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A former assistant swimming coach at the University of Notre Dame is suing the institution for what she described as a pattern of discrimination during her pregnancy and after childbirth that ended with her firing, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court and reported by the South Bend Tribune.
The coach, April Jensen, said she was given lesser roles on the swim team when she became visibly pregnant and was treated poorly by the team’s head coach, Mike Litzinger, after she delivered her child and experienced postpartum depression, according to the lawsuit filed this week in United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. The lawsuit states that Litzinger was critical of Jensen for “disappearing” during swim meets when she took breaks to pump breast milk and that he told her “nobody cares what you went through” after she explained her absences due to mental health conditions and an infection after delivering her child.
Jensen complained to human resources and senior university officials about Litzinger’s behavior more than once, but she was told by Litzinger on May 13, 2020, her contract would not be renewed, the lawsuit states. She is alleging that the university discriminated against her in violation of Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded institutions, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects women from pregnancy discrimination by employers.
