Jury Awards Female Kicker $2 Million

G R E E N S B O R O, N.C., Oct. 13 -- Duke University illegally cut a femaleplacekicker from the football team solely because of her genderand must pay $2 million in damages, a federal jury ruled Thursday.

In reaching its decision on punitive damages, jurors saiduniversity officials were aware of the sex discrimination and didnothing about it. It also said Duke must pay $1 in compensatorydamages to 24-year-old Heather Sue Mercer, who never suited up fora game.

“I feel great. I consider it a complete victory. Any monetaryaward is completely icing on the cake,” Mercer said. “I wanted tobe told what they did was wrong, and it was.”

Before attending Duke, Mercer was a member of a championshiphigh school team in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. At Duke, she attendedpractices and kicked a 28-yard field goal that won an intrasquadgame, but was cut in 1996.

University to Appeal

Mercer sued the university, arguing that Duke violated Title IXof 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex ineducational programs receiving federal funds. She said she was cutbecause she is a woman.

Duke, however, said that Mercer was dropped from the teambecause she didn’t have the skills other kickers did. Theuniversity said then-coach Fred Goldsmith cut her more slack thanhe would have done for a man.

“It was obvious she was trying to do something special,”Goldsmith testified. “I probably would have been a lot more brutalwith a male. I would have said, ‘Sorry son, you just don’t haveit.’”

The school’s attorney, John Simpson, also said Mercer failed torealize that college football is a big business, with limitedscholarships.

“She didn’t like her status, so she waved the gender card,”Simpson said.

The university released a statement saying it would appeal.

“We are obviously disappointed in the jury’s finding and areconfident the judgment will be rectified on appeal,” said John F.Burness, the university’s senior vice president for public andgovernment affairs.