Fresno State's Folly

It was among the top ten headlines ESPN.com had on its homepage on July 9th. Then it was gone.

Jury rules against Fresno St. in discrimination case, awards Vivas $5.85M.

Lindy Vivas, the former head volleyball coach at Fresno State, was fired in 2004 because the university said she had failed to achieve the objectives outlined by the athletic department. She hadn’t won a championship; she couldn’t pack the house; and she didn’t schedule enough games against elite adversaries. The reasons seem plausible... after all, other coaches, both male and female, have been fired for less. But there was more to this story.

Vivas claimed she had been dismissed for less tangible reasons, such as being a voice for women’s athletics. She was an advocate for Title IX, believing that her players deserved the same treatment afforded to other athletes at Fresno State, perks as extravagant as snacks on the road. The football team got goodies; the volleyball team was denied. I understand the argument that men’s sports bring in more revenue, so they are entitled to more. But we’re not talking new sneakers. We’re talking pretzel baggies.

Fresno State built a state-of-the-art gym, but the volleyball team was only allowed to play one match a year there. If the university sent the message that the team wasn’t good enough to compete in the best facility, why would anyone bother to show up at the games unless they were bound by blood, friendship, or sex to do so? And if the team was relegated to an old gymnasium, what would make any school in the top 25 believe they were contenders?

The other component of Vivas’ lawsuit was harder to prove, but no less real. The perception was that Vivas is a lesbian, and that several members of the university community wanted her gone because of it. To my knowledge, Vivas has not made her sexual orientation public, but even if she had said she was a lesbian while she was at Fresno State, does it have any bearing on her abilities as a volleyball coach? When was the last time a male coach said, “I’m heterosexual; therefore, I can coach.”?

Society has come a long way, but on the road to acceptance, we’ve gone about 30 feet. As long as there is a stigma about being gay and as long as being a woman who loves sports is perceived to be gay, then female athletes will continue to be the subject of whispers. And if they are constantly scrutinized for their sexual orientation, then they will continue to be marginalized in the sports world because the dialogue revolves around their personas rather than their abilities.

College is supposed to be a learning experience, but what did Fresno State teach its students and the generations to come? By dismissing Vivas, they reinforced our need for Title IX because clearly society isn’t ready to put every female athletic program on the same plane as the male counterparts. Furthermore, in allowing the campus to become a petrie dish of intolerance, Fresno State sent the message that in order for any woman to be involved in sports, she has to be prepared to defend herself in order to protect her love of the game.

All kids need to learn that the world is a cruel place sooner or later, but the playing field should be the one place they can be themselves and give their all without worrying that someone is cheating them or judging them.

Coach Vivas recognized that. A jury recognized that. When will everyone else?