7th Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment in Favor of Employer in Reverse Racism Case
In Groves vs. South Bend Community School Corporation, the 7th Circuit Appellate Court confronted a disgruntled coach who was not employed in the newly created position of Director of Athletics at an Indiana school, having been denied in favor of a Black candidate on advice to the Board of the Superintendent, who is also Black.
The Court summarized the facts:
In 2017 Groves applied to serve as Corporation Director of Athletics, a newly created, District-wide position. Superintendent Kenneth Spells interviewed four applicants and ultimately recommended Seabe Gavin for the position. Dr. Spells explained that Gavin interviewed very well, inspiring confidence in his ability to repair the School District’s strained relationship with the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Yet Groves interviewed poorly, with Dr. Spells finding it particularly off-putting that Groves seemed to boast of firing 24 coaches during his tenure at Adams High School. And so too did Dr. Spells question Groves’s ability to restore the School District’s relationship with the IHSAA given that prior instances of noncompliance with athletics regulations occurred under Groves’s watch at Adams. The school board hired Gavin for the position.
In ruling that Dr. Spells’ recommendation was not pretext for unlawful discrimination, the Court held that the employee “did not address the School District’s approach to internal hires with evidence—all he has is his own speculation.” In short, the Court held that Groves had no evidence to prove the School District’s reasoning was a lie, and no evidence to support his argument that the real animus was illicit racial discriminatory motivation.
The case is important as a reminder to schools that ample documentation of cause is important even in pre-employment situations. While employers are well-advised to keep reasoning on non-hiring decisions limited to narrow statements on superior qualifications, keeping a record of the distinction in those qualifications among candidates may be important to defending against later claims of illicit motivation.