Bryant v. Gardner, 07 C 5909.

• Decision Date: 21 November 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07 C 5909.,07 C 5909.
• Citation: 587 F.Supp.2d 951
• Parties: Lamont BRYANT, Plaintiff, v. Juan GARDNER, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

587 F.Supp.2d 951

Lamont BRYANT, Plaintiff, v. Juan GARDNER, et al., Defendants.

No. 07 C 5909.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

November 21, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James Gus Sotos, Julie K. Bisbee, James G. Sotos & Associates, Ltd., Itasca, IL, Kevin J. Golden, Dudley & Lake, LLC, Chicago, IL, Terry A. Ekl, Ekl Williams PLLC, Lisle, IL, for Plaintiff.

Jennifer Y. Wu, Sabrina Louise Haake, Board of Education of The City of Chicago, Law Department, James Jordan Seaberry, Jr., Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees, Patrick J. Rocks, Jr., Susan Margaret O'Keefe, Mark A. Trent, Chicago Board of Education, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RUBEN CASTILLO, District Judge.

Lamont Bryant ("Plaintiff") brings this civil rights suit challenging his termination as the boys' varsity basketball coach at John Marshall High School ("Marshall") in Chicago, Illinois. He raises claims against Marshall's interim principal, Juan Gardner ("Gardner"); Marshall's athletic director Dorothy Gaters ("Gaters"); and the Board of Education of the City of Chicago ("the Board") (collectively "Defendants"). (R. 92, Pl.'s Sec. Am. Compl.) Presently before the Court are Defendants' separately filed motions for summary judgment. (R. 152, Board's Mot. for Summ J.; R. 155, Gardner's Mot. for Summ. J.; R. 158, Gaters' Mot. for Summ. J.) For the following reasons, the motions are granted in part and denied in part.

RELEVANT FACTS¹

Plaintiff is a tenured teacher within the Chicago public school system who formerly worked at Marshall as a gym teacher and basketball coach. (R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 1.) Gardner is the interim principal at Marshall and has been in this position since August 2006. (Id. ¶ 2.) Gaters has been the athletic director at Mashall since 2004. (Id. ¶ 3.) In this position, she in charge of all sports programs at Marshall, including boys' basketball. (Id. ¶ 124.) Gaters is also head coach of the girls' basketball team, and has held this position since 1975. (Id. ¶ 3.) Gaters is also the executive director of the MLK Foundation, an Illinois non-profit corporation formed for charitable and educational purposes, including operating an annual basketball tournament known as the "MLK Classic." (R. 169, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Facts ¶¶ 30-31.)

In 2003, Plaintiff was recruited by former Marshall athletic director Luther Bedford ("Bedford") and former principal Dr. Donald Pittman ("Pittman") to coach the struggling Marshall boys' basketball program, which had won only three games in the previous season. (R. 169, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Facts ¶ 2.) Plaintiff coached the team for the next four seasons, and the team's record improved dramatically: The team posted records of twenty-four wins and six losses in the 2003-04 season; twenty-seven wins and seven losses in the 2004-05 season; thirty-two wins and three losses in the 2005-06 season, with a third-place finish in the state tournament; and twenty-five wins and seven losses in the 2006-07 season, with another third place finish in the state tournament. (Id. ¶ 4.) During Plaintiff's four years at Marshall, the girls' basketball team did not compete in a state tournament, reach a super-sectional game, or win a Chicago public league or sectional championship. (Id. ¶ 5.)

Plaintiff did not have a good relationship with Gaters from the outset. (R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 29.) After Gardner became principal in the fall of 2006, Plaintiff complained to him approximately three or four times a month about problems he perceived with Gaters, including that she: made the boys' team travel on substandard buses; refused to provide expense money for the team; refused to allow the boys' team equivalent access to practice facilities; failed to attend the boys' away games; and generally failed to support the boys' program.² (R. 169, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Facts ¶ 6; R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 85.)

In the spring of 2006, Plaintiff wore sweat suits at two or three games during a state tournament. (R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 42.) Gaters received a call from either Pittman or the sports administration advising her that the coaching staff should not be wearing athletic apparel on the bench. (Id.) When Gaters conveyed this request to Plaintiff, he responded that he would "wear whatever he wants to as long as he's clean." (Id.)

Plaintiff missed a mandatory press conference following a semi-final game in either 2006 or 2007. (R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 43.) Gaters received a call from the Illinois High School Association ("IHSA") urging her to let Plaintiff know that they would like his attendance at press conferences in the future. (Id.)

Following the state tournament in 2007, Gaters was informed by the bus company used by Marshall that Plaintiff had cursed at one of its drivers. (Id. ¶ 44.) Plaintiff admits there is a "great possibility" that he cursed at the driver. (Id.) Gaters was also informed by the school's cheerleading sponsor that Plaintiff cursed at the cheerleaders when they were placed on the same floor of the hotel as his players. (Id.) Following another basketball tournament in 2007, Gardner received a formal complaint from the IHSA regarding Plaintiffs conduct toward an official at the tournament. (R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 48.) At some point during these events Gaters told Plaintiff that he needed to "tone down his style," and that "a high profile coach should act like one." (R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 105.)

In the spring of 2007, following the completion of the 2006-07 basketball season, Plaintiff was considering several offers to coach basketball at various universities and high schools for the 2007-08 season. (R. 169, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Facts ¶ 7.) In March 2007, during spring break, Plaintiff and Gardner spoke about Plaintiffs intentions. (Id. ¶ 8.) During their conversation, Plaintiff complained about Gaters, and Gardner assured Plaintiff that if he would remain at Marshall, Gardner would smooth things over with Gaters. (Id. ¶ 9.) Gardner agreed that Plaintiff could let him know after spring break if he would be returning for the 2007-08 season. (Id.) In the proceeding weeks, Gardner interviewed potential candidates to replace Plaintiff as boys' basketball coach for the upcoming year. (Id. ¶ 10.) Gaters was involved in the interview process. (Id. ¶ 11.)

Upon learning of these interviews, Plaintiff contacted Pittman, who in turn contacted Gardner. (Id. ¶ 12.) After speaking with Pittman, Gardner met with Plaintiff sometime in April 2007. (Id. ¶ 13.) At this meeting, Plaintiff agreed to various conditions set by Gardner in return for Gardner's commitment that Plaintiff would coach one final season at Marshall. (Id. ¶ 14.) These conditions were memorialized in written form in a document prepared by Gardner and signed by Plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 15.) Among the conditions were that Plaintiff would honor Marshall's obligation for the boys' team to play in the MLK Classic. (Id. ¶ 18.) When they discussed this condition, Plaintiff told Gardner that he did not want to play in the tournament because he felt "Miss Gaters was getting all the benefit from the tournament" and that Marshall "wasn't receiving anything." (R. 169, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Facts ¶ 19; R. 149, Defs.' Facts, Ex. C, Bryant Dep. Tr. at 182.) When Gardner responded that the tournament was benefitting the school, Plaintiff complained that Gaters only offered $100 to feed the boys' team after they played in the tournament. (R. 169, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Facts ¶ 20.) Plaintiff nevertheless agreed to play in the tournament. (Id. ¶ 21.) Other conditions Plaintiff agreed to included wearing a shirt and tie at "high profile" games; allowing basketball players to participate in other sports; not demeaning other coaches; making certain all assistant coaches were board certified, which included having them submit to background checks; and fulfilling Marshall's obligation to play in the "Proviso West Christmas Tournament," scheduled during the winter break. (R. 166, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Facts ¶ 60.)

After the meeting with Gardner, Plaintiff went on to coach the boys' team in the spring and summer leagues. (R. 169, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Facts ¶ 17.) In April or May 2007, Plaintiff purchased jackets for the boys' basketball team to honor their accomplishment of going to the state tournament. (Id. ¶ 22.) Plaintiff bought the jackets with money from an account dedicated to the boys' basketball team, which had been approved by Luther Bedford, the school's former athletic director. (Id. ¶ 23.) Gaters and Gardner subsequently called Plaintiff to a meeting where Gardner stated that he was unaware the boys' team had its own account; he stated that individuals could not maintain accounts, and that all monies had to go into the school's general fund. (Id. ¶ 26.) Plaintiff responded that Gaters had her own account, to which Gaters responded that she was the athletic director. (Id. ¶ 27.) Plaintiff then brought up the MLK Classic, complaining that the school had not received any money from the tournament. (Id. ¶ 28.) Gaters responded that the finances of the MLK Classic were "none of Plaintiffs business." (Id. ¶ 29.)

The brochures for the MLK Classic are prepared and copied by Marshall employees during work hours. (Id. ¶ 32.) Marshall is not reimbursed for labor and materials. (Id.) Gaters has an account on Marshall's books that is designated for the MLK Classic, but is described as "friends of girls' basketball." (Id. ¶ 33.) The Board paid more than $5,000 to Whitney Young High School for the rental of their gym for the 2006 MLK Classic. (Id. ¶ 34.) In 2006, MLK's initial tax return to the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") was rejected for failing to include a schedule detailing the corporation's revenues and expenses. (Id. ¶ 36.) The parties dispute whether MLK's amended tax...