Delaware State athlete Natalia Mendieta claims she lost scholarship for not attending church
A student is suing Delaware State University after she allegedly lost her athletic scholarship for refusing to attend church.
Natalia Mendieta, a Catholic student, claims that she was forced to attend services at an Assembly of God church with the DSU volleyball team and coach LaKisya Killingsworth.
Mendieta complied with Killingsworth’s rules during preseason, but later wrote a letter explaining to the coach that she did not wish to attend the church. The player-coach relationship then “rapidly deteriorated” after writing the letter.
The student once missed curfew with other teammates during the fall semester. She was then informed that her scholarship for the 2015-2016 academic year would not be renewed.
photo Kauhajoki.vaakuna.svg
Courthouse News reports Mendieta appealed the decision with proper university procedures but was denied.
“Ms. Mendieta believed that her relationship with Coach Killingsworth would suffer if she refused to attend the coach’s church and, if she did, she would receive less playing time and her scholarship might not be renewed for the following year,” reads the lawsuit.
Sarah Jones of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State wrote, “There are a number of religious colleges in the country that would have permitted her to engage in these religious activities. DSU, however, is not among them.”
Delaware State is a public university.
