ALLENTOWN – An ex-varsity high school wrestling coach has filed a lawsuit against his former school district, claiming he faced discriminatory and racist conduct, including being fired, because he is black.
Jamarr Billman of Allentown filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on June 10 versus Easton Area School District, of Easton.
Coach Billman worked as a wrestling coach for EASD’s junior varsity wrestling team for the 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009 school years. In June 2016, Billman was hired by defendant EASD as its head wrestling coach to coach its varsity wrestling team.
“Soon after Coach Billman was hired and repeatedly throughout Coach Billman’s employment, defendant EASD’s Athletic Director, James Pokrivsak, Jr., proudly identified himself as racist, and made a mockery of it. Also, defendant EASD’s Assistant Football Coach, Joe McIntyre, who is White and the parent of an EASD wrestler, cornered Billman and told him that he has no respect for him,” the suit states.
Though Billman reported his concerns of Coach McIntyre’s harassment towards him to members of defendant EASD’s Administration, it failed to investigate his reports, the lawsuit claims.
Billman says he was also provided much less money for his athletic program budget than other coaches who are white, was paid less than his fellow coaches who are white, and was also threatened with bodily harm and labeled the n-word by the irate grandfather of a white wrestler who was disqualified from participating in a wrestling tournament.
“On March 16, 2018, two days after Billman received a notice of termination, one of defendant EASD’s Assistant Superintendents, Alyssa Emili, who is now also serving as the Director of Human Resources, attended a ‘Fire Billman Party,’ together with the wrestler who did not make weight, the wrestler’s grandfather who had choked Coach Billman and called him a ‘n—r’, and his father,” the suit alleges.
However, Billman was not terminated at that time. But, he alleges that he continued to have parents of certain white wrestlers complain and threaten him, and because of his being black, received no protection or assistance from the district in the process.
He also accused the district of pressuring his supervisor Elaine Arnts, the Assistant Athletic Director, to change her original positive assessment and evaluation of Billman into a negative one to satisfy district officials.
After receiving a highly unfavorable performance review in May, counsel for Billman reached out to counsel for the district to see if they would resolve the plaintiff’s claims before going to court.
Subsequently, the district fired Billman, which he claims is retaliation for notifying it of his intention to file a lawsuit.
For counts of race-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, plus another federal civil rights violation, the plaintiff is seeking back pay, front pay, punitive damages, compensatory damages, attorney fees and any other relief the Court deems proper, plus a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by John S. Harrison and Erika A. Farkas of Broughal & DeVito, in Bethlehem.
The defendant is represented by John E. Freund III of King Spry Herman Freund & Faul, also in Bethlehem.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 5:20-cv-02730
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com