A December 2024 lawsuit filed in federal court against Emporia State by former women’s soccer head coach Bryan Sailer was dismissed by both parties earlier this month, according to court documents. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled in court.
The suit, which was dismissed on Sept. 12, alleged that the university and former athletic director David Spafford fired Sailer over his concerns about gender inequity faced by the women’s soccer team, violating his rights under Title IX and the First Amendment. Court documents show Spafford was dismissed as a defendant in the case in June.
In January 2025, Gwen Larson, director of media relations and internal communication, told The Bulletin that Sailer was terminated for “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.”
Sailer’s termination followed an alleged incident where women’s soccer athletes consumed alcohol on a bus after winning the 2023 MIAA championship. Sailer claimed he did not see any alcohol on the bus until the team returned to Emporia and did not see any athletes drinking. He said he was offered a drink by one of the players afterwards, but declined.
When asked if a settlement was reached in the suit, Sailer’s lawyer and ESU declined to comment about the case’s resolution.
Why was the lawsuit initially filed?
Sailer’s claims of First Amendment and Title IX violations stemmed from a four-page letter written to ESU administration by captains of the women’s soccer team in October 2023. The captains described what they believed to be unfair treatment including an unfinished soccer field that left them unable to play on the ESU pitch and inadequate weight lifting sessions.
The soccer team was limited to lift one hour per week and had to share with other teams, which the captains believed to have “interrupted their time and focus,” according to previous reporting by The Bulletin. They also claimed that the team’s weight lifting coach was uncertified and only a graduate assistant, causing their weight lifting to be insufficient.
This treatment was not the same that ESU’s men’s sports teams received, the captains claimed.
“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,” they wrote in the 2023 letter.
Sailer’s complaint alleged that the concerns of gender inequity were not new to ESU, saying he had brought up similar issues in the past.
The captains received a response to their letter on Nov. 21, over a month after the letter was sent to ESU administrators. At the same time, an investigation was launched into accusations from assistant coaching staff that Sailer was aware of the drinking that occurred on the bus ride home from the MIAA championship and had participated in it.
