Jennings v. Univ., North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, 04-2447.
| Decision Date | 11 April 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-2447.,04-2447. |
| Citation | 444 F.3d 255 |
| Parties | Melissa JENNINGS, Plaintiff-Appellant, and Debbie Keller, Plaintiff, v. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, AT CHAPEL HILL; Anson Dorrance, individually and as women's soccer coach at UNC; William Palladino, individually and as assistant women's soccer coach at UNC; Chris Ducar, individually and as assistant women's soccer coach at UNC; Bill Prentice, individually and as athletic trainer at UNC; Michael K. Hooker, individually and as Chancellor at UNC; Susan Ehringhaus, individually and as assistant to the Chancellor at UNC; Richard A. Baddour, individually and as Director of Athletics for UNC; Beth Miller, individually and as Senior Associate Director of Athletics at UNC; John Swofford, individually and as former Director of Athletics for UNC; All Defendants, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Daniel Francis Konicek, Konicek & Dillon, P.C., Geneva, Illinois, for Appellant. Thomas J. Ziko, Special Deputy Attorney General, North Carolina Department of Justice, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees.
ON BRIEF:
Jeffrey T. Mitchell, Konicek & Dillon, P.C., Geneva, Illinois, for Appellant. Roy Cooper, North Carolina Attorney General, Joyce S. Rutledge, Assistant Attorney General, Raleigh, North Carolina; Douglas E. Kingsbery, Tharrington, Smith, L.L.P., Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellees.
Before WILLIAMS and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and JAMES C. DEVER III, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina, sitting by designation.
Affirmed by published opinion. Judge DEVER wrote the majority opinion, in which Judge WILLIAMS joined. Judge MICHAEL wrote a dissenting opinion.
In this case we examine whether Anson Dorrance and William Palladino (the male coaches of the women's soccer team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) sexually harassed Melissa Jennings while Jennings was a student and soccer player at the University from August 1996 until May 1998. Jennings seeks to hold the University liable under Title IX, Dorrance, Palladino, and various University officials liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and Dorrance liable under state law. The district court rejected Jennings' claims and granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Jennings argues that she is entitled to have a jury determine all of her claims, including her claim that Dorrance created a sexually hostile environment.
Laws prohibiting sexual harassment are designed to protect people at work and at school from the kind of extreme conduct that can make work or school hellish because of the person's sex. The laws, however, are not designed to purge or punish all vulgarity at work or in universities. Whether conduct constitutes actionable sexual harassment cannot be divorced from the context in which the alleged harassment arose. Thus, a court evaluating a sexual harassment claim must examine the constellation of surrounding circumstances, expectations, and relationships.
When the evidence in this case is viewed most favorably to Jennings, the evidence shows that Dorrance used vulgar language and participated in sexual banter at practice with some women that he coached and that he once directed a vulgar question at Jennings. Jennings immediately responded to Dorrance's vulgar question with her own profane reply and that ended the inquiry. Dorrance never touched, never threatened, never ogled, and never propositioned Jennings. Because no reasonable jury could find that Dorrance sexually harassed Jennings or find that Jennings' other claims have merit, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Anson Dorrance ("Dorrance") has served as head coach of the women's soccer team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ("University") since 1979. William Palladino ("Palladino") has served as the team's assistant coach since 1980. JA 336. Jennings ("Jennings" or "plaintiff") was a member of the women's soccer team and a student at the University from August 1996 until May 1998.
From August 1996 through May 1998, the women's soccer team consisted of approximately 26 members. See JA 930. Some of the women were on soccer scholarships and some were not. Jennings was a third-string or fourth-string goalkeeper. JA 182. She was recruited as a walk-on, and never was on scholarship. JA 181.
The regular season for women's college soccer is in the fall. During 1996 and 1997, except on game days, soccer practice for the University's team was every afternoon during the week and on Saturday morning. JA 1042-43. Before soccer practice formally began each day, the women on the team customarily warmed-up, ran a lap, and stretched in small groups within a large circle for approximately ten to fifteen minutes. JA 1046-47. These warm-ups were casual and informal, and while stretching, the team members regularly talked and joked among themselves about non-soccer related topics, such as homework, social activities, and their personal lives (including dating and their sex lives). JA 1047-53. Debbie Keller (a 1996 team captain) described this as a time "at the beginning of practice to talk about our day and then get serious for practice." JA 1044. In terms of who talked about their personal lives during warm-ups, Keller described some women on the team "being very wide open about [their] personal li[ves]," others being in an intermediate group, and others being reserved. JA 1053-56. Jennings testified that she did not participate in any of the players' discussions about their sexual activities. JA 1242-43, 1585.
Dorrance and Palladino would participate in these conversations during warm-ups, although witnesses describe the extent of their alleged participation differently. According to Keller, Dorrance and Palladino would walk through the large circle once or twice a week while the team was stretching and tease and joke around with team members about various topics, including who the players were dating and about their evenings the night before. JA 1057-59, 1061. Palladino would "generally laugh and listen." JA 1059; see also JA 1060-61. According to Keller, Dorrance "occasionally" would teasingly inquire about who a player was dating and about a player's sex life, but Dorrance did not make comments about personal dating or sex lives every time that he walked through the circle. JA 1066-68. Keller also stated that Dorrance sometimes would ask some team members if they had been out drinking or would ask about team members' families. JA 1067.
Amy Steelman, who was on the team from the fall of 1995 through the fall of 1996, submitted a declaration stating that JA 1452. Steelman's declaration does not mention Palladino. See id.
According to Jennings, Dorrance would frequently participate in conversations at practice about players' personal lives, including their dating and sex lives. JA 1238-45, 1281-83, 1585. Dorrance allegedly would ask some team members with whom they were sleeping and encouraged discussion on other related topics. See JA 1452. Dorrance's remarks were often crude. For example, one player informed the team that she had had sex with one man, climbed out of his window, and then climbed into the window of another man's apartment to have sex with him. JA 1055, 1058. Dorrance was present and asked the player if she knew her sexual partners' names or whether she took tickets. JA 1236. He also referred to this player's sexual partner as the "f* * * of the week." JA 1237.1 In addition, according to Jennings, Dorrance would sometimes make comments about team members' bodies, including comments about team members' weight, legs, or chests. JA 1275-79. For example, Dorrance once said that a "top heavy" woman has a more difficult time playing soccer, and once described a woman's chest as her "rack." See JA 1236. Dorrance called another player "fat a* *," JA 1228, told another player she had nice legs, (JA 1233), and commented on another players's "cute dimples," JA 1229. As for Palladino's conduct, Jennings testified that Palladino was present while Dorrance made comments, and "didn't do anything to stop it." JA 1291.2
Jennings also testified that while coaching the team in 1996 and 1997, Dorrance used profanity, including using the words "f* * * " and "unf* * *ingbelievable" and the phrases "what the f* * *," "f* * *ing brilliant," and "f* * *ing stupid." JA 1231-33, 1264-65, 1452. For example, he would use such phrases when he believed that a player was out of position or made a poor pass. JA 1231. Dorrance admits that he sometimes used the word "f* * *" while coaching. JA 835.
As for comments that Dorrance directed at Jennings during practice during her two years on the team, Jennings testified that Dorrance never made any inappropriate comments about her body. JA 1243. Jennings also admits that Dorrance never threatened her, never touched her, never ogled her, and never propositioned her. She did testify, however, that she could recall two incidents during her two-year tenure on the team where her personal life was mentioned at practice. First, Jennings testified that on one occasion during her sophomore season (i.e., 1997) prior to one practice, she and some teammates were sitting on some benches near the soccer practice field with Dorrance nearby. JA 1252-54. Dorrance asked one of the players whether her weekend visit with her boyfriend had been a "shag fest." JA 1249. The teammate, who apparently knew that Jennings had gone to visit her boyfriend at a different university the previous weekend, attempted to involve...
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