Security official who sued over her dismissal is Olympics-bound
By Rose Arce, CNN
July 19, 2012
(CNN) -- Kelly Hardwick is Olympics-bound. The 46-year-old security director had filed a lawsuit against USA Basketball, the National Basketball Association and the U.S. women's basketball head coach for removing her from a security team destined for the summer games.
Now, she's headed there after all.
Last month, Hardwick accused head coach Geno Auriemma in the suit of successfully demanding her removal after she allegedly rebuffed his sexual advances.
Auriemma called the allegations "beyond false," pledging to defend himself "to the fullest," in an earlier statement to CNN. The coach was not immediately available for comment upon news of Hardwick's reassignment.
She is currently in Manchester, England, where the U.S. men's basketball team played in an exhibition game Thursday, USA Basketball officials said.
"To win her case she will need to prove that both an act of sexual harassment took place and that she suffered in her job because of it," said CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
In the lawsuit, Hardwick also alleged that she had been routinely discriminated against, blaming the league for denying her promotions and raises because of her gender.
Ron Howard, a spokesman for the Women's National Basketball Association, said his office does "not comment on pending legal matters." Howard could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
USA Basketball said in a statement that "it is our policy not to discuss pending legal matters."
"We will have no further comment while this case is active," it said.
Hardwick, a former New York City detective and law school graduate, said she pushed the head coach away during a 2009 tournament trip to Russia with the women's senior national team.
"When I turned around, he was leaning in to kiss me," she told CNN's Soledad O'Brien in an exclusive television interview.
Auriemma, who is also head coach of the University of Connecticut women's basketball team, is considered among the nation's top coaches, steering the Huskies to seven national titles over his 27 years with the team.
He was named coach of the U.S. national team in 2009, having been an assistant coach to the gold medalist 2000 team that competed in Sydney, Australia.
The University of Connecticut was not available for comment.
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Inquiries about this case may be directed to Newman Ferrara attorney, Professor Randolph McLaughlin, at 212-619-5400.