Benet Academy Decides To Hire Amanda Kammes As Lacrosse Coach After Rescinding Job Offer Because She Is Married To A Woman

LISLE, Ill. (CBS) -- Benet Academy in Lisle has decided to offer an alumna a job as lacrosse coach after all, after earlier rescinding the offer because the coach is a lesbian.

In a statement, the board of directors at Benet Academy announced they had extended a job offer to Amanda Kammes to be the next head girls' lacrosse coach. The board said Kammes has accepted the offer.

The board noted that Benet Academy is a Catholic high school, and had deferred its employment discussions with Kammes after learning she is married to a woman. But the school's board has since determined that Kammes is the right candidate and offered her the job, the board said.

"The Board has heard from members of the Benet community on all sides of this issue over the past several days. We had an honest and heartfelt discussion on this very complex issue at our meeting. Going forward we will look for opportunities for dialogue in our community about how we remain true to our Catholic mission while meeting people where they are in their personal journey through life," the board said in a statement. "For now, we hope that this is the first step in healing the Benet community."

This move comes after protests from students, alumni, and faculty members about the school's earlier choice to rescind Kammes' job offer over her sexual orientation.

More than 2,000 people had signed a petition urging that Benet Academy in Lisle reconsider and hire Kammes. They said her track record as a lacrosse coach should be the main focus for her employment, not the woman she loves.

"The most frustrating piece of this is that Amanda was not being hired as a religion teacher, or in a position where she would be responsible for supporting the Catholic Church's practices or religious traditions," Benet Academy alum Tim Jacklich told CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot on Monday.

Kammes' supporters said the job offer was rescinded after Kammes listed her wife's name as an emergency contact.

"This former student, who is interested in coming back and supporting her school - she was not valuable, or not worthy of recognition and celebration, because of who she loves," Jacklich said.

Also speaking out on the subject was Benet Academy assistant lacrosse coach Colleen Savell.

"One hundred percent it was pulled because who she was married to," Savell told CBS 2's Charlie De Mar. "I want the girls and the students at Benet to know that this is not OK. This is not the example that we should be setting for the students here."