LGBTQ+ Federal Trial Date Scheduled

Photo Courtesy of Haley Videckis

Judge Dean D. Pregerson held the scheduling conference for the Videckis v. Pepperdine University case Thursday at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles.

“The court set a trial date, as the parties requested, of May 23, 2017,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Jeremy J. Gray wrote in an email.

It has been almost two years since two female former Pepperdine basketball players, Haley Videckis and Layana White, initially filed the lawsuit against Pepperdine.

The players are suing the University for allegedly “harassing” and “discriminating” against the two players based on suspicions that the two were romantically involved. The two players were denied their athletic scholarships and ultimately forced to quit the team.

Pepperdine motioned to dismiss the three Title IX allegations, claiming that Title IX was not applicable to cases of sexual orientation discrimination, as the Title does not specifically refer to issues of sexual orientation discrimination.

However, Pregerson denied the University’s motion, saying the sexual orientation of a victim of discrimination is “irrelevant” and ultimately sending the Videckis v. Pepperdine University case from District to Federal Court.

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