Volleyball Pro Sued for Getting Pregnant

An Italian volleyball player is being sued by her former club after she got pregnant. The club accused her of breaking her contract and said that she was withholding information. The case has now sparked outrage among several people in the volleyball community, as well as supporters on social media.

According to The Guardian, Volley Maniago Pordenone claimed that Lara Lugli failed to inform them that she was planning to have a baby when she signed a contract to play for the club for the 2018-19 season. Lugli shared the court document on Facebook while discussing International Women's Day. The club accused her in the documents of "disproportionately selling her experience" and "hiding her desire to be a mother."

Lugli, 41, was the captain of the club after signing the contract. She was fired in March 2019 after informing her employer about the pregnancy. Lugli miscarried one month later. She informed Volley Maniago Pordenone that she had lost the baby and then requested the 2,500-pound salary owed for the month she played before learning of her pregnancy.

Volley Maniago Pordenone did not pay Lugli; instead, the club took legal action against her. The club reportedly claimed that her choice resulted in the club playing poorly for the remainder of the season. The club also claimed that the squad lost sponsorship money as well due to the struggles.

"When I read the legal document, I was so angry," Lugli said in an interview with The Guardian. "I've been playing volleyball for 25 years and had given it everything — they knew this. They said a 38-year-old woman should have known whether she wanted to have a baby and therefore should have said something. Not only did they call into question my professionalism but they are comparing pregnancy to illicit and malicious conduct — it's a very serious thing."

Several prominent figures have spoken out in support of Lugli after her firing and the subsequent legal case. The Guardian reports that the list includes Italian Senate speaker Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, who called the case "violence against women." The foreign minister Luigi Di Maio added a similar message on Facebook, writing: "To think that a woman today is forced to choose between a child and her career is no longer tolerable." Giovanni Malagò, the head of the Italian National Olympic Committee, released a statement saying that he expressed "solidarity" with Lugli after her firing.