Jim Calhoun. Photo: Chris Pizzello

Former University of Connecticut men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun has been named in a Title IX discrimination suit filed on behalf of the former associate athletic director at the University of St. Joseph.

Plaintiff Jaclyn Piscitelli filed the suit Wednesday morning in federal court in Connecticut against St. Joseph, where Calhoun has worked since September 2018. Calhoun's former employer, the University of Connecticut, is not part of the litigation. St. Joseph is the only defendant.

The plaintiff alleges Calhoun and others belittled her in what she says was a male-dominated and hostile environment with rampant "disdain" for women.

Piscitelli, who was fired from St. Joseph on June 21, alleged Calhoun leveled several inappropriate comments at her. She alleged Calhoun made her open the door for him even though he had keys, forced her to clean up coffee cups he had dropped and stepped on, and said his wife would have cleaned them, if he were at home.

No attorney had entered an appearance for Calhoun by press time.

The person who answered the phone in the athletic department at St. Joseph said the coach was in a meeting and unavailable for comment.

University spokeswoman Diana Sousa said the school was reviewing the lawsuit.

"The University of Saint Joseph takes compliance with all matters relating to Title IX very seriously," Sousa wrote in an email. "The University does not comment on pending litigation."

 

'You're certainly hot'

Piscitelli's complaint claimed the coach commented on her sexual attractiveness by telling her "Well, you're certainly hot."

She also alleged Calhoun disparaged another female employee by calling her demeaning names.

The lawsuit stated that before the 2018-19 academic year St. Joseph's intercollegiate athletic program was comprised exclusively of women's sports teams. The transition to a co-educational sports program meant new hires such as Calhoun for the new men's teams.

The complaint alleged the university gave Calhoun and his team preferential treatment, and diverted resources from women's sports to do so. It also claimed the school allowed Calhoun and assistant basketball coach Glen Miller to mistreat others.

Piscitelli alleged that on one occasion, Miller referenced dating app Tinder to insult her.

"I'd swipe left," the complaint quotes Miller as having told Piscitelli, a nod to a Tinder feature that allows users to reject a romantic match.

"Defendant permitted Calhoun and Miller to transform the work environment in the athletic department to one that was openly hostile and disdainful toward women, and where women were treated as second-class citizens," the complaint alleged.

Piscitelli claimed she complained about Calhoun and Miller to university athletic director Bill Cardarelli, but "no action was taken." She allegedly considered reporting Miller's Tinder comment to the university's human resources department, "but feared retaliation, particularly given Miller's affiliation with Calhoun, who was favored and fawned over by defendant's administrators because of his celebrity status."

Cardarelli did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The suit alleged that when university officials told Piscitelli they were letting her go, she asked if she had done anything wrong. The suit claimed they told her she had not, but that the school was "moving in a new direction."

Representing Piscitelli are Magdalena Wiktor and Jacques Parenteau of New London-based Madsen, Prestley & Parenteau.

"Jackie Piscitelli had a job she loved and excelled at in an environment in which she generally felt respected and valued as a professional," Wiktor wrote in an email Wednesday. "However, that work environment was swiftly and drastically transformed into one that was hostile and demeaning toward women, once Jim Calhoun and Glen Miller joined the staff of USJ athletics. Rather than protecting Jackie and her female colleagues from further harassment and discrimination, USJ not only condoned this 'boys' club,' it fired Jackie in retaliation for daring to speak out against it."

Plaintiff counsel said the school can expect more litigation.

In addition to the Title IX retaliation lawsuit, they plan to file charges with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of state and federal law.

The federal lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, back pay and reinstatement, compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney fees.

 

Click here to read the full complaint.