Title IX Suit Filed Against the University of Central Oklahoma
Varsity women athletes at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) filed a class sex discrimination lawsuit against the school today for violating Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by treating its female student-athletes much worse than its male student-athletes and retaliating against them for seeking equal treatment. Title IX, a federal civil rights law, prohibits sex discrimination at UCO and all educational institutions that receive federal funds.
The female student-athletes who filed the suit are members of the women’s cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field teams at UCO, which—unlike any men’s teams—are provided no locker room, no competitive facility, and required to practice at a local middle school. When they complained about the unequal treatment they and other women athletes received, UCO fired their head coach.
“UCO’s second-class treatment of its female student-athletes and retaliation against them for seeking equal treatment are both blatant violations of Title IX, “ said Bailey Glasser partner Arthur H. Bryant, lead counsel for the women. “The women on the track & field and cross country teams make up 35% of UCO’s female student-athletes and are treated far worse than all of its male student-athletes. The men on the football and wrestling teams make up 69% of UCO’s male student-athletes and are treated far better than all of its female student-athletes. It is hard to imagine a clearer case of unequal treatment. UCO’s retaliation against the women for challenging its flagrant sex discrimination shows how bad things are. Why is UCO so opposed to equality?”