04/03/2007

Seasons to change next year

MHSAA loses equity case; eight sports to switch

LANSING (AP) — After a nine-year fight, two moms from the Grand Rapids area won a legal victory Monday that will resonate with high school girl athletes in Michigan for years to come.

The U.S. Supreme Court, by refusing to hear an appeal, let stand a ruling that Michigan's prep sports scheduling discriminates against girls. Eight sports seasons will switch next school year as a result.

Girls' basketball will move from fall to winter and girls' volleyball from winter to fall. Golf, tennis and soccer seasons for boys and girls also will be altered, depending on when those sports are played in the Upper and Lower peninsulas.

"This is for all the young ladies in Michigan,” said Diane Madsen, a Grand Rapids-area teacher and one of the original plaintiffs who filed a class-action lawsuit in 1998.

Madsen's three daughters have grown up and graduated high school since then. Still, she was thrilled by Monday's outcome.

"You can't discriminate based on gender, even though it may be convenient to do so,” said Madsen, who sued with another mother, Jay Roberts-Eveland, in conjunction with their group, Communities for Equity.

The high court's decision disappointed the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the governing body for high school sports, which said its scheduling helps girls and ensures their high sports participation rate in Michigan.

MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts listed a number of headaches that could result from the ruling but said he felt the worst for athletes who no longer can play multiple sports. Girls' tennis and soccer, for example — which now are played in the fall and spring — will both occur in the spring.

"Thousands of boy and girls will find that the combination of sport that they had in mind is not a combination that's going to be available to them,” Roberts said.

In 2001, U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen in Kalamazoo ruled that the scheduling policies violate the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment, the federal Title IX statute and Michigan civil rights law. He ordered a realigned sports schedule, and the case was tied up in appeals courts for more than five years.

Enslen said girls' sports often haven't been moved because of concerns over the inconvenience to boys' programs.

The suit especially sought to eliminate the practice in Michigan of scheduling the girls' basketball season in the fall and the girls' volleyball season in the winter. Because colleges and high schools in most other states flip-flop those two sports seasons, critics say Michigan's schedule limits the exposure of the state's female prep athletes and hurts their chances of winning sports scholarships.

Michigan is the only state to play volleyball in the winter, and one of two to play girls' basketball outside of winter. Hawaii girls play in the spring.

The MHSAA, whose members include more than 1,500 public and private schools, says the purpose of having some different athletic seasons for boys and girls is to maximize opportunities for participation. Many coaches and administrators disagree that Michigan's schedule is discriminatory.

The MHSAA had vigorously fought the schedule switch, and worries some schools will struggle to find enough coaches, officials and gym time to make the new setup work.

The case doesn't just affect volleyball and basketball.

Starting in the 2007-08 school year, boys' golf and girls' tennis will move from fall to spring in the Lower Peninsula. Girls' golf and boys' tennis in the Lower Peninsula will move from spring to fall.

The soccer seasons will stay the same in the Lower Peninsula, yet boys' soccer will move from fall to spring and the girls from spring to fall in the Upper Peninsula.

Supporters of the season switch say it will help girls beyond sports. They say Michigan's prep scheduling has treated girls like second-class citizens — affecting their self-image and academics as well as their opportunities in athletics — without most people in the system even realizing it. They also argue the switch will help more Michigan girls get recruited for college sports.

"Unfortunately, the existing damage cannot be undone,” said Neena Chaudhry of the Washington-based National Women's Law Center and one of the lead attorneys in the case. "But we can look forward. Future generations of Michigan high school girls who want to participate in athletics will get the equal opportunities for which they have long waited.”

Roberts, whose group faces $1.4 million in legal bills and could be responsible for the plaintiffs' attorney fees, said schools don't want the changes. He argued it will be a struggle to maintain Michigan's high sports participation rate among high school girls. But he said schools must do their best to respond.

"The job just got harder,” Roberts said. "But blame, pity and whining will not help now. Imagination and energy are what we need now.”

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The case is Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School Athletic Association.

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David Eggert can be reached at deggert(at)ap.org

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On the Net:

Michigan High School Athletic Association: www.mhsaa.com

Communities for Equity: www.communitiesforequity.com

U.S. Supreme Court: www.supremecourtus.gov