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Former Idaho State softball coach sues university after it fired her when she offered to adopt a pregnant player’s baby: The athlete didn’t tell her parents and the baby died less than three months after birth
- Jamie Wiggins, 38, filed a lawsuit against Idaho State University last month alleging she was fired for agreeing to adopt a pregnant student’s baby.
- The former softball coach says the school violated her First Amendment rights, her protections as a public employee and the right to freely express her religion.
- Wiggins claims in the lawsuit that the student, whose name is not used, did not want to tell her parents about the pregnancy and that it was her Christian duty to help.
- The former trainer alleges she was fired shortly after informing officials of her decision to adopt the child.
- The baby died in the hospital less than three months after his birth on July 28 due to health complications.
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A former Idaho State University assistant softball coach is suing the university over claims she was fired when she offered to adopt the baby of a player who wanted to keep her pregnancy a secret from her parents.
Jamie Wiggins, 38, filed the lawsuit in Idaho last month, alleging that school officials violated her First Amendment rights and protections as a public employee.
The documents also accuse the school of violating her right to freely express her religion, as it believed it was her Christian duty to adopt the baby, who died less than three months after birth from health complications.
Wiggins is now seeking damages for lost wages and the emotional distress the situation has caused her and her family.
Jamie Wiggins, 38, says she was fired by Idaho State University over the decision to adopt the baby of a player who had an unplanned pregnancy.
Wiggins worked at the school as a softball coach on a 10-month contract.
The former coach said she had reached out to the young woman on May 1 after hearing a rumor about the student’s pregnancy.
The young woman initially denied she was pregnant, but admitted it a week later, at which point she asked Wiggins for help, the coach claims.
On May 10, after the student was told she would have to be induced into labor, the girl asked Wiggins if she and Greg would adopt the child.
They agreed but the baby, who was born prematurely that day, remained in the hospital until July 28 when he died of complications.
“The decision of the plaintiff and her husband Greg Wiggins to offer to adopt the baby was an exercise of their Christian faith,” the court documents say.
“Plaintiff’s religious beliefs dictate the care of the orphans in their distress when called upon, with acknowledgment of harsh consequences for not doing so,” the documents continue.
In the lawsuit, Wiggins says that she and her husband had a duty as Christians to adopt the baby.
The woman and her legal team say she supported the student’s decision not to tell his parents, despite rejection by the athletic director and dean.
“While the Wigginses expected the birth mother to tell her parents, they respected her autonomy to make this difficult decision on her own without interference or coercion,” the documents read.
Wiggins says she was threatened with losing her job during a meeting on May 17, but she refused to back down or withdraw their offer to adopt the baby.
She said she had met with the team’s head coach to discuss his plans for the team, including a recruiting scheme and her future role in the team, but was fired shortly after.
Wiggins claims that officials also told her at the time that it was her decision to adopt the baby that led to her contract not being renewed.
In a statement, the school said they have a “duty to intervene in real or perceived conflicts of interest” and that’s what led to Wiggins’ contract not being renewed.
In a statement to Eastern Idaho.com NewsSchool officials said: ‘The varsity CARES team, a group of university professionals trained to assess students’ needs and determine how to support them, meets regularly to provide guidance in an emergency situation and to determine if there is an immediate threat of harm to the physical or emotional health of a student.
‘This team is well equipped to bring together university resources in support of pregnant students and new parents.
‘The University’s CARES team was very involved in this matter.’
Wiggins is seeking damages for lost wages and emotional stress caused by the situation.
“The university always has the best interests of the student as its sole motivation,” the school said in a statement to EastIdahoNews.com.
The statement continued: “Given the context and facts of this situation and the university’s duty to intervene in real or perceived conflicts of interest between students and authority figures, when the plaintiff’s contract expired, the university chose not to renew the contract. plaintiff’s one-year contract”. contract for another year.
‘The university always has as its only motivation the best interest of the student. Any allegation that the university’s actions were motivated by other reasons is patently false. The university stands by its decision and plans to vigorously defend itself against this litigation.’
DailyMail.com reached out to Wiggins’ legal team and Idaho State University officials for further comment, but did not hear back by time of publication.