Gray v. University of Arkansas, Civ. No. 86-5029.

• Decision Date: 20 April 1987
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 86-5029.
• Parties: Adella D. GRAY, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS and the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas as a Public Body Corporate, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Arkansas

658 F. Supp. 709

Adella D. GRAY, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS and the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas as a Public Body Corporate, Defendants.

Civ. No. 86-5029.

United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fayetteville Division.

April 20, 1987.

John T. Lavey of Lavey, Harmon and Burnett, Little Rock, Ark., for plaintiff.

Fred H. Harrison, General Counsel, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Ark., Ginger P. Crisp, Associate General Counsel, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark., and C.R. McNair, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, Ark., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

H. FRANKLIN WATERS, Chief Judge.

FACTS

This is a case in which the plaintiff, Adella D. Gray, claims that the defendants, the University of Arkansas and its Board of Trustees, her employer, discriminated against her by reason of her sex. The case is brought pursuant to section 706 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5). The court has jurisdiction of the matter by reason of the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1343.

Substantial facts are not in significant dispute. From 1977 until early in 1982, Gray was employed, first as a graduate assistant, and subsequently as a research assistant, and finally as a probation program coordinator, by the Learning Resources Unit at the University of Arkansas. In those capacities, among other things, she was responsible for giving aid to students with scholastic difficulties. In those jobs she often was called upon to give assistance to University of Arkansas athletes with learning difficulties or grade or eligibility problems. In May of 1981, eleven football players "flunked" and were dismissed from the University of Arkansas. This, along with her experiences in her job, caused her to become interested in the possibility of the University of Arkansas Athletic Department establishing a full-time academic counselor or academic coordinator for athletes. She discussed this with her supervisor who referred her to another individual, and after these discussions, a "grant" was prepared and presented to the head football coach at that time, Lou Holtz, and the basketball coach, Eddie Sutton. Ms. Gray "sold" them on the program, and it was subsequently presented to the athletic director, J. Frank Broyles. The position was established, and, primarily because of the recommendation of Holtz and Sutton, Ms. Gray was hired to fill the position that she had created. She began in this capacity approximately March 15, 1982.

At that time, the "hierarchy" in the Athletic Department at the University of Arkansas was J. Frank Broyles, Athletic Director, Lon Farrell, Assistant Director of Athletics, Lou Holtz, Head Football Coach, and Eddie Sutton, Head Basketball Coach. Broyles had been the Athletic Director of the University from July 1, 1973, and was the head football coach for a number of years prior to that. The evidence indicates that he was the person responsible for the operation of the Athletic Department during most of his tenure with the University of Arkansas.

Starting in 1961, Lon Farrell became associated with Broyles, first as a graduate assistant coach. Broyles described his relationship with Farrell as "the closest professional friend I have ever had in my life." This relationship evolved eventually into Farrell having the position of being the person who operated the Athletic Department on a day-to-day basis, except for the financial functions which Broyles retained. Farrell was responsible for all personnel matters in relation to the coaching functions and, among other things, was responsible for writing up vacancy announcements, seeing that the advertising was properly done, and the interviewing of applicants. In effect, he was responsible for seeing that the affirmative action program of the University of Arkansas, to be discussed in more detail later, was complied with. He remained the operations manager for the department until the summer of 1984 when certain changes were made due to the illness of Dr. Farrell to be discussed later.

According to Broyles, although an organization chart of the Athletic Department would indicate that both Farrell and the academic coordinator worked for Broyles, in reality, they reported to the head basketball coach and head football coach. In fact, Broyles said that everyone worked for the coaches, even him, in a sense, because the department was in existence to make these two major sports programs successful. Based on the evidence elicited at the trial, it appears to the court that, although Broyles was "in charge," he did not often overrule the desires of the football and basketball coaches except in matters which he felt strongly about. In short, if either of these coaches wanted certain personnel to work in the department, or wanted the department organized in a particular manner, they usually got their wishes unless Broyles had a firm belief that they were not only wrong, but that the doing of the particular thing desired by the coaches would harm the overall athletic program at the University of Arkansas.

Mr. Broyles said, more than once, during his testimony that "that is not my style." His management style seemed to be that he attempted to hire the best persons available for the particular positions being filled, and that he then turned the functions of those positions over to the persons who were responsible. It appears that those individuals were allowed to do their job in the manner that they felt best and to keep their jobs so long as they performed them in a manner which was satisfactory to Broyles. As far as the coaches were concerned, as Mr. Broyles said, they were evaluated yearly on the basis of their won-loss record, and since their very job depended upon them performing in a manner satisfactory to both him and the public, Broyles felt that it was proper to give them considerable leeway in doing their job.

At the time that Adella Gray created the job of academic coordinator, and was hired to fill it, the basketball coach was Eddie Sutton, and the football coach was Lou Holtz. At the time, she was highly recommended by both Lou Holtz and Eddie Sutton, it being apparent that she had been able to convince them, without any question, that she was the proper person to fill the job. At the time that she was retained, Broyles, Lon Farrell and Dr. Fred Vescolani, who was at that time the Dean of the College of Education, discussed Ms. Gray. Farrell and Vescolani had certain reservations about hiring her. Farrell, it appears, was not certain that this job, with its intended functions, should be filled by a woman (a view that he later discarded). Dr. Vescolani, based on his experience with Ms. Gray in her job with the Learning Resources Unit, felt that she was "too pushy" and did not have particularly good relations with University of Arkansas faculty. Broyles, in effect, overruled both Farrell and Vescolani because the two coaches recommended her and wanted her to fill the job.

Beginning approximately the middle of March, 1982, Ms. Gray became the full-time athletic coordinator, and was responsible not only for obtaining tutors and other help for athletes with academic difficulties, she was, in effect, charged with keeping the necessary records to ensure that athletes stayed eligible under the rules of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. In this function, Ms. Gray was to advise athletes on their course of study, and to provide them with academic help, through tutors, when necessary. In this capacity it was necessary for her to have daily contact with faculty teaching courses in which athletes were enrolled.

Shortly after July 11, 1983, Broyles received a letter dated that date from Keneth Kinnamon (Defendants' Ex. 13) reporting an alleged incident with Ms. Gray on May 13, 1983. Kinnamon, a professor of English in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, reported to Mr. Broyles in the letter that on May 13, 1983, Ms. Gray had called Charles Wiggins, a graduate assistant in the English Department, about the academic situation of a football player. The player had received a D grade in a class taught by Wiggins in the spring semester. It was reported to Broyles in the letter that Gray had asked Wiggins whether it would be possible to change the player's grade from a D to an incomplete so that he could take the course again the following fall and, thus, preserve his athletic eligibility. According to the letter, Wiggins reported the incident to Professor Kinnamon, and Kinnamon declined to allow the change to be made, believing that it was wrong. It appears from the letter that Kinnamon was not only upset because of the request, but angry because of what he believed, and apparently Wiggins believed, was a veiled threat made by Ms. Gray. According to Kinnamon, "the situation was considerably exacerbated because in the same conversation Mrs. Gray spoke of Mr. Wiggins' work as a tutor for the Athletic Department, expressing the hope that he could be employed again next year in this capacity." Professor Kinnamon, and apparently Wiggins, took this as a threat that if Wiggins did not comply with Gray's request, he would not be hired again. Broyles responded to Professor Kinnamon by letter dated July 21, 1983 (Defendants' Ex. 14), advising that that was not the policy of the Athletic Department and that Ms. Gray had been wrong. In the letter he says, "in discussing this incident with Mrs. Gray, she states that it was not her intent to bring any undue influence to bear on Mr. Wiggins and she regrets if her intention was not made clear to him." Broyles' letter indicates that a copy of it was being made available to Ms. Gray. According to Gray, she subsequently talked to Broyles about the matter and explained her side of it to him and that he said, "Well, let's just learn from our mistakes." Ms. Gray did not consider that statement to be a reprimand because Broyles said it with a smile on his face.

In...