A former volleyball player at the University of Oklahoma, Kylee McLaughlin, is suing the school and her coaches because she claims they excluded her from the team after McLaughlin voiced conservative viewpoints.
The lawsuit filed in Oklahoma City federal court alleges that the former high school volleyball player of the year was forced by coaches to redshirt and undergo “diversity” training.
After the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, the lawsuit details that players on the team were forced to hold conversations with coaches and other teammates that “emphasized discussions about white privilege and social justice rather than coaching volleyball.” Further, the coaches instructed the players to watch the documentary “13th” — which details the incarceration of African Americans in the United States.
After watching the film, McLaughlin described the film as leaning “left.” After discussing the film in this context, one of her teammates described her actions as “things a racist person says.”
The lawsuit details another instance when McLaughlin questioned the proposal from the University of Texas to no longer play its fight song. Upon uploading a social media post detailing her opinion, McLaughlin’s coach called her and “ordered” her to take the post down.
Finally, the coaches held a Zoom call with McLaughlin where other teammates repeatedly labeled her as “racist” and a coach said he “was not sure if he could coach her anymore.” McLaughlin was then presented with three options: 1) keep her scholarship, red shirt, practice only with the coach and not the team, and receive diversity training; 2) keep her scholarship and just be a student; 3) transfer to another college.
McLaughlin accepted the redshirt, and she was forced to take classes to unlearn “classism” and “ableism.” She eventually transferred to the University of Mississippi.
McLaughlin’s story is another example of the rising “cancel” culture on college campuses. Many conservative students have voiced that they are afraid to issue opinions or comments due to harsh backlash from other students.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
This is going to end up as a landmark case because she clearly had the skills to compete from day one.
If the coach could not continue to coach a player that was lawfully recruited, it is up to the coach to resign and not force the player off of the team.