DSU student files lawsuit against school and coach

The First Amendment, specifically religious rights, are at the center of a lawsuit filed against Delaware State University and two former employees. DSU student Natalia Mendieta claims her volleyball scholarship was taken away after she stopped going to church sessions, which were allegedly made mandatory by her coach.

According to the complaint, Coach LaKisya Killingsworth started incorporating religious worship into the volleyball program in Fall of 2013 and at first the meetings were optional. But Coach Killingsworth allegedly made meetings at her Pentecostal church mandatory and distributed Bibles to the whole team.

Mendieta, a Catholic, says she felt uncomfortable and asked if she could attend a church of her choice. Killingsworth reportedly agreed, but according to the complaint, their relationship deteriorated. She says the coach started taking a hostile tone and eventually stripped Mendieta of her scholarship on the grounds that she violated team rules. Also named in the lawsuit is the former DSU athletic director Candy Young

47 ABC spoke with Mendieta’s lawyer, Michael Raffaele, who tells us, this is a clear violation of first amendment rights. Raffaele says if it were a private religious school, things would be different, however DSU is a publicly funded university.

Raffaele tells 47 ABC, “Saying to a student through its employees you must go not just to church but to this coaches particular church and you must belong in a Christian association and you must study the Bible. No public entity is permitted to do that.”

Raffaele says this is also a violation of the Delaware State Constitution. The case is in preliminary stages, but the plaintiffs are reportedly suing for more than $75,000. As far as interaction with DSU, Raffaele says that they have been cordial and respectful. 47 ABC reached out to DSU and they said they had no comment. 47 ABC was able to get in touch with neither Young nor Killingsworth.