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Lawsuit forces FHSAA to reconsider game reductions

Tribune file photo

Girls sports, including volleyball, are among 22 sports facing 20 to 40 percent fewer games after the FHSAA board of directors voted for the reductions in April.

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By NICK WILLIAMS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 24, 2009

The Florida High School Athletic Association Board of Directors will hold an emergency meeting July 15 to reconsider the maximum game reductions it approved this spring for all high school sports but football.

The meeting, to be held at 1 p.m. at the FHSAA office in Gainesville, will be held so the board can determine what reductions will comply with Title IX gender equity laws.

The FHSAA is being sued by Florida's Parents for Athletic Equity, which claims the board's April vote to reduce the maximum number of games by 20 percent for all varsity sports except football and 40 percent for sub-varsity sports (including football), violates Title IX.

"Although the overriding reason for the reduction was to ease the financial burden on the schools in Florida, it would not help to turn around and have them pay money in legal fees for actions in litigation," FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing said in a press release.

The FHSAA has entered into an agreement with an attorney experienced in Title IX issues, the press release said.

Title IX is a section of the Educational Amendments passed by Congress in 1972. Title IX prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education, including athletic programs.

On June 5, the FHSAA board voted 9-5 not to reconsider the proposed cuts until its regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 27, but dissenting board members said the proposal needed to be revised or dropped.

After the June vote, Dearing didn't seem concerned about the threat of a lawsuit.

"My personal opinion is, I'm not too worried about it," Dearing told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "The FHSAA has the authority to set how many games are going to be played.

"There are other ways of rectifying (a disproportionate reduction of games) than going back and adding 22 sports to a longer schedule."

Florida's Parents for Athletic Equity, a group led by former Olympic swimmer and Jacksonville law professor Nancy Hogshead-Makar, filed a gender-equity discrimination suit on June 16. The parents of five high school female athletes were named as the plaintiffs.

The group sought a temporary injuction against the FHSAA to prevent the proposed cuts from being implemented, but on Tuesday U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan delayed further action until the FHSAA board meets next month. Judge Corrigan scheduled a hearing to consider the request for 9:30 a.m. July 17, two days after the new FHSAA board meeting.

TBO.com staff contributed to this report. 

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