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ANTONYA ENGLISHAndrea Zimbardi says she was targeted by coaches because she is gay.
TAMPA - A former University of Florida softball player said she suffered months of harassment by members of the coaching staff because she's gay and was kicked off the team in retaliation for taking her complaints to the athletic administration.
Andrea Zimbardi, a former walkon turned co-captain, said she and at least three other former and current players were targeted by coach Karen Johns and assistant Heather Compton-Butler because of their sexual orientation. She said Johns, a Christian, tried to force her beliefs on players, particularly that homosexuality is wrong, by instituting team prayers before games and speaking about Christianity during practices and warmups.
Zimbardi, 23, has retained an attorney, who said she has found others to substantiate Zimbardi's claims and is considering legal recourse.
"This is not an isolated case, but when we were trying to talk to current players they were very, very fearful," said Karen Doering, staff attorney for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "The comments we heard were if this could happen to Andrea, it could happen to us, too. She was a star athlete, team co-captain, really respected by the players. What happened? How did she go from being all of those really great things, which you would think would be a coach's dream, to being dismissed from the team?"
Johns and Compton-Butler, citing student confidentiality laws, declined comment.
Athletic director Jeremy Foley said he is satisfied with the way it was handled.
"We've stated initially that we were comfortable and supported the way our coaching staff has handled this matter," Foley said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. "After further review involving more people, we still feel like there is no discrimination in our softball program."
He points out that Zimbardi graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in industrial and systems engineering and that athletic officials supported her applications for postgraduate scholarships.
Zimbardi is in graduate school at UF. She said her problems began shortly after Johns took over in 2001.
"When (Johns) first arrived, she would make negative comments about former staff members who she thought were gay and speak negatively about other people in the softball community around the country that I had no idea were gay," Zimbardi said from her Gainesville apartment.
"When she would speak to me, it had more to do with my homosexuality than regular conversation. That made me uncomfortable, and I felt it was inappropriate."
Things worsened when Compton-Butler joined the staff last year, Zimbardi said. She claims she was excluded from team meetings and social gatherings, asked personal questions about girlfriends, told that homosexual relationships never work out and subjected to stereotypical comments about "butch" haircuts.
Feeling isolated, Zimbardi and her parents met with Foley, associate athletic director Ann Marie Rogers and Johns on Feb.22. Two days later, Zimbardi was suspended. On March 6, Johns dismissed her from the team.
"It was a direct violation of what they said in the meeting, which was that there would be no retaliation for what I said," Zimbardi said. "The reason that I was given is that I didn't clear up my misperceptions and misconceptions about the team."
Several current players dispute Zimbardi's claims, saying they never knew she was having problems and never expressed any displeasure about the coaching staff.
"I was completely, completely caught off guard," said pitcher Jenny Gladding, who said Zimbardi was a respected member of the team, which she described as a "family."
Zimbardi, from Green, Ohio, joined the team in 1999 as a freshman walkon. As a sophomore in 2001, she had two knee surgeries in less than eight months and received a medical redshirt.
She started at catcher in 29 of 49 games in 2002, finishing with a .195 batting average. This past season, she lost her starting job to freshman Kristen Butler. While Butler's offensive numbers are comparable (she batted .176), she set school records for best stolen base against percentage (.457) and most caught stealing (19) and was named the All-Tournament catcher in the SEC tournament.
"Pitchers and catchers, you develop a bond. It's a level of trust you have with each other, and it's nothing personal against Andrea," pitcher Amanda Moore said. "It's just that Kristen had an unbelievable arm, and you felt confident when you were on the plate that if a runner got on, she would throw them out. Her arm was stronger than Z's, no doubt about that."
When her playing time began to diminish, some said Zimbardi became frustrated and disgruntled.
"She was very disappointed that she wasn't playing," Gladding said. "It was her senior year, and she was a big part of the team."
Though she is immersed in her graduate studies, Zimbardi said she's looking into legal action to help protect others. She said she is not seeking revenge.
"What I'd like now is for the university to realize how important this issue is and it does happen," Zimbardi said. "If they say they are going to investigate, if they say they are going to help, I would hope that they do and keep to their word on something.
" ... And also I'd like to see that the program benefits from this in a way that no other athletes will have to go through what I've gone through based on their sexual orientation."