October 21, 2020 

Former Texas Tech head coach Marlene Stollings sues school, AD

Texas Tech faces a discrimination lawsuit over the firing of Marlene Stollings

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The Marlene Stollings saga continues as she recently filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt on the grounds of fraud, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, defamation, and sex discrimination.

Hoopfeed was the first to report the lawsuit on Twitter.

Stollings is accusing Hocutt of allegedly committing discrimination in the athletic department as a whole against women. Later, Stollings claims that she was fired because of her sexuality. The release states, “That Stollings identifies as LGBTQ, and is one of four members of the gay and lesbian community to be victimized by the Texas Tech Athletic Department in 2020.” Stollings’ claims these actions run afoul of Title IX.

The firing of Stollings proceeded two days after a USA Today article, authored by Jori Epstein and Daniel Libit, detailing an investigation against her coaching tactics and abusive culture that was published on Aug. 6th.

A day later, Stollings was fired after two years as Lady Raiders head coach.

In response, Texas Tech University general counsel Eric Bentley said in a statement to EverythingLubbock.com, ““I have reviewed the claims made by Marlene Stollings in her lawsuit and they are without merit. Her dismissal was handled in accordance with her contract and was appropriate from a legal standpoint. Her mistreatment of student-athletes and the public embarrassment it caused the university was unacceptable. I am confident in the defense of our leadership, who did the right thing to prioritize the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes.”

Written by Lauren Rosenberg

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