Sanger man claims he was kicked out of university for being gay

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A 23-year-old Sanger man claims he was kicked out of a Northern California university for being gay.

Anthony Villarreal says he was a dedicated student and cross-country athlete -- attending school on an athletic scholarship. Villarreal says he's always known he was gay but wasn't ready to tell people about his sexuality while attending William Jessup University near Sacramento. When he finally decided to tell his cross-country coach -- Villarreal says he was kicked out of school.

It was senior year at college when Villarreal started living with his partner. Things were going well for the cross-country athlete who majored in journalism. But one night police were called to his house for a domestic dispute involving him and his partner. Villarreal says charges against him were dropped. But school officials called for a meeting.

"Because you're living with your partner, that's against the student handbook, and you cannot be living with your partner. You're co-habiting. That's against your handbook, and against your athletic contract," said Villarreal.

William Jessup University is a private, Christian school with a campus in Rocklin. Villarreal says during his first meeting with school leaders they asked him to sign a contract in line with school policies, which he did.

But Villarreal says he didn't stop living with his boyfriend, and was subsequently told by school administrators to stop attending classes in September of 2013.

WJU sent Action News this comment when we asked about Villareal's dismissal: "While University policy prohibits us from discussing private student matters, we do not discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation. However, student participation in WJU is a voluntary association governed by a biblically-based code of conduct for every student enrolled at the University."

"Really it's saying they don't discriminate but yet you better follow the code of conduct and if you're homosexual we don't want you here. So yeah, they're discriminating. They clearly are," said ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi. He also says based on these facts Villarreal could file an anti-discrimination lawsuit.

Villarreal says he had eight classes left until he could graduate from college, before his dismissal. His current goal is to find a school where he can finish his bachelor's degree.