The Strange Case of Jamie Wiggins: Coach sues ISU after being fired for agreeing to adopt student's baby
POCATELLO, IDAHO: An ex-assistant softball coach at Idaho State University is suing the university, claiming she was let go because she volunteered to adopt a player's child who wanted to conceal her pregnancy from her parents. Jamie Wiggins, 38, brought the legal action in Idaho last month, claiming that school administrators had infringed upon her First Amendment rights and privileges as a public employee.
The records also claim that the school violated her freedom of religion since she felt it was her responsibility as a Christian to adopt the baby boy, who passed away less than three months after his birth due to medical difficulties. Wiggins is now suing for compensation for missed pay and the emotional suffering she and her family have endured as a result of her dismissal.
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As per Daily Mail, Wiggins had a 10-month contract to coach softball at the institution. The former coach at the university claimed that on May 1, after learning of a rumor regarding the student's pregnancy, she approached the young girl. The young woman initially denied her pregnancy, but after a week she came clean about it and, according to the coach, asked Wiggins for help.
The girl asked Wiggins on May 10 whether she and Greg would adopt the youngster after being informed that the student would require an induction. They consented, but the infant, who had been born prematurely that day, was kept in the hospital until July 28, when he passed away due to complications. "The decision of plaintiff and her husband Greg Wiggins to offer to adopt the baby was an exercise of their Christian faith," court documents stated. It continued, "Plaintiff's religious beliefs dictate the care of orphans in their distress when called upon, with a recognition of harsh consequences for not doing so."
Wiggins claims in the lawsuit that she and her husband had a responsibility to adopt the child as Christians. Despite opposition from the athletic director and dean, the woman and her legal team asserted that they supported the student's decision to keep her parents in the dark. The report reads, "While the Wiggins hoped that the birth mother would tell her parents, they respected her autonomy to make this difficult decision on her own without interference or coercion." According to Wiggins, she was threatened with losing her job during a meeting on May 17 but refused to leave or back out of her commitment to adopt the child.
The former coach claimed she had a meeting with the team's head coach to go through her intentions for the squad, including a recruitment plan and her future role with the team, but the meeting ended abruptly with her termination. According to Wiggins, officials also informed her at the time that her decision to adopt the child was what prevented her contract from being renewed. The school stated in a statement that they did not renew Wiggins' contract because of their "duty to intervene in actual or apparent conflicts of interest."
Who is Jamie Wiggins?
The native of Clovis, California, Wiggins played at Fresno State from 2002 to 2005 before spending time with the USA National team from 2004 to 2007. A four-time NCAA All-American and four-time Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Pitcher of the Year, Wiggins attended Fresno State after graduating from high school as an All-American. She had over 1,000 strikeouts over the course of her career and led the NCAA in ERA in both 2002 and 2004.
She was chosen first in the senior draft of the National Pro Fastpitch League after college and went on to win two titles with the Chicago Bandits in 2008 and the Akron Racers in 2005. At the 2006 World Championships, she took home a gold medal while competing for the US National Team. She was also inducted into the Clovis Unified School District Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. Jamie along with her husband Greg runs a social media initiative SpinDr Softball which they call a "place for pitchers, parents, and coaches to go beyond the balls and strikes and explore the art of pitching."