Mar 23, 2007 5 min read

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Rene Portland turned Penn State into one of the top programs in women’s college basketball. In the end, her highly successful 27-year tenure as Lady Lions head coach may be remembered just as much for allegations that she may have discriminated against lesbian players.

Penn State announced Portland’s resignation on Thursday, more than a month after the coach and university settled a lawsuit from a former player who claimed Portland had a “no-lesbian” policy on her team.

“This was obviously a difficult decision,” Portland said in a statement in which she made no mention why she was stepping down.

Athletic director Tim Curley said Portland was not forced to resign, and that he wasn’t surprised by her decision.

“I am very appreciative of the opportunity to coach at Penn State, which has become a special place for me and my family,” she said. “I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish with the Lady Lion program through the years.”

Portland compiled a 606-236 record at Penn State, and earlier this season became the ninth women’s basketball coach to win 600 games at one school. She had two years left on her contract.

Football coach Joe Paterno hired Portland at Penn State while he was also athletic director. Much like Paterno, she established a winning tradition in Happy Valley.

Portland exuded a confident – and often cocky – attitude as Lady Lions coach.

She had the resume to back up the swagger.

Penn State made 21 NCAA tournament appearances and advanced to the 2000 Final Four. The team often contended for the Big Ten title. She was a vocal proponent of Title IX, the federal law that mandates equality between men’s and women’s sports.

“All of us know of her many coaching accomplishments, and the impact she has made on basketball, Lady Lion basketball, women’s athletics and on the many outstanding student-athletes she positively impacted,” Curley said.

But the program slipped in recent seasons. Penn State fell to 13-16 in 2005-06 – the Lady Lions’ first losing season in 33 years – and finished 15-16 this season.

Allegations from former player Jennifer Harris dogged her, too.

In a December 2005 lawsuit, Harris accused Portland of “humiliating, berating and ostracizing” her, and claimed she was told that she needed to look “more feminine.” The suit alleged Portland tried to force Harris, who says she is not gay, to leave the team.

Portland maintained Harris’ departure was purely related to basketball issues and disagreed with the school’s findings.

At a news conference Thursday at Beaver Stadium, Curley deferred when asked what affect the Harris lawsuit had on the program, citing confidentiality requirements associated with the settlement.

Rumors swirled for days that Portland might soon be out, though several people close to the program said neither Portland nor the team made mention of her departure, and that Portland had talked about the future at Penn State as late as early Wednesday night.

Portland submitted her resignation that evening, Penn State said in a statement.

Curley spoke with Portland about the coach’s job status several times in the three weeks since the end of Penn State’s season. “She was not forced to make this decision,” he said.

Asked if he was surprised, Curley hesitated for a couple seconds before later saying, “I don’t think I was completely surprised by the decision.”

“She had obviously given it a lot of thought,” Curley said. “I’ve never been one to try to talk people out of something that they’ve given a lot of thought to.”

Last April, Portland was reprimanded following a university investigation and threatened with dismissal for any future violation of the school’s discrimination policy. She also was fined $10,000 and ordered to take professional development “devoted to diversity and inclusiveness.”

Citing the sensitivity of the Harris case, Curley declined to comment when asked if Portland’s departure was connected to the university’s warnings.

A university official said there was no connection between Portland’s resignation and the stipulations outlined in last year’s reprimand.

In documents filed in federal court last May, Harris claimed Portland had a policy of “no drinking, no drugs, no lesbians.” Harris initially sought more than $1.1 million in compensatory damages from Portland and the university, plus unspecified punitive damages and other conditions.

Harris, Portland and Curley, another defendant, said in a joint statement last month that they had reached “an amicable settlement.”

Harris averaged a third-best 10.4 points for the Lady Lions in 2004-05 before transferring to James Madison. She played one game for James Madison before ankle surgery in January.

“This did not have anything to do with the lawsuit to our knowledge,” Karen Doering, the attorney for Harris at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said Thursday regarding Portland’s resignation.

Portland was criticized in the past for comments regarding homosexuality. In 1986, she told the Chicago Sun-Times she didn’t allow lesbians to play on her team. In a 1991 story in The Philadelphia Inquirer, several former players, recruits and colleagues of Portland said the coach did not tolerate homosexuality among her players.

More recently, several former players or people affiliated with the team have told various news outlets of conversations with Portland in which they alleged the coach made comments indicating bias against lesbians.

On the Net:

Portland statement on Penn State women’s basketball site:

http://www.gopsusports.com/BasketballW/home.cfm