Utah Girls File Federal Lawsuit to Play Football at School

Six Utah high school girls filed a federal lawsuit against three school districts, claiming discrimination because their schools do not offer female football teams.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by the girls parents, claims the students have been discriminated against due to their gender, according to Title IX.

“[The] districts fail to provide equal treatment and benefits to girls as they do boys because [the] districts give boys the right and opportunity to use the high school football fields, stadiums, facilities, but do not provide girls the same treatment and benefits,” the lawsuit states, via the Salt Lake Tribune.

The girls parents are suing the Jordan, Canyons, and Granite school districts, the three superintendents of the districts, and the Utah High School Activities Association.

The lawsuit claims one of the high school girls helped create the Utah Girls Tackle Football League in 2015, which by 2017 had grown to include 200 girls. Additionally, the suit says a high school in the Jordan School District had approved a girls football team earlier this year and received comments of interest from 50 sophomore girls about the club.

The parents report that their daughters want the benefit of support from high school cheerleaders and the band, as well as the potential for honors and awards that prospective colleges could consider–all advantages they could not obtain with recreational teams.

However, Ben Horsley, spokesman for the Granite School District, said that his district has worked with the plaintiff and is “comfortable” they have offered the “appropriate amount of school activities for our students, regardless of their gender.”

He added that “less than a handful” of female students in the district have opted to join the boys football team or the wrestling team.

“We work closely with the High School Activities Association to identify athletic opportunities for both genders,” he said. “If there were sufficient interest in a female-only football league and it were sanctioned by the High School Activities Association, we would have no issue in providing such a program. But that is not currently the case.”

Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney also said that while his district is reviewing the complaint, they recently added lacrosse for both boys and girls “because of demand.”