Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Huge change for girls sports

This from the Detroit News:
High Court decision means thousands of Michigan high school athletes
will juggle schedules.

Decades of discrimination against girl athletes in Michigan high schools came to an end Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court closed the final door on a state association that had fought to maintain the status quo.

A pair of Grand Rapids moms, Diane Madsen and Jay Roberts-Eveland, who began questioning a decade ago why their daughters were treated differently from boy athletes, wound up changing the face of Michigan high school sports forever.

Beginning in September, seasons will switch for nearly 56,000 girls and 16,000 boys -- along with thousands of officials and coaches and hundreds of school districts.

"I feel as though the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders," Madsen said of the ruling. "This shows me that there are people of goodwill out there, who recognize discrimination when they see it, and want to change it.

"(The suit) really was about far more than just playing seasons. It was about basic fairness and equity and giving girls the same opportunities that boys have always had in this state."
The seasons that will be affected include girls basketball and volleyball, and boys and girls tennis and golf.

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