The footprints of Brian Flores holding the NFL and a few of its teams accountable for racial bias and discrimination are appearing in other facets of the football industrial complex.
According to reports, the former head coach of Bates College, Malik Hall, has filed a civil lawsuit in the District of Maine’s U.S. District Court, alleging that he faced “severe racial discrimination” during his three years at the school.
In the complaint, Hall reportedly alleges he was hired to be the first Black head coach in Bates College history, “in an apparent attempt to address its tortured and well-documented record of institutional racism.”
Symbolic Victory – True Inclusion
The Bates Student, the campus newspaper, obtained the court records outlining such:
“Immediately after he accepted the position, the college abandoned any pretense that it intended to treat Coach Hall fairly and respectfully, and instead subjected him to repeated and severe racial discrimination.”
The suit includes the former Bates head coach’s wife, Ayesha, and his three children, Asah, Kayah and Malik Jr.
It alleges that the treatment he faced caused him “economic damages, loss of opportunity, loss of reputation and mental anguish.”
https://twitter.com/SimmonsUSA/status/1266497585847689218?s=20&t=DhJ16brUvR8ROiF4Eov2KQ
Taking It To The Courtroom
The suit is wide-ranging with a broad stroke of racial bias that spanned the entirety of Hall’s tenure at the college.
Hall is alleging he experienced unlawful racial employment discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act and unlawful racial employment practices under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII.
In addition, Hall is claiming unlawful racial discrimination occurred against him under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and defamation and negligence with his housing.
Not Safe At Home
Hall claims that his school-provided home was infested with harmful black mold and that the alternate was a smaller unit unfit for the size of his family.
In the complaint, Hall reportedly states that the health of three children has been compromised, “including difficulty breathing and nose bleeds.”
Hall contends that the children continue to suffer from the effects.
Sexual Allegations
In December 2019, along with his offensive coordinator Custavious Patterson, he was notified that they were accused of “soliciting college students to have sex with football players whom he and Coach Hall had recruited to Bates.”
Hall’s complaint states, “The allegations against Coach Hall and Coach Patterson were and are untrue and drew upon centuries of negative tropes surrounding Black men and their attempts to exist in white communities.”
Lack Of Cooperation
Moreover, reportedly Hall “began to experience consistent and unexplained resistance from Bates in fulfilling his job responsibilities.”
He alleges a lack of transparency regarding his employment contract and the possibility of a contract extension. Hall also filed a separate complaint of discrimination with the Maine Human Rights Commission and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in June 2021.
The Fight For Employment
However, Hall wants his job back and equitable relief for back pay and benefits, and compensatory, nominative, punitive and civil damages.
Hall is seeking a trial by jury for declaratory and injunctive relief, meaning the facts of the case should be determined before deciding on damages.
According to Bates College, the 20th head coach in the 125-year history of Bates College football, Malik Hall, was announced as the program’s new head in 2018. Coach Hall reportedly “made a big impression upon Bates College and its football program.”
Chock Full Of Credentials
Hall had served as defensive line coach at the University of Pennsylvania since 2015, winning back-to-back Ivy League championships in 2015 and 2016. He also held assistant coaching assignments at Wagner College, Fordham, Hofstra, Central Connecticut State and his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts.
The @PENNfb team announces the hiring of Hank Hughes as its new defensive line coach. He replaces Malik Hall who left to become head coach at Bates College. Hughes spent last season on staff at Davidson.
— Matt Leon (@MattLeon1060) July 17, 2018
As a student-athlete, Hall played two seasons at UMass, advancing to the Atlantic 10 Championship game in 2003, and totaling 46 tackles and two sacks.
Bates College is a residential college of the liberal arts and sciences in Lewiston, Maine. The school is a liberal arts school, considered one of the Hidden Ivy League institutions, or colleges and universities that rival the eight Ivy League schools.
Stay locked in to The Shadow League for more information and updates on Bates and his discrimination lawsuit.
