Asbury University v. Powell, 486 S.W.3d 246 (KY 2016)

Deborah Powell was the women’s basketball coach at Asbury University. She brought numerous complaints over the course of a few years to the University’s athletic director stating that the men’s team was receiving preferential treatment. The University eventually placed Powell on administrative leave, alleging that she had an inappropriate relationship with a female assistant coach. Powell filed suit under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act claiming that Asbury University discriminated against her based on gender, defamed her, and retaliated against her due to her complaints about her team receiving inferior treatment. The Jessamine Circuit Court ruled in favor of Asbury University regarding Powell’s discrimination and defamation claims. The Court ruled in Powell’s favor on the retaliation claim. Both the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed, holding that while the school had not engaged in gender discrimination, it had engaged in retaliation against Powell for her complaining about alleged gender discrimination, which is unlawful on its own.

Topics

• Employment discrimination
• Gender discrimination

Geographical location

• North America
• United States
• Kentucky

Keywords

• retaliation
• athletic activities
• title ix and the right to equality of athletic opportunity

Year

• 2016

External URL

• Asbury University v. Powell, 486 S.W.3d 246 (KY 2016)

Court

• Supreme Court of Kentucky

Type

• Domestic Case Law

Jurisdiction

• Kentucky