Recent Cases

Resources

• Noffke v. Bakke, No. 06-1886 (Wis. Jan. 27, 2009) [HTML 3,643kb]
  The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that cheerleaders enjoy immunity from negligence actions because “they participate in a recreational activity that includes physical contact between persons in a sport involving amateur teams” within the meaning of the state statute governing liability of contact sports participants.
  
• York v. Wahkiakum Sch. Dist. No. 200, No. 78946-1 (Wash. Mar. 13, 2008) [HTML 5,729kb]
  The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled that a school district’s random, suspicionless drug testing of student athletes violates a state constitution provision that “[n]o person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.”
  
• Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association v. Brentwood Academy, No. 06-427 (U.S. S.Ct. June 21, 2007) [HTML 4,829kb]
  The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 9-0 vote, has held that the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s (TSSAA) enforcement of its anti-recruitment rule against a private school member does not violate school’s First Amendment free speech rights.
  
• Communities for Equity v. Michigan High School Athletic Association, No. 02-1127 (6th Cir. Aug. 16, 2006) [HTML 2,844kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that a plaintiff group, Communities for Equity (CFE), was not precluded from raising a Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claim under Section 1983 for gender discrimination based on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s (MHSAA) scheduling of girls’ sports seasons.
  
• Bressler v. Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, No. 05-783 (D. Md. Sept. 7, 2005) [HTML 2,413kb]
  A federal district court in Maryland has dismissed a lawsuit brought a private school coach and home-schooled students against the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) over restrictions on home-schoolers participating in interscholastic athletics.
  
• Jones v. West Virginia State Board of Education, No. 31785 (W.V. July 6. 2005) [HTML 3,710kb]
  The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission's (WVSSAC) rule barring home-schooled children from participating in interscholastic athletics does not violate those children's rights under the state constitution's equal protection clause.
  
• Angstadt v. Midd-West School District, No. 03-3912 (3rd Cir. July 29, 2004) [HTML 3,089kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that a school district’s decision to bar a “cyber school” student from interscholastic athletics for failure to satisfy state eligibility requirements did not violate the student’s or her parents’ rights to freedom of association, due process, or equal protection.
  
• McCormick v. School District of Mamaroneck, No. 03-7892 (2d Cir. June 4, 2004) [HTML 3,044kb]
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that two New York school districts that offer girls’ soccer in the spring, rather than in the fall as they do for boys’ soccer, are in violation of Title IX.
  
• Reid v. Kenowa Hills Public Schools, No. 239473 (Mich. Ct. App. March 2, 2004) [HTML 2,180kb]
  The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that homeschooled children are not entitled to participate in extracurricular athletics at their local public schools.
  
• Wilson v. The Daily Gazette Company, No. 31045 (W.Va. June 13, 2003) [HTML 2,510kb]
  The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that a high school athlete is not a public figure for purposes of his defamation suit against a local newspaper.