‘They chose to fight.’ 2 students file lawsuit against UK over lack of women’s sports.
Two University of Kentucky students filed a lawsuit against the school Wednesday alleging discrimination against female student-athletes.
UK President Eli Capilouto and Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart were also named in the lawsuit, which states the university is not in compliance with Title IX rules.
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 states no person shall be discriminated against, denied benefits of or be excluded from participation in any education program or activity based on sex. The law requires men and women to have the same opportunities in sports.
The students who filed the lawsuit, UK senior Elizabeth Niblock and UK sophomore Meredith Newman, did so after the university denied field hockey, lacrosse and triathlon having varsity programs when their club teams approached campus officials. The request was denied by the athletics department, Title IX office, Capilouto’s office and the Board of Trustees, according to the lawsuit.
“This was a last resort to file the lawsuit,” said Iowa-based law firm Newkirk Zwagerman, which is representing the students. “The only choice UK left them was to either shrivel up in the corner or fight. They chose to fight. And the only mechanism they have to fight is to file the lawsuit.”
The students’ attorneys have asked the court to certify the case as a class action lawsuit on behalf of “all present, prospective, and future female students” at UK who want to participate in varsity lacrosse, field hockey, triathlon or other sports not offered, according to the lawsuit.
“Sports is a positive thing, we know that it has a very positive affect on women in the future,” Zwagerman told the Herald-Leader Wednesday. “They become great leaders, they’re Fortune 500 C.E.O.s, and so we want those women to have the same opportunity at Kentucky.”
According to the lawsuit, UK has not added a sport during Barnhart’s tenure, despite a self-study in 2004 in which a committee suggested the university should expand athletic opportunities for women.
Zwagerman called Niblock and Newman “two brave students” who “have really stepped up to try to make athletics in Kentucky equal for women.
Niblock was recruited to play lacrosse at a Division I school before transferring to UK to be closer to home, according to the lawsuit. Newman has been a member of UK’s club triathlon team since her freshman year.
“These women are not asking for special treatment,” Zwagerman stated. “They are merely asking to receive the same opportunities to be able to play, receive scholarships and all the benefits that come along with being a Division-I student athlete at Kentucky.”
The lawsuit accuses UK of being in violation of all three facets of Title IX, including inequitable opportunities, scholarships and benefits provided to female student-athletes.
“Once I started to learn facts about how many females were left out of scholarships because of this noncompliance and how girls were not given as many sport opportunities as they should be getting ... I got drawn into it more and wanted to hear more about it,” Niblock said Wednesday. “And once I started to hear more and more facts I was just like, if I can do something to help make this issue right then I’ll do anything I can.”
Attorneys for Niblock and Newman wrote that women make up 55 percent of UK’s student population, but only 41 percent of the school’s intercollegiate varsity athletes. The lawsuit also alleges that UK provides its male students with more athletic opportunities.
Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for the university, said UK is fully compliant with Title IX and its regulations.
“As a campus community, we care deeply about these issues,” he stated. “With 22 sports, UK has the broadest based athletics program in the Southeastern Conference. Based on our surveys of our students, the current sports offerings fully accommodate the interests and abilities of our undergraduate students.”
The lawsuit states that UK could add athletic and scholarship opportunities for women by forming varsity teams for lacrosse, field hockey, triathlon, rowing, fencing or equestrian sports.
Zwagerman said that important lawsuits like the one filed Wednesday have been filed against smaller schools, but that it’s significant for the issue to be brought up at a school as prominent in sports as UK.
The lawsuit asks that UK be required to increase opportunities for women by establishing varsity teams that match the interest and ability of UK’s female athletes.
“They have the resources, they have the means, they have the education, they know what to do,” Zwagerman said. “They can do it, we’re just wanting them to do it now.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2019 at 2:16 PM.