Training Rules

Documentary

In 2005, basketball star Sheryl Swoopes was one of the first WNBA players to come out of the closet, a breakthrough for the women’s sport. Meanwhile, Rene Portland, in her 26th year coaching women’s basketball at PennState, had three rules: no drinking, no drugs, and no lesbians. 

Talented young players at Penn State were harassed, threatened, and even stripped of their college scholarships if they identified as lesbian or even had lesbian friends. In March 2005, Coach Portland suddenly dismissed, Jen Harris, a promising athlete with a dream to play for the WNBA, on suspicion that she was a lesbian. Harris filed suit against the coach, the university, and the athletics department for turning a blind eye to open discrimination.

Through the use of candid interviews and game footage, Training Rules reveals the stories of Harris and six other women who were pressured to quit: the heartbreak of their lost dreams and their struggles against an iconic coach with the influence to stop them from playing anywhere else.

Winner Audience Award for Best Documentary, Frameline 33, The San Francisco LGBT Film Festival 2009
Official Selection Philadelphia Film Festival 2009

Directors         Fawn Yacker, Dee Mosbacher
Country           USA
Year                 2009
Duration          61mins

Warning: This festival contains films that are unclassified and therefore the entire festival is rated R. Films in this festival are legally restricted to people 18 years or older.