Fired Athletic Director, Connecticut College Reach SettlementNEW LONDON, Conn.
Connecticut College has reached a settlement with a former athletic director who had accused college administrators of racial discrimination.
In March, the college decided not to reappoint Kenneth McBryde, 49, who was hired as athletic director and an adjunct professor in 1997.
McBryde, who is Black, claimed in a lawsuit that co-workers and administrators at the New London college used racial slurs to address him and told him he was only hired because he is Black. McBryde claimed others retaliated against him because he demanded investigations of possible NCAA violations at the school.
But in a joint statement released by the college and McBryde late last month, McBryde said he now believes that “race discrimination was in no way a factor” in the college’s decision not to reappoint him. He also said he was satisfied the school “has an excellent record of compliance and commitment to the spirit and letter of NCAA rules.”
College spokeswoman Trish Brink said a confidentiality agreement barred the college from releasing details of the settlement.
“The college’s affirmative action officer has spent more than 200 hours thoroughly investigating the allegations of discrimination and concluded they were unfounded,” Brink told The Day of New London. “The college found no evidence that anyone discriminated against Mr. McBryde or uttered any racial epithets,” she said. According to The Day, college officials said McBryde was let go after an unsatisfactory performance review conducted in March.
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