Montana Women’s Basketball Coach Loses Sex Discrimination Suit

The University of Montana defeated a claim by the former head coach of its women’s basketball team that her contract wasn’t renewed because of her sex.

The ruling Tuesday by the US District Court for the District of Montana turned on an issue on which many discriminatory termination cases falter: a lack of proof that the employer’s justification was a cover for bias. The ruling also held that the presence of mixed motives for an employment decision isn’t enough to undercut the “same-actor inference,” which arises when the same decision-maker both hires and fires a worker.

Shannon Schweyen had been ...