CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Former University of Virginia field hockey coach Michele Madison is suing the school, alleging her suspension and eventual release in 2023 were a violation of her civil rights, the product of an athletic department where female employees are “judged by stereotype, segregated by assignment, paid less than similarly situated men” and “terminated for behavior its male coaches routinely engage in without consequence,” according to the lawsuit.

Thursday, Judge Norman K. Moon heard arguments related to UVA’s motion to dismiss the case at the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Lynchburg division. UVA had filed the motion to dismiss in August, according to court documents. He did not make a ruling.

In the suit, filed on May 30 against the rectors and visitors of the University of Virginia, Madison asserts UVA ended her employment, in part, because it believed she had been intoxicated at a UVA athletics event, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the field hockey program, and that she delivered an inappropriate speech at the event, the day after her team upset No. 2 North Carolina, erasing a 2-0 halftime deficit to win 3-2. Madison denies being intoxicated at the event in the suit.

An athletic department spokesperson told Cville Right Now that UVA declined to comment.

According to the lawsuit, university officials suggested she should be in alcohol “rehab” and accused her sister of “feed(ing) her drinks” during the event. Madison’s lawsuit said it has multiple witnesses who can attest to the fact that she was not drinking on the night in question. The only alcohol she consumed that day was a glass of wine and then part of a second glass during a photo shoot event from 2:30 to 3 p.m.

The suit said Madison was exhausted by the time she took the stage to speak at about 9 p.m. that night, and removed her 3-inch heels before taking the stage for comfort and safety. The suit states that Madison received a standing ovation following her speech.

The lawsuit goes on to allege that, following the 2022 suicide of Madison’s wife, “UVA increased the pressure on Coach Madison and then used the predictable byproducts of that pressure – fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and visible grief – as evidence of her unfitness” to lead the program.

Former UVA field hockey coach Michele Madison (right) with former women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan at the 2023 field hockey alumni event.
Former UVA field hockey coach Michele Madison (right) with former women’s basketball coach Debbie Ryan at the 2023 field hockey alumni event. (UVA athletics)

On Oct. 26, 2023, UVA announced in a five-sentence press release that Madison was being placed on leave.

A 1982 Rutgers University graduate, Madison coached Temple and Michigan State before taking over the UVA program in 2006.  She coached at Virginia for 18 seasons, going 256-141 with 14 NCAA tournament appearances and four trips to the Final Four with the Cavaliers. The 2023 team also went on to the Final Four, losing 2-0 to North Carolina in the national semifinals.

Madison’s lawsuit states the university suspended her for 17 months, then did not renew her contract.

According to the suit, Madison met with the UVA athletic director and a deputy athletic director the day after the alumni event. Carla Williams has been Virginia’s athletic director since 2017. During that meeting, Madison apologized to the AD for two uses of profanity in her speech, but could not identify any other objectionable statements.

She was suspended for 48 hours, then suspended for the remainder of the season.

Madison is the third UVA coach in the past three years to contest their termination. Former men’s lacrosse coach Lars Tiffany filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the school in June, after being dismissed in May. Tiffany coached Virginia for 10 seasons, winning a pair of national championships. Former women’s basketball coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton reached a settlement in July after she was dismissed in April following four seasons leading the Cavaliers.

According to the suit, Madison also accuses Virginia of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, since it perceived her to be a person with an alcohol use disorder. The suit notes the school had no actual proof of Madison’s intoxication and that it assumed her to be drunk when in fact she was fatigued following a long day of alumni events and the previous night’s come-from-behind victory.

The suit calls the university’s objection to profanity in her speech a double-standard, arguing that male coaches are not reprimanded for using profanity.

The lawsuit also makes broader allegations of sexual discrimination against female coaches at UVA, noting that men coach both men and women at the school, while women are only hired to coach women’s sports. It also claims that female coaches at UVA are asked to do more fundraising to support their sports than their male counterparts.

“Sex segregation in coaching is the structural backdrop of every claim in this complaint,” the lawsuit states.