Spanier ran out PSU’s highly successful women’s basketball coach for being “homophobic.”
Not exactly.
Spanier had no problem with her 'no lesbians' policy as long as PSU was winning. The policy was well-known and in place for years and years - it had been the topic of a national newspaper story and an award-winning documentary.
Then, PSU lost in the first round of the NCAA to a much lower-ranked team and the coach dismissed a couple of lesbians from the team, one of who was a star player.
Questioned by the media, the PSU Athletic Department first denied that anybody had been dismissed, then said the dismissals were for lack of performance. There was a major brouhaha in the press that brought back up the old issues of 'no lesbians' that hadn't bothered Spanier. Spanier did nothing.
The faculty senate then stepped in and levied a fine on the coach. She refused to pay it and eventually resigned.
I can dig and find links to the stories if you desire - but as much as Spanier pushed the boundaries sexually, he wasn't about to rock the boat as long as the women's basketball coach was winning.