Saturday, November 29, 2008

The tricky issue of fairness

A few days ago there was a news report about a girl whose parents were suing to allow her to play high school baseball, which in Indiana is a male sport.
An IHSAA rule prohibits girls from trying out for baseball if their school has a softball team on the basis that the sports are comparable. But the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis argues that baseball and softball aren't really the same sport, so girls should be able to try out for baseball.

The suit seeks to have the IHSAA rule thrown out based on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and Title IX, the federal law that mandates equal educational opportunities for boys and girls.
I wonder if those who think this suit has merit would also think that a suit asking that a boy be allowed to compete on a volleyball team or that a boy be allow to compete on a softball team would have equal merit.

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