After passing a plan in April to cut the number of scheduled high school sporting events, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) will soon be facing a lawsuit on the grounds of Title IX violations and discrimination towards female athletes. In an article published in the St. Petersburg Times, Izzy Gould reports that a group by the name of Florida Parents for Athletic Equity (FPAE) has followed through on plans to file suit against the FHSAA after the two groups failed to reach a compromise last week. A piece published by Ms. Magazine Online on Monday elaborates on the disproportionate effect the proposed cuts would have on female athletes:
In April, the FHSAA passed a resolution called Policy 6, which would cut varsity games by 20 percent and junior varsity games by 40 percent. Football and cheerleading schedules would be exempt from the reductions. The group Florida Parents for Athletic Equity is protesting the plan because female athletes would be disproportionately affected: 36,000 boys are on football teams while only 4,600 girls are on cheerleading squads in Florida.
Even though the FHSAA was working with the FPAE to reach an agreement over the policy, it had not presented a new plan by a mutually agreed upon deadline last week.
FPAE representative Nancy Hogshead-Makar was quoted in the Orlando Sentinel as writing in an e-mail to the Association, “we have exhausted our good faith attempt to obtain resolution of this matter.” Hogshead-Makar and the FPAE also asked for a temporary injunction on Tuesday so that schools could return to a full schedule of athletic events until more gender-equal policy is put into place.
