A former longtime girls’ soccer coach at Long Beach Poly High School has settled her suit against the Long Beach Unified School District alleging the district stripped her of her coaching job for complaining about gender discrimination and sexual harassment.
Lawyers for Teri Collins filed court papers on March 5 stating that a conditional resolution of the case was reached. No terms were divulged and it was not immediately clear if the settlement is subject to approval by the Board of Education.
Collins’ Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleged retaliation, discrimination, failure to prevent discrimination, and demotion based upon discriminatory and retaliatory reasons. She sought unspecified damages and a court order reinstating her to her prior position, saying in a sworn statement that “Poly’s soccer program enjoyed unprecedented success” during her tenure.
According to the LBUSD’s court papers, Collins was removed from her position for cyber-bullying a student athlete on Instagram, threatening referees in the presence of other students and calling one pupil a “little bitch.”
“Plaintiff was removed from her coaching position at Poly due to legitimate, non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory reasons,” the district’s court papers stated.
The suit, filed in November 2016, stated that Collins had been a coach and teacher at Long Beach Poly since August 1999. She taught physical education and became the winningest girls’ soccer coach in school history, according to her complaint, which says Collins won six Moore League championships and in 2012 was selected as the Press-Telegram’s “Dream Team
Coach of the Year.” Every senior who played in her soccer program enrolled in college after graduating, the suit stated.
Despite her success, Collins alleged she “had to fight the district’s administration and athletic department that consistently prioritized male leadership and boys’ sports” over programs for girls.
Collins was outspoken about what she believed was disparate treatment, according to her court papers. The suit alleged that she also complained that the chairman of the physical education department sexually harassed her, physically threatened her and used demeaning and humiliating language toward her in front of students.
“After several years of abuse … and witnessing the disparate treatment of male and female coaches, I lodged a complaint in June 2014,” Collins said in her declaration.
Collins said she continued her complaints about the physical education chairman’s alleged harassment through June 2016.
“Specifically, I complained that (he) called me a bitch and told me ‘You’re more of a man than I am’ in front of students,” Collins said.
Collins also alleged that a co-principal and his predecessors “became admittedly numb to my complaints and no action was every taken.” As a result, the chairman “walked around the campus with impunity” and still holds the same job, according to Collins.
Her suit alleged that in response to her complaints, the school administration retaliated by reprimanding her based on an unsubstantiated complaint by a parent that a certain player was not receiving equal playing time.
The LBUSD notified Collins in April 2016 that she was being permanently relieved from her coaching position, punishment she believes is disproportionately higher than what was given in the past to male coaches for more serious misconduct, according to the suit.