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Football coach Kenneth Lawler, who is still on paid leave, has filed suit in federal court against Pasadena Area Community College District and three individuals. The suit alleges defamation, emotional distress, and violation of public policy and violation of Lawler’s due process rights.The suit alleges that Lawler was the victim of administrative corruption, defamation and character assassination at the hands of college officials.

The suit also alleges that Dean of Athletics Beverly Tate hated Lawler, and wanted to “do him in.”

Also named were former PCC President Paulette Perfumo and Vice President of Instruction Jacqueline Jacobs.

Lawler appeared Wednesday night at the regular board meeting to serve the legal papers on the defendants.

Numerous attempts on Tuesday to contact both Jacobs and Tate were unsuccesful.

Trustee Jeanette Mann could not comment on the situation.

“I’m not even aware of a lawsuit against the college,” said Mann on Tuesday.

“Secondly, it’s a personnel matter, so I’m not allowed to comment anyway,” she said.

The suit is seeking unspecified damages in excess of $75,000.

According to the complaint, Lawler claims he was singled out because of his race and Tate’s hatred toward him. Jacobs put Lawler on paid administrative leave on Sept., 19, 2008.

The leave came after an incident in which one of the reported football players, Darryl Stephens, was arrested on charges of assault. It was subsequently reported that Stephens was a registered sex offender. He had previously been arrested for “assault to commit a specific sex crime,” according to the California Department of Corrections, and was wearing a GPS high-risk sex offender bracelet at the time of is arrest. Lawler told the Courier that he was aware of Stephens’ past.

“Pasadena City College does not condone the recruitment of players who have a record of sexual offenses. This institution is conducting an investigation into the matter,” Jacobs said in a statement on Sept. 17, 2008.

In the suit, Lawler claims that Stephens was not part of the team at the time of his arrest.

“The words uttered were a false statement because [Lawler] did not recruit or have a convicted sex offender on his football team,” according to the suit. “The words carried a defamatory meaning because the words inferred that Lawler condoned the recruitment of players who have a record of sexual offenses.”

When Lawler received the letter, he was asked to turn over his keys and leave campus immediately.

“The Defendants knew or should have known that their actions, combined with the circumstances, would and did cause Lawler extreme emotional distress,” the complaint alleges.

The suit also alleges that as a result of PCC’s comments, Lawler has been stigmatized and his reputation, honor and integrity put into question without the benefit of a proper hearing.

By not providing Lawler with a proper forum to contest being placed on leave, in the suit, he claims that both Tate and Jacobs violated PCC’s Ethics Policy, which outlines the procedures that must be taken to put a faculty member on compulsory leave, in effect infringing upon the due process clause in the fourteenth amendment.

According to the suit, a letter sent to Lawler by Tate stated: “In the future, it is imperative that if you have football players who are on probation or parole, that you inform the division and campus police.”

By doing this Lawler felt that he would go against school policy, which he alleges states, “it is the responsibility of faculty members to respect the confidential nature of the relationship between faculty member and student, and to avoid any exploitation, harassment, or discriminatory treatment of students.”

“The action [the school] required plaintiffs to engage in would have violated the sex offender registration statues as well as PCC’s policy,” the suit claims

According to the suit, Lawler is seeking punitive damages because he feels that the conduct the defendants Tate and Jacobs required of him were unlawful because it made him choose between violating the law or being disciplined.

The reasons for the administrative leave are murky, and the results of the long since concluded investigation have never been revealed. Dean of Athletics Tate, who was serving as interim dean at the time, would not comment at the time.

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