Some discriminatory high school athletics practices in the state of Hawaii finally are being redressed as the state’s Department of Education settles a lawsuit that female athletes and their parents brought forward a few years ago.
In 2018, allegations were made that one high school’s girls water polo team was forced to practice in the ocean and run to a local Burger King to use the restroom when changing clothes.
However, their boys counterparts received all the standard amenities of being part of a school’s team.
Gender Discrimination
As reported by The New York Times, the class-action lawsuit filed by girls water polo players at the James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii’s largest high school, felt they were systematically discriminated against based on their gender. In the settlement, the state has agreed to hire an independent evaluator to ensure gender fairness. Now, the school has to follow a seven-year compliance plan and create a hotline to report discrimination.
On Friday, the board agreed to a non-monetary settlement in the case.
From practicing in the ocean, even when confronted with Hawaii’s dangerous oceanic conditions, to using the restroom at a local Burger King and changing on the team bus or even being exposed under the bleachers, the student-athletes claimed the school did not provide a locker room, per court documents.
“Female athletes have nothing comparable,” according to the 2018 lawsuit, which was filed by two female water polo team members against the Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association.
The boys had “exclusive access to a stand-alone athletic locker room facility,” the court papers allege, where they were able to “store gear, change, shower, use the bathrooms, hold team meetings, and build team spirit.”
The Fight For Change
The lawsuit also went as far as alleging that the state’s Department of Education prioritized revamping the men’s facilities over providing the women with their own, according to Clearing House.
“I’m happy that future students won’t have to go through what my teammates and I did,” said Ashley Badis, one of the student-athletes who filed the suit, to The Times. “We just wanted girls to have the same opportunities to play that boys had.”
Badis is now 22 years old.
“We are hopeful that this monumental settlement will be a building block in Hawaii and nationwide to a future where every girl is ensured the rights required by Title IX,” said Jayma Meyer, a lawyer for the athletes, to The Times.
However, the DOE and Oahu Interscholastic Association asserted they had improved girls’ sports at the school with a new baseball and softball field and lockers for those players. The state has also allocated $6 million to the DOE specifically for James Campbell High School’s athletic facilities, including a girl’s locker room, which is part of a $60 million Title IX effort.