Bill Fennelly dismissed from Nikki Moody lawsuit

Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly talks to members of his bench after a made shot by Mississippi State.

Luke Manderfeld

Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly has been dismissed from a lawsuit that former player Nikki Moody filed against him, Iowa State and the state of Iowa in April 2016.

The court document, filed in Polk County, said Moody “dismisses Defendant William Fennelly without prejudice.” 

Moody, who played for Fennelly from 2011-15 and is the program’s all-time assists leader, claimed Fennelly racially discriminated her and her African-American teammates in the original lawsuit. 

Iowa State said in a press release that the “Attorney General’s office will continue to work directly with the plaintiff’s attorneys regarding the remaining claims against the university.”

In the original suit, which was filed in mid-April last year, Moody claimed Fennelly “called her names, criticized her, made negative comments about her and her family, and alienated her from fans, teammates, staff, and her own parents.” 

According to Iowa Courts Online, a date for a jury trial is set for Sept. 11, 2017. 

About a week after news broke about the allegations, Fennelly addressed the media. While he didn’t go into the specifics of the case, he didn’t apologize.

“I’m not going to apologize for being who I am,” Fennelly said at the time. “I’ve done this for 41 years and I can’t change who I am. I am who I am, and I’m not going to apologize for that.”