Coming up Wednesday
Beverly Kearney, Fmr. UT-Austin Track & Field Head Coach, speaks out since stepping down after admitting to relationship with student
This morning, a story that has shocked the college sports world. Hall Of Fame track and field coach Beverly Kearney announcing she is stepping down from her position at the University Of Texas after 21 years and six national championships. This after the coach admitted to what she calls a "consensual intimate relationship" with a student athlete on her team in 2002. The student athlete reported the relationship to the university in October 2012.
The coach says UT asked her to resign or she would be fired, and that the punishment does not fit the offense. Kearny feels her punishment was unjustified because she claims other professors and administrators at the school have not had the same repercussions after engaging in relationships that violated policy. Our team at “Starting Point” invited a representative from the university to appear on the program, but the invitation was declined. The legendary former coach, Beverly Kearney, joins us live from Austin, Texas this morning.
Kearny says she's finally come to embrace not knowing why she was treated this way by the school, especially at a time when she was negotating a contract with a raise. “I’ve always tried to live my life in a manner that I did not want to do harm," Kearney says. "And it’s always been easier for me to forgive others. But this was a challenge for me to forgive myself for making a poor decision.”
Fmr. Deutsche Bank bank VP suing over gender bias
It's a gender discrimination lawsuit against a global financial giant, accused of what some call "mommy tracking."
Kelley Voelker, a vice president with Deutsche Bank's securities and lending desk, was fired this month after 14 years with the company. The mother of two says it all started after her second maternity leave, when she claims she lost big accounts and the company tried to demote here.
Voelker & attorney Douglas Wigdor discuss their claim with Soledad O'Brien on "Starting Point" this morning.
"Everything was fine. I was successful with all of my accounts. My accounts liked me. I got back from maternity leave and they were taken away," Voelker says. "I was a dedicated employee for 14 years. And despite great performance reviews, every single one of them, they never promoted me. And eventually they took my accounts away."
Wigdor says unfortunately Voelker's case isn't unique.
"Those are the unfortunate stereotypes that we keep seeing in the workplace," he says. "63 percent of new moms are actually working mothers. This is a real issue, especially in this economy where families need dual incomes. But when you have a company like Deutsche Bank where all of the board of directors and executive committee are all men, this sort of stereotype, that a woman when they come back from maternity leave is not going to work hard and is just going to abandon their job, is really what's going on. And you see this with Kelley. And ultimately, she was fired for complaining about it."
In Deutsche Bank's statement to ABC News, the company says "while we take all allegations of discrimination and retaliation very seriously, we will continue to vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations."
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