint and see where it is going. I don’t know if she would win if the case goes to trial but it is interesting how it is set up. I have no idea who ‘turned down her case” but lead counsel is a quality D.C. law firm that specializes in sex discrimination cases and the Bozeman firm is one of the best in Montana. I doubt it is going away soon.
 
Perhaps angling to score some points with complaint/suit. Doubt this sees a courtroom. Mediation followed by a nice payout. Attorneys and Shannon go away with a nice check


Too bad on all fronts, a sullied end to a career at UM.
 
I don't think this will end well for Shannon. The rumors around this potential Title IX lawsuit have been going around for a while.

Basically she is going to have to show she has cause and then prove the UM both in regards to Bobby and Travis, handled it differently because of her sex. Albeit it is a civil claim and the bar is a bit lower, but I would be surprised if this case ever makes it in front of a judge.

I'm not a lawyer, but I am familiar with the process as I have seen this lawsuit playout in school districts that I have worked in and have been around. She is considered an at-will employee (to a degree), and the burden of proof gets a lot steeper because per my experience there is going to need to be tangible hard evidence that not only was the dismissal predicated on her sex but that situations of equal comparison Haslam and the athletic department chose to turn their collective gaze away from Travis's program.

On a UM level, this is terrible. Former star basketball player, so enamored with her own gravitas in her circle of friends, seeks to play upon sentiment to absolutely tear apart the football, mens basketball programs so she can get 2 pounds of flesh. I'll admit, the UM botched her firing/dismissal. They had countless opportunities in the prior two years to do, including immediately after loss that spring in the Big Sky tournament. Haslam didn't time it correctly, but it wasn't nor should it ever be considered to be without cause. Nor was it solely focused on the short-term departure of 2-6 players, but rather the sum of a number of problems that had accrued over her four year term as coach. Or so I was told. I just can't see where this goes that doesn't uncover a pile of shit that doesn't make Shannon or the athletic department as a whole look bad.
 
Of course she is. It's the world we live in. It's always somebody else's fault. Never mind the fact that she was a shitty head coach, obviously it has to be because she's a woman. Sometimes a person just has to take some personal responsibility and move on.
 
Grizfan-24 said:
I don't think this will end well for Shannon. The rumors around this potential Title IX lawsuit have been going around for a while.

Basically she is going to have to show she has cause and then prove the UM both in regards to Bobby and Travis, handled it differently because of her sex. Albeit it is a civil claim and the bar is a bit lower, but I would be surprised if this case ever makes it in front of a judge.

I'm not a lawyer, but I am familiar with the process as I have seen this lawsuit playout in school districts that I have worked in and have been around. She is considered an at-will employee (to a degree), and the burden of proof gets a lot steeper because per my experience there is going to need to be tangible hard evidence that not only was the dismissal predicated on her sex but that situations of equal comparison Haslam and the athletic department chose to turn their collective gaze away from Travis's program.

On a UM level, this is terrible. Former star basketball player, so enamored with her own gravitas in her circle of friends, seeks to play upon sentiment to absolutely tear apart the football, mens basketball programs so she can get 2 pounds of flesh. I'll admit, the UM botched her firing/dismissal. They had countless opportunities in the prior two years to do, including immediately after loss that spring in the Big Sky tournament. Haslam didn't time it correctly, but it wasn't nor should it ever be considered to be without cause. Nor was it solely focused on the short-term departure of 2-6 players, but rather the sum of a number of problems that had accrued over her four year term as coach. Or so I was told. I just can't see where this goes that doesn't uncover a pile of shit that doesn't make Shannon or the athletic department as a whole look bad.

The lawsuit is not based on Title IX. The claim is about disparate treatment under Title VII, and it it's merely coincidental that it involves a school or university. She alleges she was treated differently than male coaches because of her gender.

Shannon may not prevail but the lawsuit will likely be painful for UM and Missoula before all is aid and done.
 
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