Kirby Lee- USA TODAY SPORTS
Former Texas Longhorns Women’s Track and Field coach Bev Kearney won six National Championships on the Forty Acres, but is more well known as the woman that could begin a ball rolling that could seriously endanger the school’s athletic program– if she indeed does have the information which many believe she does.
Kearney was forced to resign in in March 2012 after admitting to a consensual relationship with a former student-athlete on one of her teams which occurred in 2002. It turns out that current Texas Longhorns football offensive coordinator Major Applewhite had a one-time affair with a student trainer for the team during the weekend prior to the 2009 Fiesta Bowl– an incident for which Applewhite received internal punishment, but was able to keep his job, and, in fact, earn a promotion to his current position just a few years later.
Given the situation, Kearney and her lawyer, Derek Howard will be filing a discrimination complain with both the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) this coming Monday. The nature of the filing requires that Howard and Kearney prove discrimination allegations against the University of Texas, and compile enough of a case in a six-month time frame to essentially earn the right to sue the university for discrimination, and likely, wrongful termination as well.
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The basic assumption in the case is that Kearney and Howard will not only outline the discrepancies in the way the Applewhite case was handled versus her own, but will also do everything in their power to uncover other similar questionable relationships not only within, but also outside of the Texas athletic department. Whether or not there is anything there to be found is the notion that is troubling Texas Longhorns sports fans, and although it’s not in the public eye, employees of the university’s athletic department as well.
Should Kearney be able to uncover or bring to light other questionable relationships within the department, the snowball effect which could result could change Texas athletics as we know it. If similar relationships are uncovered in other departments or administrative areas of the University apart from athletics, the damage could extend across the campus.
Just how much does Bev Kearney already know?
Is this case just about her?
Six months is plenty of time to make a case and so many whose livelihoods depend upon employment on the Forty Acres will be watching the clock, and the discrimination filings to see just what will happen next.
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Kris Hughes is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. You can follow Kris on Twitter, Google and Facebook.
