Former Emporia State head soccer coach Bryan Sailer is suing Emporia State and Athletic Director David Spafford for allegedly violating his rights under Title IX and the First Amendment after he raised concerns over gender inequity, according to a complaint filed in federal court on Dec. 23, 2024. Sailer is seeking damages in excess of $75,000.00.
The lawsuit comes after Sailer was terminated from ESU in December 2023, following a suspension on Nov. 22, 2023. The University holds that Sailer was terminated for “failure to meet the professional standards and expectations of leadership, supervision and accountability.”
2023 MIAA Conference
In the fall of 2023, ESU soccer claimed the 2023 MIAA conference championship. It is alleged in the suit that after the championship game, seniors on the team took shots of alcohol to celebrate and posed with the championship trophy all near ESU officials.
The complaint states that the players boarded the bus after their win to return to ESU from Wichita, Kan. Before leaving, Sailer obtained the championship trophy from the back of the bus. Sailer claimed he did not see any alcohol at the time.
It wasn’t until the team was arriving back in Emporia that Sailer first saw alcohol on the bus; however, he claims he did not see players drinking alcohol at the time. He was then offered a drink by one of the players, but declined. Sailer advised his players to not drive if they had been drinking.
The following day on Nov. 12, Sailer saw a social media post that included his players taking a shot with the trophy. He told his players to take the post down.
On Nov. 13, Spafford called Sailer and requested him to come to work immediately. Spafford discussed the logistics of hosting the NCAA tournament with Sailer. Sailer told Spafford that he initially assumed the meeting would be about the social media post, to which Spafford interrupted saying “no.”
According to the suit, there was no further discussion of the consumption of alcohol by the student athletes until after the first and second round of NCAA tournament play. ESU won both games to advance to the third round.
On Nov. 20, assistant coach Chloe Marquez and a graduate assistant of the team reported to Spafford about the team drinking on the bus following the championship game. The suit alleges that during the meeting, the GA and Marquez made false accusations against Sailer, claiming that he was aware of the drinking on the bus and participated in it.
“During that season, Marquez tried to get women’s soccer team players to make complaints about Sailer. Marquez said she wanted to get Sailer fired,” the complaint says.
On Nov. 21, Spafford brought Marquez and the GA’s complaint to human resources, where Human Resources Director Ray Lauber launched an investigation into the accusations.
Complaints of gender inequity
More than a month before the alleged claims, ESU administrators, including Spafford and ESU President Ken Hush, received a four-page letter from the captains of the soccer team that highlighted what the team believed to be unfair treatment in comparison to men’s sports teams at ESU. The issues addressed in the letter included an unusable soccer field, which forced them to have to play at a local high school for numerous home matches.
In their letter, the captains said the circumstances were “unacceptable.” The suit indicates that “the field was neglected for over a year, and repairs were delayed until it was too late for the season.” They captains believed the relocation played a role in the lack of fan support they received and reduced their home field advantage.
The captains also addressed their concerns with inadequate weight lifting sessions during the season. The said the limited lift time at one hour per week and having to share that time with other teams interrupted their time and focus. In addition, they felt they had an insufficient weight coach as he was only a graduate assistant.
“Instead of being treated with the same urgency and commitment as our men’s sports teams, we are rushed out of the weight room, not even given a certified coach,” the captains wrote.
On Nov. 21, 6 weeks after the captains sent their letter to Spafford, the soccer team received a response to their letter. The response came after Spafford directed Marquez and the GA’s complaint to Human Resources.
Sailer’s complaint alleges that the concerns of gender inequity were not new to ESU. In September 2023, the suit says Sailer brought an issue with film to Colleen Mischke, senior associate athletic director, as he felt the film was “unwatchable because of a lack of planning on ESU Operations’ part.” Sailer believed that if this issue involved the football team, it would not have happened.
Sailer is terminated
On Nov. 22, 2023, ESU suspended Sailer. The suit says the University instructed Sailer not to communicate with players and staff and he was banned from campus unless otherwise coordinated through Human Resources.
Four days later, four team captains spoke with Spafford and Mischke “about the events of November 11, 2023, their discipline, and Sailer being put on leave.” The complaint alleges that the call began with Mischke threatening the captains with “criminal prosecution if they chose to speak about the events” that occurred at the MIAA tournament.
During the call, the captains indicated that Sailer did not know about the alcohol present on the bus. Spafford said had he himself seen the players drinking, he would have “told them to put it away.”
Additionally, the captains alleged during the call that the football team had a “tradition” of allowing freshman football players to drink before games and stand drunk on the sidelines. The suit says this allegation was not addressed by the University, but that the University had become aware of alcohol consumption on the bus by players on the football team following their bowl game at the end of the 2022 season.
Citing “information and belief,” the complaint says that ESU “did not take action against coaches (or players) on the football team over inappropriate behavior involving alcohol.” It alleges that the University has a history of tolerating alcohol use by student athletes.
According to the suit, notes taken during the call were not present in ESU’s investigation file into the incident and the University did not interview additional witnesses. The suit claims that Mischke said the University planned to do so.
On Nov. 28, ESU announced to news media outlets that Sailer would not accompany the team to its remaining NCAA tournament games due to his suspension. In the same announcement, ESU said that several women’s soccer team members would be subject to possible sanctions including limited playing time in upcoming games.
ESU promoted Marquez to the position of interim head coach immediately after it suspended Sailer. She did not return to ESU for the 2024-25 season.
Sailer was terminated on December 8, 2023.
Spafford did not respond to The Bulletin’s request for comment on the matter. Sailer’s lawyers did not have a comment.
Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication, Gwen Larson, sent a response on behalf of ESU about the lawsuit brought against them by Sailer. Larson said that the University “takes all reports of misconduct seriously” and that students, student-athletes, and University employees are expected to honor the high standards set by the University, including those set forth by policies and programs.
“The basis of Mr. Sailer’s termination included his failure to meet the professional standards and expectations of leadership, supervision and accountability as the former head coach of the women’s soccer program,” she said. “As an institution of higher education, Emporia State University and its students expect, and strive for, the highest level of quality and integrity from all members of our campus community.”
