NMSU: Not a lesbian? … Not our coach

A ruling issued by a federal judge recently determined that former WNBA player Camile LeNoir can sue New Mexico State University (NMSU) for sexual orientation discrimination because the school reneged its coaching position offer just days after discovering she no longer identified as a homosexual.

According to campus politics at the university, LeNoir was apparently too straight to be a part of NMSU’s women’s sports program – a view the California judge believes led to her wrongful termination.

Embrace LGBT, reject Christianity

In addition to not liking LeNoir’s decision to leave the homosexual lifestyle, the Left-leaning university was not happy that her Christian convictions led her to no longer identify as a lesbian.

“LeNoir says she became a lesbian during her junior year in high school, even though she grew up in the Church and ‘knew it was wrong,’" CBN News reported. “She says she was ‘in and out of it for seven years’ before being freed from homosexuality in 2009.”

According to the complaint filed in November, the only reason LeNoir had her offer of employment withdrawn had to do with her sexual preference and religious beliefs.

“The lawsuit alleges that LeNoir was given the job of assistant basketball coach for NMSU's women's basketball team last year,” CBN News’ Dale Hurd announced. “Two days later, the offer was rescinded after NMSU officials viewed a video in which LeNoir admits that she is no longer a lesbian and has chosen a heterosexual lifestyle.”

It was also revealed that the NCAA – not just NMSU – strongly enforces its pro-LGBT policies when making personnel decisions.

“During pre-trial proceedings, NMSU also admitted that the women's basketball coach, Mark Trakh, told LeNoir that the online video ‘would make it difficult for her to find a job in women's college basketball,’” Hurd noted.

LeNoir – who was drafted in 2009 by the WNBA’s Washington Mystics after being a star player in women’s college hoops for the University of Southern California (USC) for four years– is upset that her eligibility for coaching in the NCAA depends more on her personal values than on her skill set and knowledge of basketball.

“The 31-year old LeNoir says the decision left her ‘devastated’ and believes she was discriminated against on the basis of her Christian beliefs and sexual orientation,” Hurd pointed out.

Apparently, the LGBT lifestyle is now mainstream in both the NCAA and WNBA.

“[Homosexuality in women's basketball has] become the norm, pretty much,” LeNoir shared in a YouTube video.

Sending a political statement loud and clear … no straights wanted

LeNoir sued NMSU for $6 million last year to send the message that politics should not determine who coaches and participates in women’s collegiate sports.

“On April 24, [2016], her former USC coach, Mark Trakh, offered her the job at NMSU’s women’s basketball team, where he is head coach, according to the complaint,” NMSU’s Newscenter website announced. “She accepted the job, but two days later, Trakh told her he was retracting the offer because ‘NMSU discovered a communication in which Ms. LeNoir discussed her own sexual orientation and her Christian faith.’”

It is suspected that the video posted on the Internet -- where LeNoir is seen divulging her religious convictions – is primarily what motivated NMSU to withdraw their offer of employment to the Christian athlete … even though the school has yet to specifically admit it.

“The lawsuit doesn’t identify the communication,” the university noted at the time. “But in 2011, LeNoir did a video interview still online in which she talked about choosing not to be homosexual due to her Christian beliefs.”

A strong case of viewpoint discrimination and intolerance appears to be on LeNoir’s side.

“Her suit claims the university discriminated against her due to her sexual orientation and religious beliefs and attempted to control her political beliefs by firing her due to her ‘comments on homosexuality,’” the NMSU site divulged.

LeNoir’s Los Angeles-based attorney, Jonathan Delshad, argued that his client should not feel coerced into any lifestyle or belief system in order become – or remain – employed.

“She just said for herself that’s not the lifestyle she wanted,” Delshad explained, according to the NMSU Marketing and Communications Team. “We thought that can be construed as a political statement.”