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A women’s lacrosse coach in Ohio says she felt like she was “burned at the stake” after being ridiculed last year for a social media post sarcastically congratulating a female swimmer for “defeating” Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who won an NCAA Championship in the 500 metres in 2022.
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Kim Russell, head coach of the Oberlin College women’s lacrosse squad, broke her silence last week in a short documentary for the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative, non-profit organization.
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In the eight-minute doc, Russell talked about how school administrators and her players ridiculed her for the social media post in which she wrote, “What do you believe? I can’t be quiet on this … I’ve spent my life playing sports, starting & coaching sports programs for girls & women.”
Russell said women should only be competing against other biological females and is willing to have conversations about it.
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Administrators at the liberal arts school in Oberlin, near Cleveland, called her in for a meeting after she shared the post and reprimanded her.
“Chairs were set up in a huge circle,” she recalled of the meeting. “I felt like I was burned at the stake. I felt like I was stoned and hanged all at the same time.”
Russell recorded the conversations, which were played in the documentary titled Burned at the Stake: One NCAA Coach’s Battle to Protect Women’s Sports.
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“Unfortunately, you fall into the category of people that are kind of filled with hate in the world,” Natalie Winkelfoos, associate vice president for athletics, said to Russell in the recording.
“It’s acceptable to have your own opinions, but when they go against Oberlin College’s beliefs, it’s a problem,” Creg Jantz, senior associate director of athletics, added.
Russell was required to write an apology letter to the athletics department and the team, but she refused.
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On Wednesday, Russell appeared on Laura Ingraham’s show The Ingraham Angle on Fox News and was asked if she had broken any school rules.
“None,” Russell replied. “There were no rules that I was breaking. I was speaking my belief, my opinion. When I took that to the college with a letter from my attorney, I said, ‘If I am breaking university policy, please tell me what that policy is. Please do so in writing. And if you’re going to fire me for breaking that policy, please do it now.’”
The college sent a statement to the show, where it said, “Freedom to express one’s views is a cornerstone of our democracy and is certainly important to our Oberlin College community.”
However, the school said staff should “reflect upon any potentially negative [social media] posts and the impact they could have upon your ability to effectively perform the roles and responsibilities of your job.”