Passed Over, Undermined, and Harassed
The lawsuit claims that OSU’s sports administrator bypassed St. John for a spirit program coordinator position, awarding it instead to a less qualified white candidate. Following this, St. John alleges, her job responsibilities were gradually stripped away and handed to her white counterpart, diminishing her role within the department.
Her direct supervisor, the head cheerleading coach, also allegedly displayed racial and gender bias. According to St. John, he favored white cheerleaders during team formations, allegedly declaring that blonde cheerleaders should be placed at the front, while brunettes were relegated to the sides. When St. John questioned whether this approach discriminated against Black cheerleaders, the head coach allegedly responded aggressively, saying: “Show me where I can’t say that.”
Retaliation Escalates
The alleged hostility didn’t stop there. St. John claims the head coach retaliated in petty but humiliating ways—including throwing her keys on the floor after borrowing them and excluding her from emails and key decisions while she was away. She also alleges he criticized her for attending church on Sundays, despite the fact that practices were not normally scheduled on those days.
After she filed a complaint against the head coach with human resources, St. John says retaliation intensified. The sports administrator allegedly placed her on a performance improvement plan containing false allegations, which she contends was simply a cover-up for an eventual firing.
