Fresno State settles with softball coach for $605k

Published online on Tuesday, Jul. 15, 2008

Tackling a contentious and expensive gender-discrimination complaint for the fourth time in a year, Fresno State announced Friday that it has reached a settlement with softball coach Margie Wright.

The settlement's cost is $605,000, raising the pending bill to Fresno State and the California State University system from a series of gender-discrimination legal victories by current or former female employees to nearly $16 million.

Nor is the university's long and tumultuous journey through the legal system at an end. Fresno State wants a new trial in the gender-discrimination lawsuit of former volleyball coach Lindy Vivas, who has a $4.52 judgment in her favor.

It's not clear the precise nature of Wright's concerns. She never filed a lawsuit, and neither side revealed many details on Friday, with Wright's lawyer citing a confidentiality agreement.

But enough emerged to make clear that Wright was upset with many of the same issues that angered former athletic department colleagues so much that they did file suit: alleged differences in pay between male and female coaches, unequal treatment for female athletes and fear of retaliation for advocating gender equity.

Fresno State's settlement with Wright, signed June 24 after two days of negotiations orchestrated by a professional mediator, apparently concludes a legal fight that threatened to erupt into yet another high-profile lawsuit against the university.

The conflict became public only in January when Oakland lawyer Dan Siegel said Wright had retained him to press her concerns.

On Friday, Fresno State and Wright said they see only bright days ahead.

"I am pleased to have these issues behind me," Wright said in a written statement released by Fresno State. "I trust the administration's assurances of support, including facilities improvements for the softball program. I look forward to continued success with the Fresno State softball program in the coming years."

In a written statement, Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh said he is pleased with a settlement that enables Bulldogs softball and the university's athletics program to move forward.

"Coach Wright is a tremendous asset to the athletics program and our community, and we believe it to be important to support this financial resolution that closes those issues for good," Boeh said.

Wright leads National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I softball coaches with 1,307 career wins. Her 1998 squad won the 1998 College World Series, the university's first Division I team championship.

The settlement's cost is divided into four areas:

Approximately $157,000 cash paid to Wright.

$250,000 for an annuity that will pay Wright beginning in September about $2,500 per month for 10 years.

Approximately $153,000 to purchase an additional five years of service credit in Wright's retirement program.

$45,000 in fees for Wright's attorneys.

"I think everybody is happy that this case is settled," Siegel said.

Added Susan Westover, a lawyer for the California State University system who represented Fresno State: "We are all very happy to be able to avoid litigation with Coach Wright and move forward in a positive direction. We are encouraged that what is in the past is really in the past."

Westover said in an e-mail that indoor batting cages for the softball program are being designed and construction will begin soon.

Wright signed a three-year contract extension in December, giving her a five-year deal running through the 2012 season. The university at the time did not reveal terms of the contract.