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Our friends at the National Center for Lesbian Rights do terrific work in advocating against homophobia in sports, and on Monday they announced a settlement in a case from Texas involving a lesbian high school basketball coach.

Merry Stephens, 39, an award-winning teacher and basketball coach, had sued the Bloomburg, Texas, school district,  alleging she was fired for being a lesbian. Included in testimony was a remark from a school board member who said Stephens “did not deserve to work” because of her orientation.

The settlement will give Stephens the full value of her two-year contract (valued at $100,000, according to the New York Times), which had been terminated after six months, in exchange for her not taking further legal action. The NCLR and attorney Michael Shirk from the National Education Association/Texas State Teacher’s Association negotiated the settlement agreement.

“My focus has always been to be the best coach and teacher I can be,” Stephens said in a statement. “No one should have to endure hostility and prejudice. I hope that by speaking out, I will give others the courage to stand up for their rights.”

"The school board expected me to pack up and get out of Dodge," Stephens, 39, told the New York Times. "But I couldn't let them do that to me and humiliate me anymore. I couldn't let them win just because they think it's their duty to rid the world of lesbians."

 “Merry Stephens is an extraordinary coach whose leadership and teaching skills were highly respected on the basketball court and in the classroom,” said Shannon Minter, NCLR Legal Director. “This settlement agreement sends a powerful message that discrimination will not be tolerated. The days when schools could discriminate with impunity against lesbian and gay teachers and coaches are past.”

Stephens was honored as a "Teacher of the Year" in 2004 and named "Coach of the Year" in three of her five years as head coach of the Lady Wildcats basketball team, the NCLR said in a release. During her tenure as coach of the Lady Wildcats, Stephens led the team to district, regional and semi-state championships, breaking several school district coaching records in the process.  Stephens also received excellent teaching evaluations throughout her tenure with the Bloomburg Independent School District.  Wal-Mart named her one of its teachers of the year in 2004.

Stephens alleged that shortly after Jerry Hendrick was promoted to Superintendent of the Bloomburg School District in August 2003, she was subjected to harassment by Hendrick and other school officials because of her sexual orientation. On Dec. 14, 2004, the board commenced proceedings to terminate Coach Stephens.

The settlement came days before a scheduled administrative hearing, after school board President Derous Byers testified under oath in a deposition that the board’s decision to terminate Stephens was based on the personal anti-gay animosity of several school board members.  Mr. Byers also testified that several school board members publicly disparaged Stephens because of her sexual orientation, including stating that she “did not deserve to work” in the district because she is a lesbian.  

"In my 15 years of representing workers throughout Texas, rarely have I seen such bigotry and flagrant discrimination,” said Shirk, the  attorney who represented Stephens. “Merry Stephens is an outstanding and committed teacher.  I hope this settlement will teach the board members who set this in motion a lesson they should have learned a long time ago – that God’s grace and the laws of this State protect everyone equally.”

Stephens is just one of many athletes and coaches who have been helped by the NCLR, which operates a homophobia in sports project. The most notable settlement to date involved Andrea Zimbardi, a softball player at the University of Florida who was dropped from the team in her senior season allegedly because she was a lesbian. Florida agreed to provide diversity training dealing with homophobia to all its coaches, athletic directors and staff.