Lesbian coach loses job after revealing partner's pregnancy

A Tennessee women's soccer coach working at Belmost University lost her job this week, after revealing that she and her female partner were expecting a baby together. Lisa Howe said that she wanted to tell her team that she and her partner were going to become mothers first-hand, because she did not want the women's soccer players to find out from other people. But, the university (in a state that doesn't have anti discrimination laws on the grounds of sexual orientation in place) apparently had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in place, and Howe's revelations violated that. According to team members, she was given a choice to resign on her own, or be fired.

Lisa Howe had been with the Belmont University soccer team for six seasons, and team members said that there had been rumors about her sexual orientation before, so she decided to share the happy news that she was going to become a mom with the team directly. When you're going to be a mom, but you are not pregnant, being a lesbian is something that is hard to conceal! Now, getting sacked for being pregnant is nothing new but this is a totally unexpected variety of that!

Team Captain Sari Lin told a local newspaper, The Tennessean: "[Athletics Director Mike Strickland] basically said we have the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and when she told us about the pregnancy, it violated that. She was telling us what her sexual preference is. He said you can hide your sexuality, but you can't hide a baby. He pretty much told me that once the baby was born she was going to get fired anyway, so it s better to do it sooner than later." That same director later issued a statement saying Howe chose to resign on her own, without any further details. It's a shame that we still live in a world where some people have to hide that they are on the way to becoming parents, I think. What are your opinions? For more outrageous fertility-related news, you can read our previous story red bracelet for menstruating employees.