Local and national gay rights activists said a door for change was opened when the resignation of Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland was announced yesterday, ending her 27-year career with the Lady Lions.

"For nearly three decades, Coach Portland has had a documented history of discrimination and prejudice toward [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered] athletes. Her resignation is just one of many steps that needs to occur at Penn State to improve campus climate issues both within and outside the athletic department," a statement released yesterday by SpeakOut, a gay rights student activist group, read.

A statement released by Penn State yesterday morning did not specify the reasons for Portland's resignation, and Athletic Director Tim Curley did not elaborate at a later press conference.

When former player Jen Harris first accused Portland of dismissing her from the team on the basis of perceived sexual orientation in Oct. of 2005, Penn State launched an internal investigation. That investigation found that Portland violated the university's discrimination policy, and SpeakOut has called on the university to fire Portland on several occasions since.

"It's about time," Ed Rowe, former president of SpeakOut, said. "I can't for the life of me understand why a school that claims to respect the dignity of its students didn't resolve this problem decades ago. But I'm glad to see her go."

A discrimination lawsuit that Harris filed against Portland, Curley and Penn State was settled out of court last month, but the terms of the settlement have not been released. SpeakOut members have said in the past that the settlement and the investigation are indicative of a larger discrimination problem at Penn State.

Rowe said the gay community has been concerned about Portland for more than a decade.

In 1986, Portland told the Chicago Sun-Times that she did not allow homosexuals on her teams. In 1991, several former players also told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Portland did not allow homosexuals on her teams.

In addition to demanding that Penn State fire Portland, SpeakOut has asked the university to develop clearer policies to prevent future discrimination and to address broader issues that allow prejudice to occur on campus.

"SpeakOut continues to assert that Rene Portland is a symptom of a larger campus climate problem at Penn State, one that allows discrimination and hate to occur," the group's statement read.

In an e-mail statement, Darryl Watson, Black Caucus president and SpeakOut member, said student demand for the termination of Portland was just the first in a list of demands.

"Her presence was a stain on the fabric of this university. And while everyone should rejoice for the passing of this storm, we shouldn't err in our celebrations by thinking that her departure coincides with the departure of Anti-Black, Brown, Poor, LGBTQ, prejudices and sentiments on campus," his statement reads. "We should be steadfast in demanding systemic change and integration of all minority students in athletics, in the classroom and at every level of our community."

SpeakOut's statement asked Penn State to hire a new coach with "a demonstrated history of coaching and serving students who come from diverse backgrounds" and asked that the university continue to promote a more tolerant campus climate.

Pat Griffin, author of Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport, said she thinks Portland's resignation is "a huge step forward for people who care about fair play in sports" and gives Penn State the opportunity for a "fresh start." Griffin provided mandatory training to members of the Penn State athletic staff, including Portland, in 1992, but said last month that she believes that training was simply a public relations move by Penn State.

"No matter what the settlement terms or the results of the internal investigation were, as long as Rene Portland was still head coach, there was a flow of controversy," Griffin said. "I think it sends a message that times are changing and that type of climate in athletics is not going to be tolerated."

Griffin also said she thinks student opposition played a role in Portland's decision to resign.

"Part of it was the student activism. The team was also meeting student protesters at their away games and the mainstream sports press was very critical of Portland and Penn State. So, I think there were a lot of factors," she said.

Rowe said he thinks the student protests indirectly pushed Portland to resign by drawing attention to the controversy.

"I think the general speculation is that there was pressure from administration for her to resign," he said. "But I don't think there was [pressure] until this became a public relations issue."

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said he would not speculate as to whether or not Portland felt pressure by student groups or other forces to resign.

Stacey Sobel, executive director for Equality Advocates of Pennsylvania, formerly the Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, also said she couldn't speculate, but said she thinks that the publicity around the case has educated coaches, universities and the general public.

"Hopefully, we won't see any more situations like Jen Harris' arise in the future," she said.