Utah mother, daughter sue Idaho university after locker room incident
A Utah mother and daughter have filed a lawsuit against Northwest Nazarene University in U.S. District Court over an incident that took place on Dec. 20, 2024, at Westminster University in Salt Lake City.
Kathleen J. Hoenig and daughter Frances K. Mejía accuse the NNU women’s basketball team of “offensive, outrageous and intolerable conduct,” according to the lawsuit, after the pair encountered the team and a male student team manager in the women’s locker room.
The Salt Lake Tribune first reported the lawsuit.
Hoenig and Mejía had just finished swimming in the Westminster pool and were in the women’s locker room changing, the lawsuit said. Hoenig was partially dressed and Mejía was nude when a group of about 12 players, as well as the manager, walked into the women’s locker room.
Hoenig and Mejía alleged in the suit that the NNU group “looked and laughed at them in a way that was humiliating and violative.” As a result of the incident, Hoenig and Mejía have claimed “ongoing, severe and extreme physical and emotional distress.”
NNU was at Westminster that weekend for the Westminster Tournament. The Nighthawks played MSU Denver on Dec. 20 and were scheduled to play Westminster the next day. On the school’s website, the result for that game is listed as “No Contest,” because after a medical emergency during the game with a Westminster player, the coaches agreed not to resume.
“We have received notification of, and are reviewing, the legal filing. The matter has been turned over to legal counsel for review and response,” NNU told the Idaho Statesman in a provided statement. “As a matter of stated practice with litigation, the University will direct all questions to legal counsel. When appropriate, the University will provide a response through official University communications.”
The plaintiffs are seeking at least $75,000 in damages, plus interest and punitive damages, as well as other costs. They have requested an injunction restraining any NNU women’s team with male staff members from entering women’s locker rooms until they receive training “to respect the seclusion, privacy and dignity of the women and girls in women’s locker rooms.”
“NNU is committed to providing a transformative education that prepares its students to pursue a meaningful life rooted in timeless values and empowered by community, equipping them to become God’s creative and redemptive agent in the world,” the school said in its statement.
This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 1:13 PM.
