IOWA SETTLES DISCRIMINATION SUITS FOR $6.5 MILLION

The University of Iowa is doling out $6.5 million to settle an impending legal battle against former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum and to close the book on the Jane Meyer trial.

The news comes Friday afternoon, during your typical Iowa news dump hours. Per terms of the settlement, Iowa will pay Meyer an additional $900,000 to the $1.43 million she won two weeks ago, including another $500,000 in lost wages.

Griesbaum will receive $1.5 million, $300,000 of which is for lost damages, the rest for emotional distress. The Des Moines law firm that represented Meyer and Griesbaum will get $2.7 million in compensation from the school.

The settlement also puts the kabash on the June Trial that Griesbaum brought forth to the university. Terms of the settlement also disclose that Meyer and Griesbaum cannot seek reinstatement at the university. Not like they would still want to work under Gary Barta anyway!

This doesn’t put an end to the Iowa athletic department’s legal woes, oh no it does not. The U.S. Department of Education continues its inquiry into the Iowa AD, stemming from complaints that followed the terminations of Griesbaum and Meyer. This is the Title IX trouble you’ve probably heard something about.

The University of Iowa does not admit fault in the settlements.

Is this the end of Gary Barta? Maybe. Either way, I think we can all agree it shouldn’t have come to this.