In New York State, Alleged Sexual Harassment by Coach Reviewed Under Title IX and DASA
(Editor’s Note: From the pages of Sports Litigation Alert.)
By Ellen J. Staurowsky, Ed.D., Senior Writer and Professor, Sports Media, Ithaca College, staurows@ithaca.edu
On May 8, 2025, administrators with the Minisink Valley Central School District (NY) announced that the head coach of the girls’ softball team had been relieved of his duties pending an investigation prompted by allegations regarding his conduct. Although the details of this case are sparce, the case itself offers food for thought in terms of potential avenues parents, athletes, and others who believe sex- and gender-based harassment, bullying, and/or intimidation has occurred may pursue under not just Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 but, in New York State, the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA). And unexpected issues that may arise when a complaint is filed.
Based on news reports, the incident that led to the accusation occurred just after the final pitch in a game Minisink Valley won on May 7, 2025. As the players came off the field, the coach high-fived one of the players and is alleged in the follow-through of that motion to have touched the player inappropriately. When school administrators learned of allegations of the coach’s behavior, the coach was suspended from attending practices and games as the school conducted its investigation (Monahan et al., 2025; Rodriquez, 2025).
Just over six weeks after the coach was suspended, on June 12, 2025, Minisink Valley communications director Nancy Kirz commented to the press that the allegations regarding the coach’s conduct did not rise to the level of a federal Title IX complaint. The coach remained suspended, however, pending a DASA investigation (Crnic, 2025).
In 2020, the definition of sexual harassment under Title IX was narrowed and requires that behavior be “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive”. While the Biden Administration expanded that definition briefly, it reverted back to the Trump Administration definition in 2025. The alleged conduct would need to meet all three of those factors in terms of severity, pervasiveness, and being objectively offensive. An online video of the incident led the coach’s supporters to conclude that whatever contact occurred it was incidental and accidental although the video offers a limited view of what happened (Rodriquez, 2025). Meeting the standard can be difficult, thus offering some insight as to why the school district ended the Title IX investigation (Bedera, 2020).
Minisink Valley Central School District’s website offers a description of the New York State Dignity for All Students Act, otherwise referred to as The Dignity Act. As per the description, The Dignity Act “seeks to provide the State’s public elementary and secondary school students with a safe and supportive environment free from discrimination, intimidation, taunting, harassment, and bullying on school property, a school bus and/or at a school function”. Those who wish to file a complaint are directed to a form online and provided with information regarding the administrator within the district’s various schools who is designated as the DASA coordinator (Minisink Valley Central School District Website-DASA, 2025).
The form notes that the confidentiality of information in the complaint will be maintained under the parameters of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). And there is a caveat that incidences as reported will be investigated, but an investigation may not lead to discipline (Minisink Valley Central School District Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidating Reporting Form, 2025). Under The Dignity Act, school employees are mandatory reporters. Thus, according to a statement made by the parents of the affected athlete, they did not request that the DASA investigation be done. In a statement to a local news station they wrote, “This incident was initially classified and investigated as a Title IX violation by the district in accordance with their policies and procedures and after interviewing multiple witnesses and a thorough review by the school district’s legal team. It was determined sometime later by the district that this investigation better met the criteria and scope covered under the NYS DASA Act. This process is mandated by federal and state laws, not at our request or urging” (Gomez, 2025).
References
Bedera, N. (2020, May 14). Trump’s New Rule Governing College Sex Assault Is Nearly Impossible for Survivors to Use. That’s the Point. Time.com. https://time.com/5836774/trump-new-title-ix-rules/
Crnic, B. (2025, June 12). Softball Coach Avoids Title IX Claims, But Investigation Continues In Minisink Valley. Dailyvoice.com. https://dailyvoice.com/ny/minisink-valley/softball-coach-avoids-title-ix-claims-but-investigation-continues-in-minisink-valley-update/
Gomez, B. (2025, June 12). Exclusive: Minisink parents of teen at the center of DASA probe break silence. Hudson Valley News 12. https://hudsonvalley.news12.com/exclusive-minisink-parents-of-teen-at-the-center-of-dasa-probe-break-silence
Minisink Valley Central School District. (2025). Website – DASA. https://www.minisink.com/page/dasa
Minisink Valley Central School District. (2025). Website – Minisink Valley Central School District Bullying, Harassment, or Intimidating Reporting Form. https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/4907/district/4454644/dasa-form.pdf
Monahan, B., Hauck, K., & Bult, T. (2025, May 8). May 8 statement regarding the high school. https://www.minisink.com/article/2202161
Rodriquez, J. (2025, June 8). Minisink Valley softball coach cleared in Title IX complaint. Midhudsonnews.com.https://midhudsonnews.com/2025/06/08/minisink-valley-softball-coach-cleared-in-title-ix-complaint-2/