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Monday, January 5, 2009

Lawyer: Indiana girl earns right to try out for baseball team

A freshman girl would be allowed to try out for the Bloomington South baseball team under an agreement reached after her family filed a federal lawsuit over an Indiana High School Athletic Association rule that could have barred her from the baseball team.

An attorney for the Monroe County Community School Corp. said the agreement allowing the tryout was what school officials and the girl's family always wanted.

Under the agreement, Logan Young would be allowed to try out on March 23, the first day of open tryouts for freshman boys, The Herald-Times reported.

"They will agree to allow Logan to try out for the baseball team. If she's successful, she'll be permitted to play," said James Whitlatch, an attorney for the school district.

An IHSAA rule prohibits girls from trying out for baseball if their school has a softball team on the basis that the sports are comparable. But the lawsuit filed Nov. 21 in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis argues that baseball and softball aren't really the same sport, so girls should be able to try out for baseball.

The suit seeks to have the IHSAA rule thrown out based on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution and Title IX, the federal law that mandates equal educational opportunities for boys and girls.

The suit, filed by Young and her parents, Marie-Elisabeth and Russell Young of Bloomington, names the IHSAA and the school district as defendants.

The settlement agreement, which includes no monetary payment, is between the school district and the family and doesn't include the IHSAA, Whitlatch said. He told The Herald-Times he expected the paperwork for the settlement to be filed in federal court within a few days.

The Associated Press left a phone message Saturday seeking comment at the Youngs' home and sent an e-mail seeking comment to the lawyer representing the family. A phone message was left at the home of IHSAA Commissioner Blake Ress.

Logan Young has played third base and outfield in coed community baseball leagues since age 5. She also plays volleyball and basketball.

Her family contacted the IHSAA in May to see whether she could participate in baseball during the 2008-09 school year. At the time, Ress said she couldn't because Bloomington South has a softball team, the lawsuit said.

Four days after the lawsuit was filed, Ress sent South a letter saying that a waiver was being granted to allow Logan to try out for baseball, The Herald-Times reported.

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