Knelman v. Middlebury Coll.

• Decision Date: 28 September 2012
• Docket Number: Case No. 5:11–cv–123.
• Citation: 898 F.Supp.2d 697
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Vermont
• Parties: James “Jak” KNELMAN, Plaintiff, v. MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE, and William Beaney, Defendants.

898 F.Supp.2d 697

James “Jak” KNELMAN, Plaintiff,

v.MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE, and William Beaney, Defendants.

Case No. 5:11–cv–123.

United States District Court,

D. Vermont.

Sept. 28, 2012.

Andrew D. Manitsky, Esq., Robert F. O'Neill, Esq., Gravel and Shea, Burlington, VT, Joseph W. Anthony, Esq., Kristen B. Heebner, Esq., Mary L. Knoblauch, Esq., Anthony Ostlund Baer & Louwagie P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for Plaintiff.

Karen McAndrew, Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, P.C., Burlington, VT, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. 27)

CHRISTINA REISS, Chief Judge.

This matter comes before the court on a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendants Middlebury College (“Middlebury”) and William Beaney (“Coach Beaney”) with regard to all counts in Plaintiff James “Jak” Knelman's complaint.¹ (Doc. 27.) Plaintiff opposes summary judgment, arguing that genuine issues of material fact render summary judgment inappropriate.

Plaintiff is represented by Joseph W. Anthony, Esq., Mary L. Knoblauch, Esq., Kristin B. Heebner, Esq., Robert F. O'Neill, Esq., and Andrew D. Manitsky, Esq. Defendants are represented by Karen McAndrew, Esq.

I. The Undisputed Facts.

In early 2009, Mr. Knelman applied for admission as an undergraduate at Middlebury, a liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont and a Division III member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the “NCAA”). Thereafter, Mr. Knelman contacted Coach Beaney, the coach of Middlebury's hockey team, to inform him that he was interested in attending Middlebury and playing on its hockey team. Mr. Knelman had previously played in the United States Hockey League (“USHL”) for approximately two years and Coach Beaney was enthusiastic about Mr. Knelman's interest. Mr. Knelman was subsequently accepted to Middlebury. He also tried out for and was accepted to Middlebury's varsity hockey team. Because Division III members of the NCAA cannot award athletic scholarships, Mr. Knelman neither received nor expected to receive a scholarship for playing hockey.

In the fall of 2009, Mr. Knelman began attending classes at Middlebury. Throughout the 2009–2010 season, beginning in November 2009 and ending in February 2010, Mr. Knelman played the left back position on Middlebury's varsity hockey team. At several times throughout the season and at his post-season meeting with Coach Beaney in the spring of 2010, Mr. Knelman told Coach Beaney that he would prefer to play forward and thought he would be better for the team in that position. Mr. Knelman was transferred to a forward position at the beginning of the 2010–2011 season, but was once again playing in a back position by December 2010. At some point between late December 2010 and January 12, 2011, Mr. Knelman and Coach Beaney had a meeting to discuss Mr. Knelman's position on the hockey team. Coach Beaney told Mr. Knelman that he wanted him to be a leader on the team's defensive “penalty-kill” unit. The two discussed this position and Mr. Knelman also expressed the desire to play on the team's “power-play-line.”

In his deposition, Coach Beaney described Mr. Knelman from the fall of 2009 to January 15, 2011 as a “hard-working player” who was “respectful” to his coach and teammates and not a “discipline problem” for the team. (Doc. 55 at ¶ 1(c).)

In the fall of 2010, Middlebury's Athletics Department began planning an alumni banquet scheduled to take place on January 15, 2011 (the “Banquet”). The Banquet was intended to honor the 1960–1961 Middlebury men's hockey team on the fiftieth anniversary of the team's winning season. The Banquet also served as a fundraiser for the college. Team members' presence at the Banquet was expected. Mr. Knelman had planned to have dinner with his parents the night of January 15, 2011, so approximately one week prior to the Banquet, he informed Coach Beaney of his plans and asked how long the Banquet would last. Although the parties dispute Coach Beaney's exact response, it is undisputed that Coach Beaney estimated that the Banquet would last less than two-and-a-half hours.

On January 15, 2011, Mr. Knelman arrived at the Banquet at 5:30 p.m. for cocktail hour and sat with one teammate and three alumni. After approximately two-and-a-half hours, between 8:00 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., Mr. Knelman excused himself from the table, explaining that his father was waiting outside for him. He then left the Banquet without seeking out or obtaining permission to leave early from Coach Beaney or from one of the team captains. The Banquet ended at approximately 8:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. that evening.

On January 17, 2011, the Monday following the Banquet, Coach Beaney called a team meeting, during which he asked if any of the players had left the Banquet early. Mr. Knelman, the sole student to leave early, answered affirmatively. Coach Beaney said that Mr. Knelman's departure from the Banquet was “selfish.” (Doc. 55 at ¶ 6.) Later in the meeting, Coach Beaney expressed his frustration with the team's recent performance and asked each player to comment on how the team could improve. When it was Mr. Knelman's turn to speak, however, Coach Beaney directed him to sit down, saying that Mr. Knelman did not deserve the right to speak. Mr. Knelman claims that he felt shocked, humiliated, and intimidated by Coach Beaney's statements.

On the evening of January 17, 2011, Mr. Knelman contacted each of his teammates individually and apologized for leaving the Banquet early. The next morning, Mr. Knelman sought out Coach Beaney and apologized to him. That afternoon, team captain Charles Strauss told Mr. Knelman that he was suspended from the day's practice. On January 19, 2011, Mr. Knelman was informed that he had been suspended from practice for the rest of the week, including two upcoming weekend games. On January 20, 2011, after meeting with Coach Beaney, team captain Bryan Curran confronted Mr. Knelman with the other team captains. Although Mr. Curran had initially been supportive of Mr. Knelman when Mr. Knelman apologized to him on January 17th, by January 20th Mr. Curran's opinion had changed. Mr. Curran referred to Mr. Knelman as “selfish and uncommitted,” and said that “people didn't know,” but Mr. Curran knew, that Mr. Knelman “was a problem last year about [his] position.” (Doc. 55–13 at 189:7–17.)

On January 24, 2011, Coach Beaney met with Mr. Knelman and dismissed him from the hockey team for the remainder of the season. According to Mr. Knelman, Coach Beaney stated that “[y]ou have a lot of things on your plate and I just don't think hockey is a priority.” (Doc. 55–2 at ¶ 40.) Mr. Knelman responded that he had come to Middlebury to play hockey. Coach Beaney responded “well, that's not entirely true; the school has a great environmental studies program, that's what you really came for.” (Doc. 55 at ¶ 13.) Mr. Knelman then asked whether the dismissal was in fact due to Mr. Knelman's departure from the Banquet. Coach Beaney answered that the Banquet was part of the reason, “but we had problems with you last year throughout, and you're just not committed to this. You weren't happy with your position, you just didn't care.” Id. At the end of the meeting, Coach Beaney informed Mr. Knelman that he could return for tryouts with the other incoming or returning players the following season.²

After the decision, several members of the varsity hockey team met with Coach Beaney to tell him that they wanted Mr. Knelman back on the team. Coach Beaney informed the players at a team meeting that the decision to dismiss Mr. Knelman was final. Coach Beaney stated that whether his decision was right or wrong, “he was sticking with it.” Id. at ¶ 17(f). While explaining his reasons for dismissing Mr. Knelman from the team, Coach Beaney stated that this was “not an isolated incident.” Id. at ¶ 38.

On January 25, 2011, Mr. Knelman began meeting with faculty members, seekingredress for his dismissal from the hockey team. Professor Peter Nelson, the chair of the Geography department, suggested a meeting with Mr. Quinn, the Director of Athletics. On January 27, 2011, Mr. Knelman met with Mr. Quinn, Professor Nelson, and Professor Jeff Howarth. During the meeting, Mr. Knelman asserted that he could not play under Coach Beaney and that there needed to be a process to protect student-athletes from a coach's arbitrary behavior. According to Mr. Quinn, the Athletics Department had discussed instituting such a process, but had not yet done so.

After meeting with Mr, Quinn and learning that the Athletics Department had no formal process in place to address his grievance, Mr. Knelman continued to seek redress. From January 28 to February 7, 2011, Mr. Knelman was off campus for an inter-semester break. On February 8, 2011, he met with Associate Dean Karen Guttentag, who suggested that Mr. Knelman submit a formal complaint. Dean Guttentag offered to help Mr. Knelman by reviewing drafts of the complaint. Dean Guttentag also suggested Mr. Knelman meet with Alexa Euler, a Human Resources representative liaison to the Physical Education and Athletics Department. On February 11, 2011, Mr. Knelman met with Ms. Euler and she informed him that Mr. Quinn was the most appropriate person to resolve his grievance.

On February 15, 2011, Mr. Knelman sent an email to Mr. Quinn, requesting an investigation of his dismissal from the varsity hockey team. Drafts of the email which served as Mr. Knelman's “formal complaint” had been reviewed by Professor Howarth, Professor Sutherland, and Dean Guttentag, all of whom provided suggestions. Dean Guttentag assigned Mr. Quinn and Tim Spears, the Vice President of the Administration, to investigate the dismissal.

On February 24, 2011, Mr. Knelman met with Mr. Quinn and Mr. Spears to identify the response he sought to his formal complaint. First, he requested that Middlebury's Athletics Department implement procedures protecting student-athletes. Second...