JURY AWARDS JANE MEYER $1.4MM [UPDATING]

A jury in Polk County awarded former Iowa assistant AD Jane Meyer $1.4 million, ruling the University of Iowa discriminated against Meyer based on her gender and sexual orientation.

A jury of five men and three women deliberated for over eight hours, and found Meyer on all five of her claims: gender discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, retaliation, equal pay violation and whistleblower violation, according to the Gazette.

This isn’t the end, either. Meyer’s partner and former Iowa field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum takes on the UI in court next month, and many believe her case is even stronger than that of Meyer’s.

And now the question is: what does this mean for Gary Barta and those still on the staff of the UI athletics department? Barta’s biggest hit during the trial was likely for failing to properly document Meyer’s alleged insubordination, and regardless of how you feel about this verdict, I think universally we can all agree that this trial revealed quite how big of a buffoon Barta really is. However, knowing what I know about Iowa, my gut tells me Barta will be receiving an extension before he gets terminated.

There’s sure to be more on this as the story develops, and we’ll keep you updated.

UPDATE 5:26 PM