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| Women's basketball coach Sandra Pothier is haunted by accusations that she made culturally insensitive remarks. This week, Pothier defended herself from those accusations for the first time, following an RSU event called Urban Unity. "Only one side has ever been told," Pothier said. "it's unfair." (Scott Valentine/ Ryersonian Staff) |
#8
Ranking at number eight on RyersOnline’s list of top 10 stories at Ryerson is a story that broke just before the school year started up in September.
The Ryerson Rams women’s basketball team hit the courts for the 2006-2007 season with
five fewer players and alleged accusations surrounding the team’s coach Sandra Pothier. Details were scarce as both sides refused to comment the on situation.
In The Ryersonian’s Oct. 18, 2006 issue, a
story ran about The Eyeopener and the legal troubles they faced after publishing a story on Aug. 30, 2006 about Pothier and supposed culturally insensitive remarks she made.
The Ryersonian also became ensnared in the controversy when Pothier and her staff refused to talk to the paper unless The Ryersonian’s sports editor and managing editor signed a letter agreeing not to publish stories on the situation. The Ryersonian refused to ablige.
New developments came at the end of January, when
Pothier decided to come clean about the controversy and defended herself to the Ryersonian. She was compelled to speak after flyers were distributed at a
Ryerson Students’ Union sponsored basketball tournament. The flyers read “historical and recent allegations of racism and oppressive behavior on the part of the coach exist. Lack of ‘malicious intent’ has cleared the coach of accountability.”
Potheir called the flyers inaccurate and revealed that Ryerson’s Discrimination and Harassment Services conducted an investigation into allegations and the case was settled at the end of the fall 2006 term.
Polthier said the results of the inquiry found that she did not breech the Ryerson discrimination and harassment policy. The article also featured comments from Amanda Redhead, one of the players who quit the team in September, who refused to talk about what actually happened.
To sum up the situation, The Ryersonian’s
Scott Valentine offered his view on the situation in an editorial featured in the Jan. 31, 2007 paper. He cited a lack of discussion by both parties as a major problem with the story. Both Pothier and the former players have signed a confidentiality agreement which has left the Ryerson community in the dark.
Most recently, The Ryersonian’s Jenn Watt included the situation in a story about
racism at Ryerson and also criticized the secrecy.
To take a deeper look at the story, check out the following links.
Lady ballers short RedheadEye refuses to retract storyB-ball coach defends herselfBlame yes, clarity no"Is Ryerson racist?" discussion needs to continue immediately
