Govt. supports crew coach's bias claim against U.

and Eric Tucker The federal government ruled over the summer that the University committed gender discrimination in 1997 by allegedly refusing to consider the application of men's assistant crew coach Andrew Medcalf for the position of head women's crew coach. Medcalf, 48, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the University more than two years ago, alleging that he had been passed over in favor of current women's coach Barb Kirch despite having been "forcefully recommended" for the position by men's crew coach Stan Bergman and the rowers themselves. In his complaint, Medcalf alleges that then-Senior Associate Athletic Director Carolyn Schlie Femovich -- who recently left Penn to serve as executive director of the Patriot League -- told him that she wanted to hire a coach that could "serve as a strong female role model," even though she said he was qualified. Medcalf has been an assistant coach on the men's team for the past nine years. Before that, he served as coach at Michigan State University, the University of London and the University of Rochester. He applied to be head coach of the women's crew squad in May 1997. Femovich could not be reached for comment. Now that the EEOC has ruled, it can file its own lawsuit against the University. If it chooses not to, Medcalf will sue Penn himself, according to his attorney, Lawrence Woehrle. "We will have our own action," Woehrle said in July, noting that the EEOC's finding lends further credibility to Medcalf's claim. According to the July EEOC report, Femovich denied Medcalf's allegations. But she did testify that she once told the women's crew team that Penn hoped to attract "strong female candidates." The report accuses the University of taking "extraordinary measures to recruit only female candidates." It says that the University received 26 applications -- 13 from male candidates and 13 from female candidates -- between June and August 1997. But the only candidates granted interviews were female. Additionally, the EEOC says it has "reasonable cause to believe" that the University, in not interviewing male candidates for the position, violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which forbids employment discrimination based on race or gender. University spokesperson Ken Wildes, however, said in July that Penn's policies are "consistent with existing federal nondiscrimination regulations" and provide "fair and equitable treatment" to all prospective employees. Medcalf said that "the situation now is that the report stands. We're waiting to see what the EEOC will do." The University ultimately hired Kirch, a Penn alumna who served as head women's crew coach at Dartmouth College for nine years and once coached the U.S. national junior women's team. Despite the EEOC's recent ruling, Athletic Department officials maintain that Kirch was the best person for the job. "We have the best coach in the country in Barb Kirch. Period," Wildes said. According to Dawn Bennett-Alexander, a professor of legal studies at the University of Georgia, the desire for a coach of the same sex as the players is not reason to use gender as a "bona fide employment qualification." Noting that "this happens every day with women in sports," Bennett-Alexander said that the reverse nature of the claim makes it seem not as obvious of a case.