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A racial discrimination lawsuit filed by about a dozen former University of Iowa football players has been settled for $4.175 million, the Associated Press reported.
The players, who are Black, alleged the use of racial slurs as well as being required to abandon hairstyles and other aspects of their culture to fit in with what the lawsuit called the “Iowa Way” under Coach Kirk Ferentz. The players, who filed the lawsuit in 2020, also alleged they were retaliated against after speaking out about their treatment.
Ferentz, the university’s head coach since 1999, said in a statement that he was “greatly disappointed” in how the lawsuit was resolved and that he believed “the case would have been dismissed with prejudice before trial.” Ferentz also noted that he and other coaches were dismissed from the lawsuit as part of the settlement and that “there is no admission of any wrongdoing.”
A state board Monday approved $2 million in taxpayer money to go toward the settlement, with the rest coming from the university’s athletics department, The Des Moines Register reported. The state’s auditor, Rob Sand, blasted the leadership of Gary Barta, the university’s athletic director, in a statement that noted previous lawsuits.
“The athletic department, they’ve got the funds for it. The broadcast deal brings tens of millions of dollars every year going forward. I don’t know why they can’t cover their own mistakes and pay for their own mistakes instead of having taxpayers do it,” Sand said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press.
