WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court considered Tuesday whether a landmark gender equity law shields people who report discrimination, hearing the case of an Alabama girls basketball coach who was fired after complaining that the boys were treated better.
In a case testing the scope of the Title IX law, Roderick Jackson used the statute as the basis for a lawsuit against the Birmingham Board of Education, claiming wrongful termination.
Jackson lost his coaching job in 2001 after repeatedly asking the Birmingham school officials to provide his team a regulation-size gym with basketball rims that weren’t bent – just like the boys had. He remained on the payroll as a teacher.
Lawyers for the board contend that if the justices side with Jackson, it will open the door to a flood of litigation.
Title IX prohibits gender discrimination in public and private schools that receive federal funding, which almost all do. It covers admissions, recruitment, course offerings, counseling, financial aid, student health and housing, as well as athletics.
At issue is whether Congress intended to allow lawsuits by people – regardless of their sex – who say they were punished for pointing out gender bias.
The court appeared split along ideological lines.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – who was joined at times by liberal colleagues David Souter, John Paul Stevens and Stephen Breyer – pressed Birmingham School Board lawyer Kenneth Thomas on whether bias complaints would be fully aired if coaches and teachers could be fired without recourse.
But Justice Antonin Scalia said expanding Title IX protections when the statute is silent on issues like Jackson’s would be unfair.
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