A former Lane Community College soccer player filed a tort claim notice against the college, alleging that leadership allowed a hostile environment for women. She said she faced discrimination and retaliation from her coach.
Addison Bellm played for the college in fall 2024. After her first season, she made the University of Oregon’s soccer team as a walk-on.
She returned to LCC’s team over the summer after she was cut from UO’s roster. She said she had hoped to dual-enroll at both schools for her sophomore year.
Bellm said after her positive coaching experience at UO, something felt off at Lane.
“It was kind of an ‘aha’ moment, where I realized this is not how a coach should be treating players, especially female players,” Bellm said.
Bellm is represented by Matthew Ellis with the Portland firm Employment Law PDX. She alleged her coach at LCC required her to sign a contract promising she would show humility and “be an energy giver, not an energy killer.”
She said he once berated her to the point of tears after she said she was confused about instructions he had given.
Privacy concerns
Bellm said she also felt like the coach invaded her and other players' privacy.
She said that he asked to track their cell phone locations, which she declined. She said he also commented on players’ menstrual cycles and asked them to submit cycle information to an online document. He used that information to make coaching decisions during a game.
“It's been really hard for me to find the motivation to practice,” Bellm said. “When I think of soccer, I think of my poor experience there.”
LCC confirmed the coach is no longer employed at the college. The college did not say why he left the school. He could not be reached for a request for comment.
Bellm said she was kicked off the team on Sept. 10, a few weeks after a confrontation she and her mother had with the coach. The confrontation ended with her mother telling him she planned to report her concerns to LCC’s athletic director.
They met with the athletic director soon after, according to the tort claim notice. The athletic director ended the meeting a few minutes later, which Bellm alleged was because her mother brought up Title IX.
In addition to notifying the college of her plans to sue, Bellm also asked the college to open a Title IX investigation.
Lane Community College’s response
Jenna McCulley, senior advisor for strategic communications for LCC, said in a statement that the college had received the tort notice and will not comment on specifics of pending litigation.
She said the college did dispute several of the claims, saying they were evaluated and investigated by Human Resources and the Title IX Office. McCulley said the allegations did not meet the criteria to move forward with a formal grievance procedure, but the college provided informal support.
“Lane Community College is committed to ensuring safe, healthy and welcoming environments for all of our students and staff,” McCulley said, “Ensuring that our students have avenues to raise concerns is critical to this value and Title IX protections are an essential component which is why LCC has a robust Title IX procedure, student code of conduct, and human resource policies in place.”
Lane Community College announced the hiring of a new head coach and assistant coach in January.
Oregon law requires anyone planning to sue the government to notify the body of their claims in advance. The tort claim notice is dated Feb. 3. It cites both Title IX, and Oregon anti-discrimination law.
Lane Community College holds the license for KLCC but has no part in KLCC's editorial process and does not review news content before publication. This story was also edited by an outside editor from the Northwest News Network.
