Small Women’s College in Missouri Facing a Race Discrimination Lawsuit

Cottey College, the liberals arts educational institution for women in Nevada, Missouri, is facing a lawsuit filed by three African American women who played on the college’s basketball team but were expelled in December 2015. The small college enrolls only about 350 students and African Americans make up 8 percent of the student body.

The women, all from Kansas City, alleged that the athletic director and woman’s basketball coach ridiculed them, punished them more severely than White players, and did not give them the playing time they deserved. The college expelled the students in December 2015, according to the lawsuit, without following standard procedures.

At the start of the 2015-16 season, seven of the 13 players on the Cottey College women’s basketball team were African Americans.