Earlier this month, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes Georgia) affirmed the dismissal of Title IX and Section 1983 claims filed by volleyball players against the University of South Alabama and its officials. The plaintiffs claimed that their coach subjected them to physical, verbal, psychological, and sexual abuse. Specifically, they alleged inappropriate touching, being forced to participate in "floor hugs" (which involved the coach lying on top of a player), sexually inappropriate text messages, and other forms of sexual harassment. The players also alleged non-sexual abuse such as being forced to play through injuries, denied medical care, subjected to profanity and accusations of faking injuries, and made to endure corporal punishments. The players reported the alleged misconduct to various university administrators and assistant coaches.

Following these complaints, the university placed the volleyball coach on administrative leave, and she resigned a month later. After her resignation, the players sued the university under Title IX and for breach of contract, and they sued their former coach and other university employees under Section 1983 and various state laws. The district court dismissed the players' operative complaint, finding that they had abandoned their breach-of-contract claims and failed to state a claim under Title IX and Section 1983.

On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit Court affirmed the dismissal of the Title IX claims, holding that the university did not act with deliberate indifference upon receiving notice of the alleged misconduct. The court’s findings hinged on several key points:

• The university adequately responded by placing the coach on administrative leave and accepting her resignation.
• The players failed to notify an "appropriate person" under Title IX to put the university on notice of the alleged discrimination, as the assistant coaches lacked sufficient authority to address the alleged harassment.
• The complaints regarding non-sexual misconduct were insufficient to put the university on notice of sexual harassment.

The Eleventh Circuit also affirmed the dismissal of the players' Section 1983 claims on qualified-immunity grounds, finding that the players had not shown that any university employee's conduct violated clearly established substantive due process principles.

This decision underscores the importance of schools’ prompt response to Title IX claims once the appropriate officials receive actual notice of the allegation, while also highlighting the high bar plaintiffs face in overcoming qualified-immunity defenses in cases concerning Section 1983 of civil rights law.

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