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Lawsuit claims teacher resigned after facing racial discrimination in Williamsburg

Posted at 10:27 PM, May 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-05 23:09:10-04

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - A former middle school coach filed a lawsuit claiming he didn't get promoted for a job because of the color of his skin.

Calvin Williams used to work at Queens Lake Middle School in the York County School District.

He taught P.E. and coached baseball and basketball.

According to the lawsuit he resigned because he felt he was being racially discriminated against.

It states he was degraded and demeaned in front of students and other staff.

He claimed to have been denied promotions and the lawsuit states his requests for uniforms and equipment for his teams were denied.

News 3 reached out to the school board and the district.

The York County School District issued the following statement:

“While the school division does not discuss pending or ongoing litigation in accordance with policies and procedures, the York County School Division does not discriminate on the basis of race (Title VI), color, religion, national origin, sex, gender (Title IX), age or disability (Section 504) in its educational programs, activities or employment."

News 3 also talked to some parents and students.

Omari Lee used to play basketball for Williams and said, “He was nice, very caring and cared about everybody on the team.”

Former player Sean Tracy also played for Williams and had him for gym class last year.

“He's awesome,” said Tracy, "He was really fun and fair and if you did something wrong he wouldn't yell at you, he would just tell you don't do it again and then we would go back to having fun."

Tracy said he was disappointed when he found out William left the district.

Tracy said he would frequently go to Williams for help with problems and advice. He also said while playing on the team he sensed there was tension.

“He kind of got fed up with it and just picked up and left,” said Tracy.

The lawsuit states that he was nominated for teacher of the year at the school in Spring of 2015 by his coworkers.

Williams attempted to be transferred to another school but was told that there were no open positions for him, the lawsuit said.

Williams resigned in December of 2016 and stopped working at the school in early January.

His lawyer Steven Wiley wouldn't go into specifics about the lawsuit.

“We look forward to allowing the judicial system to run its course and we look forward to Mr. Williams getting his day in court,” said Wiley.