Opinion ID: 1446554
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: football exclusion

Text: The first issue raised by the plaintiffs is whether the trial court abused its discretion in creating an injunctive remedy which excluded football from its calculations for participation opportunities, scholarships, and distribution of nonrevenue funds. We conclude the trial court did abuse its discretion and reverse on this issue. The Equal Rights Amendment and the Law Against Discrimination prohibit such an exclusion. The Equal Rights Amendment states: Equality of rights and responsibility under the law shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. The legislature shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this Article. Const. art. 31, §§ 1, 2 (amend. 61). The Law Against Discrimination provides: The right to be free from discrimination because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical handicap is recognized as and declared to be a civil right. This right shall include, but not be limited to: ... (b) The right to the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges of any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement ... RCW 49.60.030(1)(b). The recognized purpose of the Equal Rights Amendment is to end special treatment for or discrimination against either sex. Marchioro v. Chaney, 90 Wn.2d 298, 305, 582 P.2d 487 (1978), aff'd, 442 U.S. 191 (1979); see also Darrin v. Gould, 85 Wn.2d 859, 877, 540 P.2d 882 (1975). This absolute mandate of equality does not, however, bar affirmative governmental efforts to create equality in fact; governmental actions favoring one sex which are intended solely to ameliorate the effects of past discrimination do not implicate the Equal Rights Amendment. Southwest Wash. Chapter, Nat'l Elec. Contractors Ass'n v. Pierce Cy., 100 Wn.2d 109, 667 P.2d 1092 (1983). [2] Neither party disputes the intercollegiate athletics program at Washington State University is subject to the Equal Rights Amendment and the Law Against Discrimination. The trial court found the operation of the program resulted in discriminatory treatment of women and the women's athletic program in violation of these laws. Football is a large and essential part of intercollegiate athletics at the University. To exclude football, an all male program, from the scope of the Equal Rights Amendment would only serve to perpetuate the discriminatory policies and diminished opportunities for women. The trial court attempted to explain the exclusion of football by stating football was a sport unique in many respects, the combination of which distinguished it from all other collegiate sports ... The court identified such distinguishing characteristics as the number of participants, scholarships, and coaches, amount of equipment and facilities, income generated, media interest, spectator attendance, and publicity generated for the University as a whole. The court concluded: Because of the unique function performed by football, it should not be compared to any other sport at the University. Because football is operated for profit under business principles, ... football should not be included in determining whether sex equity exists . .. We do not believe, however, these or any other characteristics of football justify its exclusion from the scope of the injunction remedying violations of the Equal Rights Amendment. It is stating the obvious to observe the Equal Rights Amendment contains no exception for football. See Darrin v. Gould, supra . The exclusion of football would prevent sex equity from ever being achieved since men would always be guaranteed many more participation opportunities than women, despite any efforts by the teams, the sex equity committee, or the program to promote women's athletics under the injunction.