Sacked Lesbian B-Ball Staffers Sue Uni For Foul Discrimination

Athletic officials at Mesa University don’t play by the rules, according to two lesbian former employees:

Lorri Sulpizio, Mesa’s women’s basketball coach, and Cathy Bass, director of basketball operations, are registered domestic partners who were both fired in April of 2007. After nearly a decade with the college, the two were dismissed shortly after a local news story pictured them together and identified them as lesbians.

The suit not only brings forth allegations of discrimination made on the basis of sexual orientation, but also claims the women were retaliated against for demanding that female athletes be treated fairly and given equivalent facilities as their male counterparts at the San Diego, Calif.-based college.

Sulpizio also claims in the suit that Athletic Director Dave Evans took good, hard looks at his employees’ sexual practices and even launched an “investigation” in Sulpizio’s. Evans also allegedly pressured her to name other gay employees, a request she refused.