AWSM Members' Suit Filed

The following ran in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Jan. 25:

Two former Pioneer Press sportswriters have sued the newspaper and its sports editor, alleging gender discrimination and retaliation.

Cara LaBrie and Robbi Pickeral stated in the suit that they were treated differently from male sportswriters after the hiring of current sports editor Michael Bass in November 2002. They contend their situation deteriorated when they reported their concerns to other editors.

Their suit, filed in Ramsey County District Court, alleges violations of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

In a statement, the newspaper and Bass denied discriminating against the women.

"The Pioneer Press, proud of its long commitment to equal employment opportunity, holds itself to high standards in providing a workplace environment in which all employees are treated fairly," the newspaper stated.

The women contended in the suit they faced harsher scrutiny of their reporting, writing and time management than their male counterparts. LaBrie and Pickeral said they were required to keep detailed logs of their workdays while male reporters were not required to do so.

Pickeral worked for the paper until October 2003, and LaBrie left in January 2004. Their attorney, Joni Thome, said the writers were "constructively discharged," or forced to leave because conditions were so intolerable.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined there is probable cause for the case to move forward and gave the women the "right to sue" on Oct. 3.

— Staff report

A more detailed story ran in the Minneapolis Star Tribune Jan. 25:

Two women who worked as sports reporters for the St. Paul Pioneer Press have filed a lawsuit alleging that they were victims of sexual discrimination while working at the paper.

Cara LaBrie and Robbie Pickeral, who were the only female sports reporters at the Pioneer Press in the summer of 2003, allege that they were subjected to harsher work rules and conditions than their male colleagues, and that editors took reprisals against them when they complained about discriminatory treatment.

The paper's editor, Thom Fladung, declined Thursday to comment about the lawsuit. The paper issued a statement saying that the newspaper and Bass vigorously deny the accusations.

The lawsuit, filed in Ramsey County District Court, seeks damages in excess of $50,000 for each of the women, who no longer work at the paper. Both the newspaper and its sports editor, Michael Bass, are named as defendants.

LaBrie, who primarily covered Wisconsin high school sports, alleges that Bass told her that she was expected to write a story per day, a workload not expected of male reporters.

The lawsuit also alleges that she was required to keep weekly logs detailing the hours she worked, unlike male reporters, and that editors altered her time cards to eliminate overtime hours she had worked. She left the newspaper in January 2004.

Pickeral, who covered the Minnesota Timberwolves for more than four years, alleged that Bass gave preferential treatment to a less senior male reporter over her in handling vacation requests.

He also singled her out for criticism for using too many of the same quotes as competing reporters, which she said is common in sports stories and was regularly done by male reporters, the lawsuit alleges.

Pickeral left the newspaper in 2003.

Joni Thome, an attorney for the women, said that the newspaper business "is a difficult industry for women anyway, and to have managers like they did made it ... intolerable."

Paul Gustafson

Another story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 26, 2006:

EEOC ruling backs reporters' claims
The finding supports an allegation of discrimination made by the women, former Pioneer Press sportswriters.

Paul Gustafson, Star Tribune

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ruled there is probable cause to believe that the work of two female sportswriters at the St. Paul Pioneer Press was scrutinized differently from that of their male colleagues.

Marshall Anstandig, a vice president and senior labor and employment counsel for Knight Ridder Inc., current owner of the Pioneer Press, said Friday that the EEOC finding "is not a final determination" and that "we vigorously deny any discrimination."

The allegation was included in sexual discrimination complaints filed in 2003 by Cara LaBrie and Robbi Pickeral against the Pioneer Press, where they were, at the time, the only female sports reporters at the paper.

LaBrie, Pickeral and their Minneapolis attorney, Steven Smith, declined to comment about the EEOC finding, which was issued two weeks ago.

The paper's editor, Thom Fladung, said, "I believe the Pioneer Press didn't discriminate then, and does not now."

In their charges, the women also alleged that the newspaper suspended them and demoted Pickeral when they complained about unfair treatment.

Pickeral said she was taken off the Minnesota Timberwolves beat and reassigned to cover non-revenue sports at the University of Minnesota, a change she termed "incredibly humiliating."

She now covers the men's football and basketball teams at the University of North Carolina for the Raleigh News & Observer, which like the Star Tribune is owned by the McClatchy Co. of Sacramento, Calif.

LaBrie, who covered Wisconsin high school sports, alleged that a sports editor required her to write a story each day, a workload she said was not imposed on other sports reporters. She is now a special-sections editor at the Arizona Republic in Phoenix.

Back