Report: Former Mizzou track assistant sues head coach for racial discrimination
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Mizzou track and field program is in the news on Thursday, as it has been reported that a former assistant has sued head coach Brett Halter, associate athletic director for compliance Mitzi Clayton and the University of Missouri Board of Curators for racial discrimination.
Halter, who is still with the program, is alleged in the lawsuit to have singled out a former Mizzou assistant.
According to a report from Aaron Reiss of KansasCity.com, former assistant Carjay Lyles is suing Halter for racial discrimination:
Carjay Lyles — a black man who was a former men’s sprints, hurdles and relays coach for the Tigers — experienced multiple instances of discrimination during the approximately four years he worked at MU, starting in 2013, according to the suit, which was filed Tuesday in Boone County Circuit Court.
Lyles’ suit claims other black staff members and athletes also experienced discrimination under Halter, who has been with Mizzou for more than two decades and took over as head coach in August 2010. Halter and Clayton are white.
Lyles claims Halter would use different language when referring to black athletes and staffers:
The suit claims that Halter would refer to black athletes and staff members as “you people.” According to the lawsuit, in August 2014, then-director of operations Sirena Williams, who is black, resigned and told staff members in an email that she wanted to “work in a happy, and healthy, work environment” and that “Halter had treated her different from the other coaches on staff due to her race.”
Lyles now works with Akron’s track team, having resigned his post at Mizzou in 2017. Read the full KansasCity.com report here.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
