Former UMD women's hockey coach wins additional damage award

Shannon Miller lifts her fists in the air as she exits the courthouse.
Shannon Miller lifted her fists in the air as she exited the federal courthouse last year with her lead attorney, Dan Siegel, after winning her discrimination lawsuit against the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Steve Kuchera | Duluth News Tribune 2018

A discrimination and retaliation award for former women's hockey coach Shannon Miller who sued the University of Minnesota Duluth is growing.

A federal judge granted a motion Wednesday to award Miller an additional $460,000 in pay and future benefits, bring her total award to about $4.2 million.

A federal jury last spring awarded Miller $3.7 million in past lost wages and benefits and emotional distress. The jury found UMD discriminated against Miller on the basis of gender and retaliated against her for making Title IX complaints regarding the disparity between the men's and women's hockey programs.

Despite being among the most successful women's hockey coaches, UMD declined to renew Miller's contract in late 2014 after 16 seasons. Miller returned to coaching with the Canadian Women's Hockey League's Calgary Inferno.

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