A letter from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has confirmed
that an investigation is necessary following a March 14 complaint
against Gavilan College filed by softball coach Tim Kenworthy
regarding Title IX issues at the school.
A letter from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has confirmed that an investigation is necessary following a March 14 complaint against Gavilan College filed by softball coach Tim Kenworthy regarding Title IX issues at the school.
Title IX is the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational institutions that receive federal funding.
According to a letter from the OCR, Kenworthy’s complaints included, “that the college fails to provide female athletes with benefits, services and opportunities equivalent to those provided to male athletes.” He cited evidence in the state of the softball facilities in comparison to Gavilan’s baseball facilities.
The letter, sent to Gavilan April 7, also includes an allegation that Kenworthy did not receive tenure on March 8 because of his advocacy of Title IX issues with regards to the women’s softball team. Kenworthy sent the Dispatch a letter to the editor March 13 with a similar claim.
“Once we do decide to investigate (a claim), it does not mean we presume any violations have occurred,” said Jim Bradshaw, a spokesperson for the OCR. He stressed that it does not mean the school has been found at fault.
Typically, the OCR attempts to investigate and resolve all claims within six months.
“Now that we know for sure what it is, we have an opportunity to tell our side,” said Gavilan President Steve Kinsella about the impending investigation.
In the past, Kinsella has stated that the school will comply with any recommendations made by the OCR.
Due to confidentiality reasons, personnel files regarding tenure evaluations cannot be released. Kinsella refused to comment regarding the matter of Kenworthy’s tenure review.
Gavilan athletic director Ron Hannon did say that with the OCR investigation under way, “a lot of things are going to come out.”
In the past, Kenworthy was hesitant about filing a formal Title IX complaint with the OCR, but in the end he wrote a letter detailing his concerns.
“There comes a time in your life when you have to stand up for what is ethical and right, and I have done that,” Kenworthy said. “I can sleep at night now.”
For the past four years, Kenworthy has rebuilt the softball program at Gavilan.
“There was no program before I came here – and I have to believe it had to do with the poor conditions of our facilities,” he said.
In 1984, the Gilroy and Gavilan signed an agreement: In exchange for use of the fields for city leagues, Gilroy would maintain and upgrade the women’s softball fields at a level that suited their needs.
“One thing a lot of people fail to understand is that Gavilan College owns the fields,” Hannon said. “But (the city) maintains their facilities to a certain level.” Any upgrades initiated by Gavilan would have required city compliance. “There’s a lot of politics involved,” he said.
In August, under mutual agreement, the city and college will end the 20-year extension the city had originally opted to carry out.
“That way we can do what we want – and that’s put in a fence and a scoreboard,” Hannon said. “It’s always been in our plans – it’s just been timing. In some people’s minds that’s not fast enough.”
Displeased with the pace of which improvements were being made by Gavilan, Kenworthy and his assistant Bruce Nicholson began fundraising for upgrades, and eventually built dugouts and made improvements to the infield for the team.
“It’s not part of our duties to fundraise for basic facilities the school should provide,” Kenworthy said.
“Last year we were told there was money for a fence and scoreboard – and it never happened,” he said. “It’s my opinion, that women deserve the same opportunity as men and vice-versa. I believe strongly in civil rights for athletes of both genders.”
Kenworthy stressed that his actions are not a criticism of the men’s (baseball) team, but that the women are being denied the opportunity to excel under the same conditions as their male counterparts.
Katie Arao, a freshman on the team, says she would have hit at least three more home runs this season if the field had an outfield fence.
Kenworthy argued that the home runs affect statistics and an athlete’s chances of being recruited by four-year universities.
More than half the team and four former players spoke on Kenworthy’s behalf at the tenure review board meeting. According to sophomore Vicki Velasquez, only two players have said they will return next season with Kenworthy leaving.
“I decided not to come back because the team morale would be different,” said Courtney Colianna, who transferred from West Valley Community College to play for Kenworthy. “Nobody wants to come back to a team when you have to rebuild from scratch.”
Kenworthy claims he was given a negative evaluation by the administration after bringing up the disparities between the baseball and softball programs. He added that his primary supervisor is Hannon.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions that it’s a one person decision,” Hannon said regarding the tenure process. “I don’t have that authority on this campus and neither does the president.”
