Summitt says she was not forced out by Tennessee

In the lawsuit, Jennings says Summitt informed her of Hart’s intentions after that March meeting. The suit states Jennings sent a written protest to Hart asking him to reconsider, and that he sent her an angry email in response.

“As the complaint alleges, Debby approached him in good faith and said you need to be aware of this because this is what she’s saying, and if it’s true, please reconsider because it’s discriminatory and wrong,” Burkhalter said. “As a result, he got very angry at her. She was fired a couple of months later and that was a factor.”

According to the suit, Hart spoke with Jennings at a May 15 meeting and gave her less than three hours to choose whether to resign, retire or be fired. The suit charges that she lost her job either due to her gender and age or out of retaliation for her advocacy of gender-equity issues, opposition to discrimination against female student-athletes and opposition to sex, disability or age discrimination.

Jennings was 57 years old when she left her job as the university worked toward consolidating the men’s and women’s athletic departments.

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