Ex-Cincy Athlete Sues School for Getting Kicked Off Team Over 'Sexy' IG Pics

Shalom Ifeanyi filed the lawsuit last week.

General view of the University of Cincinnati campus.
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CINCINNATI, OH - AUGUST 31: General view of the University of Cincinnati campus seen before the game against the Austin Peay Governors at Nippert Stadium on August 31, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

General view of the University of Cincinnati campus.

Looks like the University of Cincinnati is taking a page out of the NFL’s playbook.

Earlier this week, we reported how one team’s legal woes reflected what some view to be sexist policies throughout the league. Now, a former Cincy volleyball player named Shalom Ifeanyi is suing the school for booting her from the team over Instagram photos that her coach, Molly Alvey, deemed “too sexy.” To add insult to injury, NCAA transfer rules won’t allow Ifeanyi to play for another school this season, which means she won’t have her athletic scholarship to put towards her tuition.

First question, why TF is her coach stalking her IG in the first place? Anyway, Shalom Ifeanyi, 19, filed her lawsuit last week. In it, she claims she was subject to both racial and sex discrimination. As Ifeanyi alleges, she didn’t live up to the “biased image” of a player on her school’s team. She also claims that Alvey harassed her about her posts, and asked her to take them down. Ifeanyi complied, despite the fact she didn’t think it was fair. According to the lawsuit, “No such requests were made to other members of the women’s volleyball team who were of slighter build and lighter complexion despite photographs picturing them in outfits, including but not limited to, two-piece swimsuits.”

Ifeanyi filed a complaint with the school, but says the university hasn’t given her the opportunity to appeal her dismissal from the volleyball team. The school has yet to comment on the issue. 

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