New Mexico State University agreed last year to pay $165,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that head football coach Hal Mumme discriminated against four former players because they were Muslim.
Because of a clause that kept the agreement confidential for six months, the settlement amount wasn’t reported when NMSU settled the lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of the former players, in June 2007. The documents are now public.
Under the agreement, NMSU agreed to pay Mu’Ammar Ali, Anthony Thompson, Vincent Thompson and Jacob Wallace a combined $165,000. In exchange, the former football players agreed to forever release Mumme and the state from further liability.
As part of the settlement, Mumme and NMSU admitted to no wrongdoing or liability. You can read the settlement document by clicking here.
The lawsuit, which you can read by clicking here, alleged that Mumme became aware the players were Muslim when they recited passages from the Koran off to the side while the rest of the team recited the Lord’s Prayer during spring practices in 2005.
Ali claimed he was demoted and kept off the team’s travel roster after the first game of the season. He was later cut from the team and transferred. He also claimed Mumme questioned him in July 2005 about al-Qaida.