JACKSONVILLE FL… A few weeks back Duluth Reader colleague John Gilbert wrote a piece on UMD Women’s Head Hockey Coach Shannon Miller. In the story he outlined what was going on within the program in that Coach Miller had been informed that her contract would not be renewed at the end of this season. There has been a lot of dialogue exchanged since then highlighted by a Minneapolis Star Tribune story from February 12th by Rachel Blount that mapped out some of the details of the situation. I thought that after John had written his column that it would just be a matter of time before it got more attention. I was correct.

Then on Valentines day while doing some online reading I noticed that Yahoo had picked up the story and it was on the front page of their website. I had already went through the Star Trib article 3 or 4 times including the reader comments section which at that point had garnered almost 200 comments. As is always the case some were intelligent and some weren’t. There also seems to be some followers of the matter that wish to define what has taken place with their own terms or emotions. 

I don’t believe Coach Miller has been fired or dismissed from the program. Athletic Director Josh Berlo informed her that her contract would not be renewed. This occurs in “contract” employment situations with frequency. Especially in sports. I don’t know if a non-renewal of a contract would fit the definitions of a firing from any legal standpoint. Firing implies terminating an existing contract. She continues to coach the team and will do so until whatever conclusion of the teams season occurs. She is fulfilling the obligations of the contract currently in place and apparently both her and the school are in agreement with that. 

Then, apparently when Miller pressed for some reasoning for the non-renewal, she was told by AD Berlo that it was financially based and for a restructuring of athletic department finances. (Millers reported compensation is $215,000 this season) OK. The matter mushrooms from that point forth. Let me step back a bit though. Briefly, Miller is the only coach the program has ever had. In almost 16 full seasons she has established a legacy of excellence. There are 5 National D1 titles, along with 2 other NCAA tourney appearances. Her players have won a multitude of  individual national collegiate and international competition honors. She is internationally respected for her endeavors in the game. She has been unanimously liked and respected by her players, past and present. It has by and large been through her direction that the program has become known to the extent that it has. 

If you are doing a side by side checklist though, while the team has shown good,  consistent won-loss records in each season, the last title was in 2010, the last NCAA playoff appearance was in 2011 and within the “Big 4” schools of the U of M, UND, U of Wisconsin and the Bulldogs, the team has had indifferent showings in the recent past going 3-24-7 versus those other programs. There are also whispers about her ability to get along with others or not, that she can be aggressive in personal dealings and so on. Yeah, so? Am I to think that is unique to her in the world of hockey? It is also innuendo and so much minutiae hardly relative to the real matter. 

So what is the “real matter”? (not certain I have a solid answer in an infinitely complex thing like this) Miller has stated that she may pursue legal remedy for possible Title IX discrimination against her by the school, and is quoted in the Star Trib article stating “This is a slap in the face to our gender” followed by “I’m concerned about what this says to society about the value of women”.  I am not considering the argument of some regarding her salary versus attendance and revenues. It’s not relevant. Unless you are a large D1 school with successful football, men’s and women’s basketball, and maybe men’s ice hockey, your entire athletic department will be dependent on additional subsidy of some sort. That’s the way it is. Most sport teams, men’s or women’s, are not capable of paying their own freight via ticket and souvenir revenue. 

So, did the school state that they weren’t renewing Miller because of gender? If the burden of proof of discrimination against Miller lies with her versus the school, how does she go about that? In the Bill the Education Amendments of 1972, Title IX law states;  “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”. Is it clear that the institution has violated that in their dealings with Coach Miller? How so? To what extent can the  athletic department be in control of their own budget?  

In an equality of pay situation such as a man and a woman on a shop floor, office or  work site performing the same tasks, what are the considerations for a job like a sports coach? And at the end of the day, if UMD decided not to renew Miller’s contract and it WAS a finance based decision, isn’t that their prerogative? I heard the comment that if it were a Men’s sports coach with the same track record as Millers making a large salary,  

that he wouldn’t be subject to a non-renewal. My answer to that is that if he hadn’t won a National title in several years or wasn’t competitive versus their most well known rivals, yeah he would. Fans would demand it, and when it happened it would probably be greeted with a shrug of the shoulders. 

If you might brand me anti-women’s rights or whatever, consider that I have a mom that had a career, an ex-wife that has always worked, a daughter and grand-daughter and if they were ever subjected to unfairness in the workplace I would be rather unhappy. I’m just trying to figure this out; does Coach Miller have a case or is the school within their rights to not renew her? Hopefully, at the end of the day the correct rule and interpretation of law should prevail…. PEACE

Marc Elliott is a sports opinion writer who splits his time between his hometown in Illinois and Minnesota