Former University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey coach Shannon Miller has accepted a reduced monetary award in her federal discrimination lawsuit against the university.
On Sept. 9 United States District Judge Patrick Schiltz called her $3 million award "shockingly excessive" and instead offered $750,000 in noneconomic damages on top of her $1.2 million awarded for pay and benefits.
"Coach Miller has decided to accept the court's order in its entirety," attorney Donald Chance Mark Jr. wrote in a letter filed Monday.
UMD declined to renew Miller's contract late in 2014. The following year she, along with two other now-former women's team coaches, sued the university alleging discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, among other allegations. A jury found in Miller's favor in March 2018.
Miller, who led the women's hockey team for 16 years, will receive a total of $1.9 million in noneconomic damages and pay and benefits and an additional $2.4 million for legal fees and expenses.
UMD spokesperson Lynne Williams said the university "is still assessing the appropriate next steps."
Brooks Johnson • 612-673-4229