Rutgers University paid $2.8 million to settle a lawsuit claiming two of its employees made discriminatory comments that went unpunished by the administration in 2014 and 2015, according to documents obtained by NJ Advance Media.
The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court in Essex County in May 2017 by former Rutgers-Newark women’s basketball coach Kevin Morris, claimed Mark Griffin, the longtime athletics director at Rutgers-Newark, made homophobic and racist comments at staff meetings as well as sexist and obscene comments about female student athletes both privately and in public. Seven former players joined the lawsuit, claiming William Zasowski — the interim head coach selected to replace Morris when he went on medical leave — also made derogatory comments.
Six of the players were awarded a total of $1 million in damages for alleged emotional distress, documents show. A seventh player was dismissed from the case for undisclosed issues, their attorney, Kevin Barber, previously told NJ Advance Media. Barber received $1.8 million as a result of the settlement.
Morris, the former Rutgers-Newark coach who was fired in May 2015, was dropped from the lawsuit because he is not part of a protected class, he said. Morris called the settlements “appropriate’' because he said his claims “were true and they tried to cover it up.’'
“Do I feel vindicated by this? I do,’' Morris said. “This is an amazing number and justified.’'
The settlements were signed by the players and Rutgers officials in late May and a dismissal with prejudice notice was executed June 12, documents show.
NJ Advance Media obtained the settlement agreement through a request to Rutgers on Monday. A university spokeswoman said Rutgers had no additional comment.
Barber didn’t respond Monday to an email and a phone message seeking comment. The settlement contains a confidentiality clause, which prevents the players and their attorneys from commenting on the settlement details or the claims in the lawsuit.
Griffin routinely made homophobic and racist comments during staff meetings, the suit alleged. In one instance, the lawsuit claimed Griffin tried to assure employees the new mascot “wouldn’t be gay.” In another instance, Griffin used a racial slur in describing the owner of a Newark laundromat as a “Chinaman,” according to the suit.
Griffin didn’t respond to requests for comment left at his school email and on his office phone Tuesday. His attorney, Jane Rigby, didn’t respond to an email request for comment.
NJ Advance Media obtained an August 2014 letter by Griffin to Rutgers-Newark officials in which he denied the accusations. In the letter, Griffin admitted to using the term “gay” in referring to the mascot, but meant “happy and friendly” and not a homosexual slur, he said. He also called it “fact that we have a Chinese laundry here in Newark near the campus and the proprietor is a man who is Chinese.”
Griffin has been the Rutgers-Newark athletics director since 2004. He earned $153,253 in 2022, university payroll records obtained by NJ Advance Media show.
Rutgers-Newark has 14 teams playing at the NCAA Division III level and spends approximately $4 million annually on its athletics program, fiscal year reports reviewed by NJ Advance Media show.
In the lawsuit, Zasowski was accused of referring to two of his players with an anti-gay slur. He said another pair of Black players looked like “nappy-headed sisters” and one of the players “combed her hair with a pack of firecrackers,” according to the suit. Zasowski’s contract as interim coach wasn’t renewed by Rutgers following the 2014-15 season. He coached the boys varsity basketball team at Lincoln High School in Jersey City during the 2022-23 school year.
Zasowski didn’t respond to messages sent to his school email address or his cell phone Tuesday. His attorney, James O’Hara, didn’t respond to an email request for comment.
In June 2022, three New Jersey Superior Court appellate judges reversed a lower-court decision that ruled four of the six players hadn’t experienced materially adverse conduct from Rutgers-Newark officials. The appellate ruling was a “precedential decision’' and an “expansion on hostile-work environment law,’’ said Barber, who called the lawsuit “unique’' because his clients fall under three protected categories — African American, lesbian and female.
“Rutgers argued the court is supposed to look at each protected category and view whether or not there’s a gender-discrimination claim, put that in a waterproof basket, and if no, then see if there’s any sexual discrimination claim, put that in its own basket, and then see if there’s any race discrimination claim, and put that in its own basket,” Barber told NJ Advance Media in June 2022. “We argued that those are three separated protected characteristics under the law. When you look at the nature of Zasowski’s conduct, and others’ conduct, they were at different times attacking all three areas.”
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com.