Exit Rene Portland
With the season over, Penn State University today pushed lesbian-hating women's basketball coach Rene Portland out the door. Portland termed it a "resignation," but almost nobody is buying that. Penn State settled a lawsuit last month filed by former Central Dauphin High School player Jennifer Harris, who had accused Portland of harassing her off the team out of an incorrect belief she was gay. Portland didn't announce a new job, but my bet is she ends up coaching at a conservative Christian college that agrees with the "no lesbian" policy that brought her grief at Penn State.
Like it or not, lesbianism is part of women's sports, especially at the college level. No, not every girl or woman who plays sports is gay. But some are. How did Portland recruit new players these past couple of years? As one friend commented, it's like if Santa Claus hated elves or a Boy Scout leader hated kids. Sure, you can say that lesbian players can go elsewhere. But if they are Pennsylvania residents, why should they not be allowed to play at the university their tax dollars support? One wonders if Joe Paterno protected her over the years. It's hard to say what made Portland the way she is: one would have to be a psychiatrist to know that.