BANGOR – A Superior Court Justice has ruled that the Brewer School Department did not discriminate against a softball coach who was not rehired in 2006 after officials learned she allowed student athletes to walk barefoot through sheep manure during a team picnic.

Kelly Jo Cookson, 45, of Clifton, sued the school department and Superintendent Daniel Lee in Penobscot County Superior Court in October 2006. She claimed that she was not rehired because she is a lesbian and the department “elected to replace her with a less qualified heterosexual coach.” She also alleged that Lee slandered her when he told two parents that he “knew things about Kelly that I can’t share publicly.”

Cookson was the first person in the state to file a lawsuit alleging discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

In a 10-page decision dated Nov. 19, Justice Kevin Cuddy ruled that Cookson was not rehired because of “a pattern of engaging in or supporting the hazing of the players, and in particular younger players,” not because of her sexual orientation.

“The heart of this case has nothing to do with whether [Cookson] was a successful coach in terms of her win-loss record or whether she was an ‘excellent coach on the field,'” the judge wrote. “This case turns on the demonstrated evidence of [Cookson’s] poor judgment in permitting certain conduct between team members; conduct which was and is inconsistent with the policies of the Brewer School Department and the judgment of the Superintendent.”

School officials in Brewer are satisfied with the decision, School Committee Chairman Mark Farley said Wednesday.

“The Brewer School Department is extremely pleased with Judge Cuddy’s decision regarding Ms. Cookson,” he said. “The department acted appropriately and was within the law” when they decided not to rehire Cookson.

A.J. Greif, the Bangor attorney who represents Cookson, has filed a notice to appeal the decision to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The appeal is not expected to be heard for at least six months.

Greif was out of town Wednesday and unavailable to comment on the decision. A telephone message to Cookson was not returned.

Cookson sought reinstatement, a jury trial, compensatory damages, lost pay and attorneys’ fees. She received a right-to-sue letter in October 2006 from the Maine Human Rights Commission because it was not able to investigate her claim within the required time period.

She also alleged in the lawsuit that the superintendent slandered her in a conversation with two parents.

Cuddy found that Cookson had not been slandered. The judge cited Maine law that prevents employers from making public certain personnel information.

“Under this statute, certain types of information relating to an employee must be kept confidential, including evaluations of employee performance, as well as complaints and charges of misconduct, both of which were included in Ms. Cookson’s file,” Cuddy wrote. “Dr. Lee could have been referencing those items, or he could have been referencing any number of ‘things’ including Ms. Cookson’s social security number, credit information, or medical conditions, when he made the alleged statements.

“Regardless of the ‘things’ Dr. Lee was referencing,” the judge concluded, “it is a fact that he knew personal information about Ms. Cookson, and it is a fact, that he was prohibited by law, from sharing such information with the public.”

In a Bangor Daily News article in October 2006, Lee stated that the incident in April 2005 in which Brewer softball players were allowed to walk barefoot through a pasture containing sheep feces as part of a team outing contributed to his decision not to rehire Cookson. One player said she was forced to participate and subjected to ridicule from other players.

Cookson’s was the first lawsuit filed under the law that added sexual orientation to the list of classes protected from discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act. The provision, which was first introduced in the Legislature in 1976 and was repealed once by voters before being upheld in a referendum in November 2005, took effect on Dec. 28, 2005.

The law prohibits discrimination in areas of employment, housing, credit and education. The act already prohibited discrimination based on age, race, religion, disability and other factors.

Cookson is a graduate of Brewer High School and the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where she played softball, basketball and field hockey. She was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball at UMPI, where she is a member of the school’s athletic hall of fame.

Hired as the Brewer High softball head coach in 1992, Cookson was the Penobscot Valley Conference Class A Coach of the Year in 1995, 1996 and 2001. Brewer won the Eastern Maine Class A championship in 2004 and was in three other regional title games during her 14-year tenure.

Cookson also served as an assistant varsity basketball coach at Brewer. She is a former high school softball and American Softball Association umpire. Cookson has taught physical education at Indian Island School since the early 1990s.

Judy Harrison may be reached at jharrison@bangordailynews.net or 990-8207. Nok-Noi Ricker may be reached at nricker@bagordailynews.net or 990-8190.