Photo by Allison Hubbard
Former Waves basketball players Haley Videckis and Layana White are suing Pepperdine University and Women’s Head Basketball Coach Ryan Weisenberg. The couple is suing over allegations of sexual discrimination they say they endured while on the women’s basketball team.
The suit was filed Dec. 12 with the Superior Court of the State of California for LA County and includes three causes of action: violation of right of privacy under California law, violation of California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 (California AB 537) “including but not limited to” California Educational Code, and violation of Title IX.
Title IX prohibits types of discrimination that include sexual harassment and unequal opportunity, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The arena of athletics is most commonly associated with Title IX enforcement today. The Office of Civil Rights is responsible for enforcing Title IX regulations through the “Title IX Athletics Investigator’s Manual” to discern whether sexual discrimination is the cause of lost opportunities in terms of access to scholarships, facilities, participation and opportunities for athletes.
Videckis and White both transferred to Pepperdine. Videckis transferred from Arizona State University in July 2013 and White transferred from University of Arizona in January 2014, according to White. Both were top players at their respective schools and highly recruited by Pepperdine, according to the lawsuit.
Videckis and White are suing on the grounds of harassment and discrimination they say they experienced at the hands of Weisenberg and Academic Coordinator Adi Conlogue. Throughout the lawsuit, Conlogue is referred to as “Adi.”
Weisenberg allegedly condemned “lesbianism” on the women’s team saying it was detrimental to the success of the team, according to Videckis and White.
According to the lawsuit, Weisenberg said, “Coach Ryan specifically said the word ‘lesbianism’ stating the following: ‘Lesbianism is not tolerated on this team. It is the reason why teams lose… Lesbianism is a big concern in women’s basketball.”
Weisenberg did not return requests for comment.
Videckis and White say Conlogue also harassed them on several occasions. The pair allege that she questioned them about the nature of their relationship and asked questions about their living arrangements like, “Do you guys push your beds together,” and “Do you sleep together?”
Conlogue did not respond to requests for comment.
Videckis and White always denied they were in a relationship when approached with these kinds of questions and said they were just good friends. However, they continued to experience harassment and discrimination, according to the 24-page complaint.
“As a result of the continued harassment based on sexual orientation, Layana attempted to commit suicide,” the suit alleges. Weisenberg also “refused to allow Haley to play basketball on the basis that she had not provided sufficient medical information on her non-basketball injury.
Videckis and White were not allowed to play “based upon the pretext that Haley did not provide the doctor’s file notes and did not provide her’s and Layana’s gynecology reports.” This however was “nonsense,” according to the lawsuit, as the files were complete and “the gynecology reports have nothing to do with basketball and her injury.”
According to the suit, Videckis and White sought help from Athletic Director Steve Potts and President Andrew K. Benton to be allowed to play on the team again, but “they all refused to help … because they supported Coach Ryan’s position that [Videckis’ and White’s] lesbianism was detrimental to the team and that they should not be allowed to play basketball.”
When contacted, Potts directed the Graphic to Pepperdine’s Public Relations department citing the fact that this is a “litigated matter.”
“We take allegations of this kind very seriously. We conducted an immediate and thorough investigation and found no evidence to support these claims. The University remains committed to a diverse and inclusive environment,” wrote Director of Communications Ali Taghavi in an email statement.
President Benton, who is also mentioned in the lawsuit said that the claims being made are unsubstantiated and that the disparagement of the athletics program is being taken seriously.
“We have investigated these claims and found nothing,” Benton wrote in an email statement to the Graphic.
“Great people and a fine program are being disparaged and we take that very, very seriously,” he added.
Videckis and White hope that they will be able to continue their education and are disappointed that “it has come this far.”
“…We were really looking forward to playing this season and we really liked our teammates and the school. We know since we have transferred once this may be the end to our basketball career, but we hope to receive admission into another University and continue our lives,” Videckis and White wrote in an email statement to the Graphic.
In an email statement to the Graphic, Alan Newman, the attorney for Videckis and White, wrote: “It is unfortunate that the university refused to help Layana and Haley move on as litigation is never in the best interest of the parties.”
In response to the publicity the case has received, Br{ache the Silence, a campaign for LGBTQ voices, role models and allies in women’s sports, has launched a petition on Change.org in support of Videckis and White. The petition is titled “Pepperdine: Stop Bullying LGBTQ Student-Athletes and Bring Inclusion Training to Campus.” The petition asks for several things including LGBTQ inclusion training.
Stasia Demick contributed to this report.
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Follow Breanna Grigsby on Twitter: @Bre_Louise
