Notre Dame is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by a former swimming coach. April Jensen, once an associate coach with the program, is suing for gender and pregnancy discrimination along with retaliation. She will look to collect damages and equitable relief.
Jensen said that in May 2019, she informed her supervisor of her pregnancy, then returned to her post that fall visibly pregnant. She alleges that she then was subject to one injustice, discrimination and humiliation after another, both before and after she went on maternity leave. Eventually, she was informed over a Zoom call with her supervisor and the assistant athletic director that her contract was being terminated. The suit says that she was let go over the previous years and not her coaching or relationships with student-athletes.
When WBND-LD, South Bend’s ABC affiliate, reached out to Notre Dame for a response, the university said, “Because this is pending litigation, we have no comment.”