If it were up to Jen Harris, she would still be at Penn State.
In an interview yesterday, Harris said she admires the school and the people at it. Even current Lady Lions are "friends for life," including last year's co-captain Amanda Brown, whom Harris roomed with during her sophomore year.
Harris still speaks on the phone to Brown, as well as to Amber Bland and Lisa Etienne, who were asked to leave the Penn State women's basketball team along with Harris by head coach Rene Portland last year.
"From my perspective, it's fine," Harris said. "Rene's probably not happy. We are not supposed to talk to people that have left. It is kind of an unwritten rule."
Now at James Madison University (JMU), Harris has said Portland forced her off the team based on her perceived sexual orientation. Harris claimed that Portland discriminated against her on the basis of race and her perceived sexual orientation and is engaged in a federal lawsuit against Portland, Athletic Director Tim Curley and the university.
According to Harris, who has said she is not a lesbian, the discrimination started during her freshman season when Portland inquired into her relationship with a teammate.
"It was usually with me and the person she thought I was dating," Harris said. "She harassed my roommate about if I had people over and what was going on."
An internal university investigation conducted by Ken Lehrman, Affirmative Action Office director, and released April 18 said Portland created a "hostile, intimidating and offensive environment" for Harris.
Depression still lingers from Harris' time at Penn State. She remembers "losing her heart," the urge to play basketball. Though she was bothered, she wasn't going to tell anyone the way she felt about Portland's alleged behavior.
"I felt like I couldn't do anything," Harris said. "I was worried about getting kicked out of school. She had the power."
Despite Harris' unceremonious exit from Penn State and the discrimination lawsuit pending in the U.S. Middle District Court of Pennsylvania, she does not regret the decision that brought her to Happy Valley.
With litigation looming after mediation on May 15, Harris said that Bland, Etienne and other players who left during her freshman season are "going to be there for me any way that I might need them."
As a result of the university's findings in the matter, Portland was fined $10,000 in lieu of a one-game suspension, given a formal reprimand and ordered to participate in diversity training. That is not enough in Harris' mind.
"I'm not sure what I expected," Harris said. "I just expected more to be done. I was a little disappointed."
Portland continues to deny Harris' claims, calling them "unfounded" at a press conference responding to the university's findings April 18; she called the process "flawed."
Harris was dismissed from the team because she was belligerent during practices and lacking in the classroom, Portland has said.
"Let me make absolutely clear that the only reason Jennifer Harris is no longer with the Lady Lions is because of her performance and attitude in relation to basketball," Portland said in a Oct. 14 press release.
In response, Harris said her 22 starts and 10.4 points per game speak for themselves. Off the court, she is on course to graduate next spring with a double major in psychology and premedicine, after maintaining a 3.2 grade point average in the fall at JMU.
Her life, though, remains anything but normal. On Monday, Harris was in San Francisco accepting the National Center for Lesbian Rights' "Justice Award." The gala featured WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes, who recently admitted she was a lesbian. There has also been interest from NBC's Dateline for a feature on Harris.
Though she is not a lesbian, Harris does not mind being at the forefront of the NCLR's campaign for civil rights.
"I don't need to be a part to be for something," Harris said. "Discrimination is discrimination. It was the same with black people in the '60s. I don't think that I have to be identified with the group that is being discriminated against."
