Brian Manzullo

A former female basketball player is suing Central Michigan University and women’s basketball coach Sue Guevara, alleging she terminated a scholarship because of differences in appearance and sexual orientation.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Bay City, Brooke Heike, 20, of Washington Township, alleges Guevara said multiple times that she was not her “type” of person because Heike was heterosexual. Guevara revoked her scholarship in March 2008.

Director of Media Relations Steve Smith said Guevara and University General Counsel Eileen Jennings would not comment on the situation. Athletics Director Dave Heeke also declined comment.

“Central Michigan University is familiar with the allegations, which are being made without merit,” Smith said. “CMU will vigorously defend its position in court.”

Others named as defendants in the lawsuit are Heeke, scholarship official Patricia Pickler and the Board of Trustees.

Heike: never knew scholarship in jeopardy

The lawsuit states in April 2007, when Guevara was hired as head coach, she met Heike. The lawsuit continues to state after the meeting, Guevara commented on Heike’s makeup, saying she did not want her to wear it again.

“I could not even go into her office without her commenting on my clothes, me having a boyfriend, wearing makeup, me being a girly-girl,” Heike said in a November interview with Central Michigan Life.

It then alleges Guevara told assistant coach Bill Ferrara to tell Heike she should transfer to Saginaw Valley State University.

Last season, the women’s basketball team went 6-23 and Heike, a sophomore, played sparingly, only totaling two points in six games.

According to the lawsuit, Guevara told Heike she was going to terminate the scholarship on March 13, 2008, four days after the team’s exit from the Mid-American Conference Tournament, citing again she was not her “type” of player.

It alleges that Guevara later told the team Heike had been removed from the team because she was “unhappy.”

Guevara prepared a statement on April 24, 2008 for an appeals hearing that took place on June 11, where she said the reason Heike was let go was because she “consistently struggles to understand key basketball concepts” and that she “never took the initiative to seek additional assistance.”

The lawsuit states Guevara did not provide any examples of Heike’s ineptitude to complete her team responsibilities at the appeals hearing and Heike never previously knew her scholarship was in jeopardy.

Heike was recruited by former head coach Eileen Kleinfelter from Romeo High School and averaged 0.3 points in 11 games her freshman year. She said she had offers from other Division-I schools, including the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan and the University of South Florida. Heike has attended Delta College since leaving CMU.

“We would get blown out by 40 to a team like Oakland, who offered me a scholarship that I turned down and I don’t even get off the bench for Central,” Heike said in November.

The lawsuit is seeking a jury trial and an unspecified monetary amount for damages.

Pickler was present at the appeals meeting and was accused of “rubber-stamping” Guevara’s “bad-faith decision to deprive (Heike) of her scholarship and dismiss her from the team” for reasons unrelated to basketball.

Guevara’s past allegation record

Heike also alleges negligent hiring and supervision on the part of Heeke and the university because of Guevara’s alleged history with interpersonal problems at her past coaching stops.

Guevara faced allegations and a lawsuit during her seven seasons as head coach at the University of Michigan before resigning in 2003.

She was sued in 2001 by Yvette Harris, an assistant coach who alleged racial discrimination, age discrimination, defamation and wrongful discharge after she was fired by Guevara.

Guevara also faced reports that she signed transfer papers for a player without discussing it with the individual. Six players left the program early during her tenure at U-M.

In addition, Mandy Stowe, who left Michigan in the late 1990s, said Guevara “wouldn’t like it if my pants were too tight, or I wore too much makeup,” according to a March 2003 Michigan Daily student newspaper article.

Scholarships on renewable basis

Athletic scholarships are on a one-year renewable basis by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The association set up the rule to allow leeway for universities to dismiss student-athletes who are not performing their responsibilities on and/or off the court, according to the NCAA’s Web site.

Beth Brown, who transferred from CMU to Northwood University in Midland, said Guevara also terminated her scholarship after the 2007-2008 season but did not want to comment on the lawsuit or her time at CMU.

“I’m in a better place now – I don’t really want to get involved,” she said.

The women’s basketball team is 13-10 overall and 5-4 in the Mid-American Conference this season and sits in fourth place in the West Division.

NCAA on scholarships

“Athletics scholarships shall be awarded on a year-by-year basis with the presumption that they will be renewed up to four times for a total award of five years, or until graduation, or whichever comes first, for students who are in good academic standing, conform to campus codes for student behavior, conform to the athletics department’s standards of conduct, and adhere to team rules,”

– Source: NCAA.org

university@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Daniel Monson