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Schools

Fired Gay Coach Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against Charter Oak

Former water polo coach Mitch Stein's suit seeks to stop negative "social climate" against LGBT employees. A Claremont police officer is accused of sending the anonymous letter and photos to the school that preceded the coach's dismissal.

A lawsuit has officially been filed against the Charter Oak Unified School District alleging discrimination in the firing of a gay former water polo coach based on his sexual orientation.

The lawyer representing fired water polo coach filed the lawsuit Feb. 24, according Stein.

A letter to the district had been filed after the Nov. 8, 2011, local school board elections, asking if the district reconsidered its stance. Since they are standing by their decision, the lawsuit is moving forward, said lawyer Brad Kane.

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"I would be pleased if they just reinstate Mitch, but based upon what they've done so far, I'm not optimistic," Kane said.

Stein and his lawyer also allege that the former coach was fired without an investigation and that his punishment was far greater than the supposed crime. The stands firm by their word they did not fire Stein because of his sexual orientation.

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Stein said that Charter Oak Principal Kathleen Wiard told him that he "could be fired at any time for any reason. Her exact words," Stein said.

At-will employees, Kane said, can be fired for any reason that is "not prohibited. If it's motivated by … let's say discrimination, you can't do that. The law is very clear."

The lawsuit also names Claremont Police officer Joe Maddox as the possible individual who sent the photos and letter at the center of the chain of events.

In late August, Stein was fired from his water polo coaching job at Charter Oak High School after several photos of Stein were anonymously sent to the high school's principal, Kathleen Wiard, along with an anonymous and angry letter demanding the coach be fired.

The envelope arrived, without a return address, to Charter Oak High Principal Kathleen Wiard's office one day after several water polo athletes were punished after having not completed their physicals, subsequently being barred from competition, Stein said.

One of the punished athletes is reportedly the son of Maddox. The day prior to the appearance of the envelope, Maddox was quite angry at head coach Howard Hyde's punishment of his son, Stein said.

The law firm representing the district, Margaret A. Chidester & Associates, responded to a Sept. 7 demand letter, reaffirming their stance that Stein would not be granted reinstatement, a reinstatement hearing, or private mediation. The district would not comment on the lawsuit, citing it dealt with personnel matters.

"You want to make school a safe place for people," Kane said. "If we don't stand up and say it's not right to treat people badly because they're different, then you will have more situations where people think it's OK to taunt and torment people for life."

The photos in question included a picture of Stein holding a corn dog to his face, the other showed Stein taking a picture with several drag queens. Stein said the corn dog photo is around 20 years old, while the drag queen photo is about four years old.

Stein and his lawyer feel that the district's rules are being unequally applied to employees.

"I was fired for pictures of a corn dog and I can't coach?" Stein said. "Whether they thought my photos were sexual … or not, the reaction was a homophobic reaction," Stein said.

"As explained to Mr. Stein, it is inappropriate for a coach or teacher to publicly post on a website readily accessible to his students material with sexual content of any nature," the letter from the district lawyer stated.

An article published in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune Oct. 1 reported that of the seven Facebook profiles of Charter Oak High School teachers that were public, two of the profiles appeared to show alcohol consumption. One profile reportedly showed a man consuming liquor while pulling off his shirt at what appears to be a wedding.

The district claims Stein violated a policy regarding the photos, but have yet to explicitly identify such a policy, Kane said.

"We asked them to produce it, they gave me a link to their web site," Kane said, meaning their homepage.

  • Once the lawsuit is filed, the district gets served.
  • The district then typically has 30 days to answer the complaint.
  • The discovery phase of the lawsuit will begin, where questions will be asked and evidence must be revealed.
  • The plaintiff and defendant will have the opportunity to depose anyone they feel relevant to their case.
  • The court may then order mediation for the defendant and plaintiff to resolve the issues.
  • If mediation fails, then the case will go to trial.

The whole process may take about a year, Kane said.

"I'm just really, really sad that the school board did not decide to just go to mediation," Stein said. "I feel bad. I really do, but somebody has to stand up and say enough is enough. Either, I get put back on the pool, or this goes to trial."

Kane hopes that, whatever the outcome of the lawsuit, the social climate changes so that gay and lesbian people need not go to school or work in fear.

"We will fight this until the school district will change," Kane said. "Sometimes change comes one person, one community, one neighborhood at a time. We're doing our part to build a better world and I hope that they listen."

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