Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Sam Donnellon connects the Rene Portland situation to the larger problem of parental fears of "lesbian conversion."

A smallish group of students rallied yesterday at PSU and demanded Portland's dismissal.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon continues to insist that this whole thing appeared out of the blue. "Until less than a week ago, this wasn't an issue," he said.

Mahon added that the 1991 addition of sexual orientation to the school's antidiscrimination policy had nothing to do with Portland. "I know newspapers have speculated [why the clause was added], but it's all part of someone's imagination," he said. "We did it because we thought it was right."

Mahon is either a liar or a complete moron. The former is more likely.

Just to recap the history:

Longman's article on Portland was published on March 10, 1991. Protests began on campus immediately demanding action.

The Penn State Faculty Senate met on March 20 and voted 93-12 to add orientation to the antidiscrimination policy. The AP and the Philly Inquirer reported that the Senate's debate included discussion of Portland's policy and Longman's article.

The Senate's action was recommended by a policy committee chaired by math professor Donald Rung. After the Senate's vote, Rung said: "It's not clear what impact this would have on [Portland]. Clearly, all people need to be judged on their merits and not on some irrelevant issue."

And here's what Athletic Director Jim Tarman said after the policy was adopted: "Because of recent media attention, it is especially important that we make it clear beyond question that discrimination against any group is contrary to the mandate of this institution."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Nov. 26, 1991:
Yet curiously, this champion of women's rights was challenged by gay rights groups in the spring. [Portland] had refused to recruit and vowed to rescind scholarships to lesbian players. The unwritten rule was no secret to players and coaches, but did not become an issue until mentioned in March by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Protesters picketed outside Rec Hall as the top-ranked Lady Lions were stunned, 73-71, by unranked James Madison.

"Rene Portland is a great coach and a terrific fighter for women's equal rights in sports ... (but) she forces me to choose between being a woman and a lesbian," Theresa Sumner, co-director of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Student Alliance, told the New York Times.

The alliance produced a 450-page report on gay-bashing on campus and, in June, the school's board of trustees added sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination rules. The athletic department announced it was "committed to fully adhering to state and federal laws and the policies of the institution."

Portland has refused to comment on the controversy except to say she is aware of and "will adhere" to the school's policies. This is one fight she concedes, if only publicly.
New York Times, Dec. 20, 1991:
Two weeks ago, Portland said that she would abide by a new Penn State University policy prohibiting discrimination because of sexual preference. It was reports of her own long-term promise to keep lesbians off her team that stoked the campus debate and demonstrations led by the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Student Alliance. That pressure, following overt bias incidents among the overall student population, eventually resulted in the board of trustees revising the university's list of protected categories.
The claim that the 1991 action had nothing to do with Portland is ludicrous.