State University is a university in Louisiana. State’s Athletic Director, Simone Augusta has decided the university will take part in a new outreach program sponsored by the Women’s National Football League for universities around the country to promote women’s football at the college level. Augusta is trying to promote the women’s football team because State has a history of women’s sports being underrepresented at the university. Currently the school is 50% men and 50% women, but in team athletics, only 30% of the athletes are women. Augusta hires Cynthia Fowle to be the new head coach of the women’s football team. She initially recruits 30 women to join the team. Unfortunately, because the outreach program is fairly new, most universities have not recruited enough women to form full teams yet. Therefore, State only has 2 games scheduled for the 2020 season against other college teams. The rest of the season will consist of practices and scrimmages against student intramural teams.
Additionally, Fowle complains to Augusta that the team has inadequate funds for equipment and has had to buy most of its supplies and equipment secondhand online. Fowle visits the men’s football team facility and discovers that the men’s team has brand new state-of-the-art equipment. Over the course of the 2020 season, due to lack of interest and other conflicts, 20 women quit the team. Unable to compete with only 10 women, State disbands the team.
McKayla Joiner, the star player on the team, is upset about losing the opportunity to play football for State. She feels that State did not adequately support the team or women’s athletics in general and she hires an attorney to file a Title IX lawsuit against State. Augusta hears about the impending lawsuit and turns to you, her office expert in sports legal issues. Explain to her what claims Joiner may have against State, what defenses State may have, and how a court might decide the claims and the likelihood of success. If you do not have enough information about certain issues to give an opinion, explain what information you would want and why it would help.
