Summarizing how his daughter, Jen Harris, felt after being removed from the Lady Lions back in 2005, Lambert Harris said her "sprit died that night."
"I've never seen her smile or laugh since that day," he said in the film Training Rules.
The film, which concerns Harris' allegations against former head coach Rene Portland, was shown as part of the 7th Annual One in Ten Film Festival with the Penn State Coalition of LGBTA Graduate Students. The film had two showings Thursday night in the Willard Building, with the first showing playing to a capacity crowd in 160 Willard.
The film contends that Portland forced players, including Harris, off the Penn State women's basketball team because she thought they were lesbians.
After the film's title aired, Harris came on screen briefly to say she couldn't say anything else about the case because of the terms of a legal settlement between her, Portland and Penn State.
Without Harris, the film shared her story through her parents, including her mother, Pearl Harris.
The film followed a nonlinear timeline, switching between Harris' conflict with Portland, other players' conflicts with the former Lady Lions coach and the story of how Portland came to Penn State. It also chronicled Portland's time as a player at Immaculata College, which was a women's basketball powerhouse during her playing career.
Two of Portland's former players were also prominently featured in the 56-minute film: sisters Chris and Corinne Gulas.
The latter said the two started out well with Portland and that they hit it off.
But relationships soon grew strained.
"Boy, did things happen," Corinne said in the film.
The two shared their experiences, which they say got worse as their careers continued on at Penn State. In the fall of 1982, Chris, who is a lesbian, left the team after having a conference with Portland, and she said she would not change herself.
As for Harris' time as a Lady Lion, the film showed how her playing time decreased as her time with the team was winding down.
Former Penn State softball coach Sue Rankin not only shared her story of dealing with discrimination at the university but was also present to help lead a post-viewing discussion of the documentary.
When she stood up to speak, Rankin received a standing ovation.
After she resigned as softball head coach in 1995, Rankin worked as the senior diversity planning analyst in the in the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity at Penn State. She also moved to assist with the LGBTA Student Resource Center.
Despite the abundance of stories from former Lady Lion players under Portland, Rankin and a representative with the NCAA, the main parties in the Harris case weren't interviewed for the film.
This included Portland. The statement "Rene Portland refused to be interviewed for this film" appeared on the screen near the film's conclusion.
Without interviews from Portland or a representative of the Penn State athletic department in the film, one viewer said it was "a little slanted."
"A lot of people think they know what went on when they don't," said Linda Strauss, an assistant professor in statistics. "It does bring issues to light, but to single out athletics is a little unfair."
The documentary ended by telling what some of the people interviewed are up to now.
One of them was Harris, who graduated from James Madison University in 2008 but suffered a career-ending ankle injury that ended her hopes of competing in the WNBA.
The documentary also noted that the Women's Basketball Coaches Association includes a clause in its code of ethics banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Regardless, progress isn't finished for some.
"There's still a climate of fear," Rankin said in the film.
