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Emporia State coach sues school
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The president of Emporia State University has been defending her school.
The women's volleyball coach at Emporia State University makes less than her basketball coaching colleagues because they work in different sports, not because of her gender, according to testimony from Kay Schallenkamp, the University's president.
Maxine Mehus, the Emporia State volleyball coach since 1988, is suing the University, claiming it is violating federal law prohibiting employment discrimination based on gender or race by paying her less than the school's basketball coaches, even though she
believes they have similar responsibilities.
U. S. District Judge Katrynn Vratisl is hearing Mehus' complaint during a trial that began Monday in Kansas City, Kan.
Mehus also claims she is subject to different employment terms than the basketball coaches, which also could be a violation of federal law. Mehus has a 10-month coaching appointment and is required to teach, her attorney said, while the basketball coaches are on 12-month appointments without teaching requirements.
In fiscal year 2003, Emporia State paid Mehus $46,499. Women's basketball coach Brandon Schneider made $61,327, while men's coach David Moe
received a salary of $60,008.
Lori Schultz, an attorney for Emporia State, said salary decisions were based on merit and the market and that Mehus received less money because she coached volleyball instead of basketball, not because of her gender. Mehus has received a raise every year she has been at the University, Schultz said.
Schallenkamp said credentials of the two basketball coaches, along with what she described as their greater responsibility to represent and promote the university, called for greater compensation. She said Moe and Schneider, along with football coach Dave Weimers, were the most high-profile coaches in the University's athletic program.
"They need to bring in the gate, quite frankly," Schallenkamp said.
Schallenkamp also said that coaching salaries were based on individual merit, including team performance, value in the marketplace and the athletic department's budget.
Mehus' attorney, Ann Schiavone, said four Emporia State coaches — the two basketball coaches, the football coach, and track and field coach David Harris — all made more than Mehus even though they have less head-coaching experience.
Attorneys for the school countered that the average salary for volleyball coaches at NCAA Division II schools such as Emporia State schools is $25,300, a little more than half of what Mehus makes.
Prosecutors seek delay in Bryant case
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — Pressure is mounting on the judge overseeing Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case, with prosecutors citing courthouse gaffes as a reason for seeking the indefinite delay of the NBA star's criminal trial and the father of his accuser blasting the bench for bias against the prosecution.
Prosecutes requested the delay even as they made moves to appeal a key ruling in the case, arguing to the Colorado Supreme Court that the accuser's sexual activities should not be admitted as evidence. If accepted, the appeal could delay the trial for weeks.
The legal moves came as the father of Bryant's accuser wrote a blistering letter to District Judge Terry Rucklekrieg saying his family had "lost trust that we can obtain a fair trial in your court."
"It has been painfully obvious that you treat the defense as if they can do no wrong and the prosecution and my daughter's attorney as if you have something against them or this case," he wrote in a letter filed with the court on Aug. 9 and posted on the Web sites of the Vail Daily and KUSA-TV on Wednesday.
Bryant, 25, has pleaded not guilty to felony sexual assault. He has said he had consensual sex with the woman, then 19, at the Vail-area resort where she worked last summer. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Aug. 27.
Experts said it was unlikely Ruckriegle will agree to a delay at such late notice. Nearly 1,000 residents have been mailed jury summonses, witnesses have been scheduled to testify and the judge and attorneys have cleared their calendars for September, said Craig Silverman, a former prosecutor.
"It is an incredible logistical task to reschedule all of this," he said. "What will happen is once the continuance is denied, I would not be surprised if the prosecution throws up its hands and says, 'Well, then, we cannot proceed.'"
The request for delay, the high court appeal and the letter could indicate the victim is planning to abandon the criminal trial, legal experts speculated Wednesday.
"It seems to be part of this well-orchestrated exit strategy from this fatally-flawed criminal case," Silverman said.
leaving prosecutors in limbo on whether to hire more expert witnesses. Easter also accused defense experts of waiting too long to turn over DNA test results.
Easter singled out transcripts from a June hearing that were mistakenly e-mailed to seven news organizations, including The Associated Press. The media outlets won a court fight with the judge to publish the details, including a defense expert's explanation on why she believes the accuser had sex with someone after her encounter with Bryant and before she was examined at a hospital - a claim the woman's attorney has denied.
In a court filing made public Wednesday, prosecutor Dana Easter said the recent release of closed-door testimony hurt the chances of getting a fair jury. She also said the judge has not yet decided whether the woman's mental health and medical history will be admitted as evidence,
The widely publicized allegation was "extremely harmful" to the prosecution's case, Easter said, and Ruckriegle's strict gag order has prevented prosecutors from responding.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MU alum shoots relative, dies
ST.LOUIS—A former University of Missouri football star shot his stepdaughter and attacked neighbors, then died after struggling with police, authorities said Thursday.
Ernest Blackwell, 29, of St Louis County, died Wednesday night. An autopsy was scheduled for last Thursday. Results were not yet known.
Police didn't know a motive for the attack.
"There really is no logical reason for any of this." St. Louis County police spokesman Rick Eckhard said.
Officers used several means to try and subdue Blackwell, including shooting him twice with a Taser, which delivers an electrical jolt, during a 10-minute struggle. Paramedics eventually sedated Blackwell, who was 6-foot-3 and weighed 230 pounds during his college playing days, and put him in an ambulance. He died on the way to the hospital.
Blackwell was a running back at Missouri and was part of the team that ended a 13-year string of losing seasons in 1997, earning a berth in the Holiday Bowl. He was picked in the seventh round of the 1998 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, but was cut during the preseason.
Corby Jones, the quarterback on the team, said Blackwell was the most talented player he has ever seen. But he said Blackwell had few friends on the team.
"Ernest kind of kept to himself," Jones said. "He didn't have any enemies but he was not a guy who socialized much."
St. Louis County Police Chief
lerry Lee defended his officers.
"I am proud of these officers for
Ernest kind of kept to himself. He
didn't have any enemies but he was not a guy who socialized much."
David Shulenburger University of Kansas provost
their courageous and selfless actions," Lee said. "I knew from talking with the officers involved on scene that this was a very intense and prolonged struggle to make the arrest. I commend them for their appropriate and timely response."
Blackwell's 9-year-old stepdaughter and two neighbors — a 14-year-old girl and her mother suffered serious injuries. Both girls were in intensive care. Four police officers were also treated for injuries.
Police were initially called to the scene for a traffic hazard when an officer learned of the disturbance. He went inside a home to find the 14-year-old girl bleeding and injured, and allegedly heard Blackwell attacking the girl's mother.
Blackwell tackled the officer and tried to take his gun, police said. The officer was able to hit an alarm alerting other officers, who arrived to help.
Blackwell was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Officers later learned that Blackwell had earlier used a shotgun inside his own home and shot his stepdaughter in the chest, before going two houses down and attacking the 14-year-old and her mother.