Last week's episode of Only a Game included a story on inequities in scheduling and facilities on the three stories you should know segment of the show.
It was Boston Globe writer Shira Springer's story and was born out of Victoria Azarenka's complaints during the first week of (the recently concluded) Wimbledon that women were not getting the good courts and the good times. Nothing much came of Azarenka's public calling out of the All England Club--shocking. But Springer did a good job of turning the moment into a conversation about how female athletes are treated.
My initial response was something in the realm of "no kidding" and "is this really what we should be talking about?". I mean the Women's US Open was held at one of 45's golf courses last weekend because the USGA would not move the event way back in October when news of his sexual assaults was revealed to the world. And then USGA officials would not/could not publicly answer a question about the organization's position on sexual assault!
But then I remembered that I am a feminist scholar of sports and that ranking all the ills is not really in keeping with my philosophy and desired intentions. I also opened up my email to find a Google alert about facilities inequities in Oregon (high school softball/baseball fields). Also, inequities in scheduling and facilities do not exist in a vacuum; they are an indicator of the culture of the sport's governing body.
Springer's segment focuses on professional and Olympic female athletes and it is an important conversation given that, as she herself notes, much of the conversation about inequality at this level has been directed at pay inequities. And as much as I appreciate Springer's segment and the potential attention it will generate, this is not new. Just two years ago, we were watching a premier international soccer tournament played on artificial turf. The 2015 Women's World Cup participants and their supporters protested the
Host Bill Curtis made a side comment about Boston University when Springer mentioned the very inequitable scheduling of women's hockey in Sochi in the last Olympics. He noted that BU has the same issue. It was almost a under-his-breath comment but it's important to note. BU established a women's hockey team in 2005. The team has been successful fairly quickly. They play Walter Brown Arena, built in 1971, which seats approximately 3,800 fans. The men play in Agganis Arena, which opened in 2005 (such a coincidence!), and seats about 6,100 fans. I have not been to either arena so I cannot comment on the level of upkeep or general comfort and accommodations. But on its face, this does not look like a good situation. It reminds me of the montage in Love and Basketball that compares the experiences at USC of Q and Monica.
Because Walter Brown is a facility that the women do not have to share unlike most of their DI counterparts, maybe they think this is a good deal. But maybe they look at the treatment that men receive and think that having their own arena is not nearly enough. The point is that the women of US National Team are used to be being put in substandard arenas and in non-primetime slots. So even if they know it is unfair and even if they hate it, it was likely not a surprise when they encountered the same situation in Sochi.
Female athletes who come up through the American intercollegiate system are accustomed to differential treatment. Professionals like Victoria Azarenka who came up through a non-scholastic junior sports system do not have the same experience. This is not to say that athletes who come up in club systems around the world are treated equitably (in another sport movie reference: Bend It Like Beckham). I am sure almost every professional female athlete can share stories about gender inequality. But in a sport like tennis--or basically just tennis--where pay equity is less and less of an issue, players might be a little surprised that there are other gender issues to tackle.
And heading back to where Title IX is a factor: interscholastic and intercollegiate sports are still failing miserably in their obligations for equal treatment. We wrote an article about this five years ago. We could easily write another today with just examples from the past few years.Trickle down or trickle up change--it does not matter in what direction or who is doing the influencing, but remedies to these inequities will only come with changes to attitudes about women's sports and female athletes.
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Friday, July 07, 2017
If you can't dismiss them, settle them
Baylor University has settled one of the six lawsuits it is facing over its handling of sexual assaults. This lawsuit had a single plaintiff, a former student who said she was drugged, kidnapped, and raped in February 2015 at an off-campus party at what is known as the rugby house. The lawsuit, in part, accused Baylor of not properly handling her reporting of the incident. It also revealed what is now undeniable--that Baylor has an extremely dangerous culture and that has not effectively addressed the climate.
After initial contact with the Title IX office, the plaintiff found out--from that office--that multiple other women had reported sexual assaults at the rugby house. They worked with her for several weeks and then nothing. There was no hearing. She left Baylor after a failed appeal over a poor grade--due to her trauma from the rape.
Baylor had moved to have the lawsuit dismissed in October.
Details of the settlement were not released.
The school has settled with three other women who did not filed lawsuits. There are now five lawsuits pending against the university.
After initial contact with the Title IX office, the plaintiff found out--from that office--that multiple other women had reported sexual assaults at the rugby house. They worked with her for several weeks and then nothing. There was no hearing. She left Baylor after a failed appeal over a poor grade--due to her trauma from the rape.
Baylor had moved to have the lawsuit dismissed in October.
Details of the settlement were not released.
The school has settled with three other women who did not filed lawsuits. There are now five lawsuits pending against the university.
Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Recent happenings: Florida, Baylor, Michigan State
Amidst the ever-growing pile of evidence that civil rights laws and statutes will not be defended, inspected, upheld by this administration (suspect nominations, budget & staffing cuts, etc.), there was some good news this week. OCR is investigating the University of Florida's handling of a sexual assault accusation against football player Antonio Callaway. We discussed this case last year when Callaway faced a student disciplinary hearing because the hearing itself was unusual in that it was presided over by a football booster who is also a lawyer. UF had never brought in an outsider to preside over disciplinary hearings and that this person was overseeing a case involving a football player was deeply suspect. The accuser herself boycotted the hearing. No one from UF will speak on the matter because the investigation is ongoing. The accuser--who filed the complaint--and her team have previously commented on the situation.
Baylor must have an abundance of shovels because they just keep digging themselves deeper and deeper. Most recently, a former regent (who was on the board at the time of many of the alleged incidents of rape) chastised the alcohol consumption habits of female undergrads at the school during series of 2009 emails about alleged sexual misconduct on campus. The former regent, and district attorney, Neal Jones's emails are part of evidence in one of the six current lawsuits against the university. Because underage drinking violates Baylor's Christian-based standards, Jones implies--at best--that the issue should be moot. Except his language reveals significant misogynist blame: “Those perverted little tarts had better be thanking their lucky stars that my guns are all aimed at a worse group of insidious scoundrels than themselves for the time being.” The plaintiffs (there are 10) contend that these attitudes about women and drinking and sexual assault--which existed, as evidenced--at the highest levels of Baylor leadership, contributed to the culture of sexual violence and the lack of appropriate responses to the reports of sexual assault.
Last week Baylor asked for one of the lawsuits it is facing be dismissed. This lawsuit has a single plaintiff, a former volleyball player, who alleges she was drugged and gang raped in 2012 by up to eight football players. Baylor contends that her right to make these claims expired in spring 2015. They also protested the language of her lawsuit which they felt was inflammatory and they are trying to strike from the court record her contentions that Baylor promised sex with female hostesses to football recruits.
It does not seem likely the the move to dismiss will be granted, though Baylor has now attempted to get all six of the lawsuits it is facing dismissed. A district court judge said in March that Baylor sexual assault victims will have until 2018 to file lawsuits against the university.
Far north of Texas, Michigan State University has also been dealing allegations of sexual assault against football players. At this time, the situation at MSU does not appear to be as widespread as at Baylor and officials actually investigated the January assault. These assaults are starting to look eerily familiar: a woman raped by more than one athlete and the incident being recorded. The three MSU football players were dismissed from the team in February (after criminal charges were filed) and subsequently found guilty by the school of violating the sexual misconduct policy and expelled this past week. The lawyer for one of the accused criticized the university's investigation for not being thorough citing all the evidence currently entered as part of the criminal trial thus reinforcing the misconception that student hearings are similar to the criminal justice system. A hearing for the men is scheduled for September. In another departure from Baylor, MSU hired an outside firm to investigate the football program after the allegations became known.
Baylor must have an abundance of shovels because they just keep digging themselves deeper and deeper. Most recently, a former regent (who was on the board at the time of many of the alleged incidents of rape) chastised the alcohol consumption habits of female undergrads at the school during series of 2009 emails about alleged sexual misconduct on campus. The former regent, and district attorney, Neal Jones's emails are part of evidence in one of the six current lawsuits against the university. Because underage drinking violates Baylor's Christian-based standards, Jones implies--at best--that the issue should be moot. Except his language reveals significant misogynist blame: “Those perverted little tarts had better be thanking their lucky stars that my guns are all aimed at a worse group of insidious scoundrels than themselves for the time being.” The plaintiffs (there are 10) contend that these attitudes about women and drinking and sexual assault--which existed, as evidenced--at the highest levels of Baylor leadership, contributed to the culture of sexual violence and the lack of appropriate responses to the reports of sexual assault.
Last week Baylor asked for one of the lawsuits it is facing be dismissed. This lawsuit has a single plaintiff, a former volleyball player, who alleges she was drugged and gang raped in 2012 by up to eight football players. Baylor contends that her right to make these claims expired in spring 2015. They also protested the language of her lawsuit which they felt was inflammatory and they are trying to strike from the court record her contentions that Baylor promised sex with female hostesses to football recruits.
It does not seem likely the the move to dismiss will be granted, though Baylor has now attempted to get all six of the lawsuits it is facing dismissed. A district court judge said in March that Baylor sexual assault victims will have until 2018 to file lawsuits against the university.
Far north of Texas, Michigan State University has also been dealing allegations of sexual assault against football players. At this time, the situation at MSU does not appear to be as widespread as at Baylor and officials actually investigated the January assault. These assaults are starting to look eerily familiar: a woman raped by more than one athlete and the incident being recorded. The three MSU football players were dismissed from the team in February (after criminal charges were filed) and subsequently found guilty by the school of violating the sexual misconduct policy and expelled this past week. The lawyer for one of the accused criticized the university's investigation for not being thorough citing all the evidence currently entered as part of the criminal trial thus reinforcing the misconception that student hearings are similar to the criminal justice system. A hearing for the men is scheduled for September. In another departure from Baylor, MSU hired an outside firm to investigate the football program after the allegations became known.
Monday, July 03, 2017
Litigation Roundup: School Districts Lacking Notice
In several recent cases, courts rejected claims that school districts were liable for sexual misconduct by employees or students due to lack of notice. Here are case summaries:
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court's judgment in favor of a plaintiff who sued the South San Antonio Independent School District after having been molested by the vice principal, later principal, of the elementary school he attended. After the jury awarded the plaintiff $4.5 million, the school district moved to dismiss the case as a matter of law and appealed an adverse ruling on this motion to the appellate court. A school district is liable for sexual misconduct of its employees if someone with authority to take corrective action has notice of the misconduct and responds with deliberate indifference. In this case, the plaintiff argued that because the perpetrator was the vice principal -- someone with authority to take corrective action -- then the notice requirement was satisfied. However, the Fifth Circuit disagreed, concluding that the perpetrator's knowledge of his own misconduct does not qualify. The notice requirement is meant to limit school district liability to only those cases where those in authority ignore sexual misconduct that they know is going on, and one does not "ignore" one's own misconduct. Put another way, the court reasoned that implicit in the notice requirement is a requirement that the person to whom notice is given is a person who does not already know that the misconduct is going on. Otherwise, there is potential automatic liability every time someone with authority is the perpetrator.
Decision: Salazar v. South San Antonio Indep. Sch. Dist., 2017 WL 2590511 (5th Cir. June 15, 2017).
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss Title IX claims filed against Bibb County (Georgia) school district stemming from the rape of a female special education student, the plaintiff in the case. The facts are terrible: A male student walked into the plaintiff's classroom and told the teacher that another teacher wanted to see the plaintiff. The teacher let her go with him, and he brought her to the bathroom where she was gang-raped by seven male students, none of whom had ever been reported for any kind of sexual misconduct. For the district to be liable for the rape, however, there must be some prior misconduct that put school officials on notice that the plaintiff was at risk for what happened. Considering the appeal, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that it is not necessary for a plaintiff to show that she herself had reported prior incidents, nor that the perpetrators themselves had been the subject of such reports. Still, however, there must be a reasonable enough similarity between the prior incidents and the plaintiff's rape to put school officials on notice, and the appellate court agreed with the district court that such similarity was lacking here. There had been prior incidents of sexual assault in the high school; one of which did not involve students in the special education program and so could not serve as notice that students participating in that program were at an elevated risk. The other did involve special education students, but the circumstances were different as the students involved had been left alone unsupervised in a classroom, whereas here, the perpetrators used deceit to extract the victim from her classroom. Therefore, there was nothing on which to base a claim that the school district should have acted to prevent the rape that occurred here.
Decision: Jane Doe v. Bibb County Sch. Dist., 2017 WL 2240825 (11th Cir. May 22, 2017).
The parents of an eighth grader can not pursue their lawsuit against the Independent School District of Delaware County (Oklahoma) that stems from a romantic and sexual relationship that occurred between their ninth-grade daughter and her basketball coach, an employee of the district. The federal district court in Oklahoma granted summary judgment to the district on the parents' Title IX claim because their were no allegations that the school district was indifferent to the coach's sexual misconduct that was known to appropriate school officials. Once the principal learned of a rumor that the coach and the student had been locked in a room together, he and the superintendent investigated and quickly got corroboration by the student. The coach was suspended immediately and eventually terminated. The parents argued that school officials actually had notice that this coach posed a threat of sexual misconduct to his players based on prior complaints that a couple of parents had made against the coach. However, these complaints, which were investigated, did not involve conduct that was predictive of the sexual misconduct that occurred in this case. There had been a complaint that the coach sometimes texted individual players, and sometimes talked about butts in practice. But the investigation revealed that the texts and the comments were related to basketball and reasonably handled by an order to the coach not to text individual players any more. In the absence of deliberate indifference to sexual misconduct that was known or foreseeable to school officials the school district was not liable for damages arising from the the coach's sexual misconduct with the plaintiffs' daughter.
Decision: Callihan v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 1., 2017 WL 2783990 (N.D. Okla. June 27, 2017).
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court's judgment in favor of a plaintiff who sued the South San Antonio Independent School District after having been molested by the vice principal, later principal, of the elementary school he attended. After the jury awarded the plaintiff $4.5 million, the school district moved to dismiss the case as a matter of law and appealed an adverse ruling on this motion to the appellate court. A school district is liable for sexual misconduct of its employees if someone with authority to take corrective action has notice of the misconduct and responds with deliberate indifference. In this case, the plaintiff argued that because the perpetrator was the vice principal -- someone with authority to take corrective action -- then the notice requirement was satisfied. However, the Fifth Circuit disagreed, concluding that the perpetrator's knowledge of his own misconduct does not qualify. The notice requirement is meant to limit school district liability to only those cases where those in authority ignore sexual misconduct that they know is going on, and one does not "ignore" one's own misconduct. Put another way, the court reasoned that implicit in the notice requirement is a requirement that the person to whom notice is given is a person who does not already know that the misconduct is going on. Otherwise, there is potential automatic liability every time someone with authority is the perpetrator.
Decision: Salazar v. South San Antonio Indep. Sch. Dist., 2017 WL 2590511 (5th Cir. June 15, 2017).
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss Title IX claims filed against Bibb County (Georgia) school district stemming from the rape of a female special education student, the plaintiff in the case. The facts are terrible: A male student walked into the plaintiff's classroom and told the teacher that another teacher wanted to see the plaintiff. The teacher let her go with him, and he brought her to the bathroom where she was gang-raped by seven male students, none of whom had ever been reported for any kind of sexual misconduct. For the district to be liable for the rape, however, there must be some prior misconduct that put school officials on notice that the plaintiff was at risk for what happened. Considering the appeal, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that it is not necessary for a plaintiff to show that she herself had reported prior incidents, nor that the perpetrators themselves had been the subject of such reports. Still, however, there must be a reasonable enough similarity between the prior incidents and the plaintiff's rape to put school officials on notice, and the appellate court agreed with the district court that such similarity was lacking here. There had been prior incidents of sexual assault in the high school; one of which did not involve students in the special education program and so could not serve as notice that students participating in that program were at an elevated risk. The other did involve special education students, but the circumstances were different as the students involved had been left alone unsupervised in a classroom, whereas here, the perpetrators used deceit to extract the victim from her classroom. Therefore, there was nothing on which to base a claim that the school district should have acted to prevent the rape that occurred here.
Decision: Jane Doe v. Bibb County Sch. Dist., 2017 WL 2240825 (11th Cir. May 22, 2017).
The parents of an eighth grader can not pursue their lawsuit against the Independent School District of Delaware County (Oklahoma) that stems from a romantic and sexual relationship that occurred between their ninth-grade daughter and her basketball coach, an employee of the district. The federal district court in Oklahoma granted summary judgment to the district on the parents' Title IX claim because their were no allegations that the school district was indifferent to the coach's sexual misconduct that was known to appropriate school officials. Once the principal learned of a rumor that the coach and the student had been locked in a room together, he and the superintendent investigated and quickly got corroboration by the student. The coach was suspended immediately and eventually terminated. The parents argued that school officials actually had notice that this coach posed a threat of sexual misconduct to his players based on prior complaints that a couple of parents had made against the coach. However, these complaints, which were investigated, did not involve conduct that was predictive of the sexual misconduct that occurred in this case. There had been a complaint that the coach sometimes texted individual players, and sometimes talked about butts in practice. But the investigation revealed that the texts and the comments were related to basketball and reasonably handled by an order to the coach not to text individual players any more. In the absence of deliberate indifference to sexual misconduct that was known or foreseeable to school officials the school district was not liable for damages arising from the the coach's sexual misconduct with the plaintiffs' daughter.
Decision: Callihan v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 1., 2017 WL 2783990 (N.D. Okla. June 27, 2017).
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