After an Italian volleyball club sued a former player for allegedly breaking her contract because of a pregnancy, Italian politicians and sports administrators have rushed to the player’s defense.
In an interview with The Guardian, Lara Lugli, 41, said she felt she was being treated as having done some “illicit and malicious” with the pregnancy. The Guardian reported that the club, Volley Maniago Pordenone, claimed in the suit that Lugli failed to inform them that she was planning on having a baby before she signed a contract during the 2018-19 season.
“When I read the legal document, I was so angry,” Lugli told 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.”
According to The Guardian, Lugli was fired March 2019 after she informed the club about the pregnancy. She was the captain of the team and miscarried a month later, per The Guardian.
Lugli then requested her monthly salary of €2,500 ($2,995) for the month she played for Pordenone in the month before she found out she was pregnant. The Guardian reported that the club refused to pay and instead sued Lugli. Per a translation The Guardian did of a court document Lugli posted on…
