UGA coach was taunted, called ‘preggers’ and fired for being pregnant, lawsuit claims
An ex-coach for the University of Georgia women’s equestrian team is suing the state Board of Regents claiming she was fired for being pregnant.
Alexandra O’Toole was hired to be one of the team’s assistant coaches in July 2016. She was fired in May 2018 when she was seven months pregnant after being called “preggers” by her boss and having “endured taunts about her pregnant condition and questions concerning her priorities,” her lawsuit contends.
In the lawsuit, filed Feb. 18 in U.S. District Court in Athens, O’Toole seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages related to lost wages and harm “to her professional standing and reputation.”
The lawsuit claims the university system, through staff members at UGA, “acted intentionally, willfully, maliciously, and in bad faith for the purpose of discriminating against Ms. O’Toole on account of her pregnancy.” The claim notes that the firing has caused O’Toole “emotional distress” and “nightmares.”
O’Toole’s “effectiveness” as a coach was cited in a favorable June 2017 job evaluation, according to the lawsuit. O’Toole learned she was pregnant the following December and “formally announced” her pregnancy in February 2018, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit contends that soon after that announcement, the head coach of the equestrian squad, Meghan Boenig, “began further discussions with the UGA Athletic Association about terminating Ms. O’Toole’s contract.”
The Board of Regents, through a spokeswoman, said Wednesday that it does not comment on pending lawsuits.
In an emailed statement to The Telegraph, Georgia sports information director Claude Felton wrote, “We dispute the claims in the lawsuit and will vigorously defend it. Otherwise we have no comment on this pending litigation.”
O’Toole contends she was fired three days after a May 1, 2018, meeting with Boenig, a meeting in which O’Toole, according to the lawsuit, “raised the issue of her pregnancy and the time off she would need under the Family Medical Leave Act. … During the meeting, Ms. Boenig gave no indication that she planned to terminate Ms. O’Toole but did comment on how little time off she took for her own pregnancy.”
According to O’Toole’s claim, her firing came in the wake of a strong season for equestrian team members under O’Toole’s guidance.
“Despite this fact,” the lawsuit notes, “Ms. Boenig made disparaging comments related to Ms. O’Toole’s pregnancy and pregnant condition. … For instance, Ms. Boenig would make demeaning comments about the size of her breasts, the size of her stomach, and referred to her as ‘preggers.’”
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 12:14 PM.