By Rachel Silverman, M.A.
E.H. was a student at Cuyama Valley High School and was a wide receiver on the varsity football team during the 2020-2021 academic year. She was the only female on her school’s roster for that year. On March 13, 2021, she traveled with her team to Valley Christian Academy’s campus to play in a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) scrimmage. She played the whole game without any issues until she removed her helmet at the end of the game. When she removed her helmet, Valley Christian’s team, coaches, parents, and one of the defendants, Joel Mikkelson, realized she was female and supposedly glared at her and shook their heads in disbelief. E.H. claimed that she felt humiliated and embarrassed by the unwelcome reactions from everyone on the opposing side.
Two days later, E.H. was notified by the high school athletic department that First Baptist Church and Mikkelson informed Cuyama Valley’s superintendent that E.H. was not welcome on Valley Christian’s and First Baptist’s shared property to play football because she was female. E.H. was also forbidden from playing football at her home school if Valley Christian came to her school to play football.
Following these statements by Valley Christian, high school sports officials, which included an official from Cuyama Valley, informed the defendants that their conduct violated state and federal laws, provisions of the CIF, and other rules governing interscholastic athletic participation. The defendants still refused to change their stance on their decision and decided to exclude E.H. from football games against Valley Christian due to her gender.
On September 22, 2021, E.H. sued Valley Christian, First Baptist, and Joel Mikkelson for violating Title VI, California Education Code, and the Unruh Civil Rights Act. The defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss. Following that, E.H. filed a First Amended Complaint. For five exhibits of evidence E.H. asked the Court to take judicial notice, a process used by a court when the court declares a fact presented as evidence is true without a formal presentation of the evidence.
The five exhibits of evidence submitted by E.H. are as follows:
- A true and correct copy of “Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Participation of Faith-Based Organizations in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program” published by the U.S. Small Business Administration
- A true and accurate copy of excerpts of the CIF Constitution and Bylaws
- A true and accurate copy of the 2021-2022 schedule of football games played by Cuyama Valley High School is available on an online database titled “MaxPreps.”
- A true and accurate copy of the CIF’s Awards and Scholarships is available on “MaxPreps.”
- A true and accurate copy of the schedule of games and Cuyama Valley High School boys’ varsity basketball roster is available on “MaxPreps.”
The defendants did not object to the Court taking judicial notice of Exhibits A and B, but they objected to Exhibits C-E. The Court decided to take judicial notice of Exhibits A and B because they were clearly referred to in the First Amended Complaint. The Court chose not to take judicial notice of Exhibits C-E because although the First Amended Complaint referenced the team roster available on MaxPreps, it did not mention the game schedules and awards and scholarships mentioned in Exhibits C-E.
Injunctive Relief
Defendants argued that E.H. should not be allowed to seek injunctive relief because she no longer attends Cuyama Valley. E.H. switched to a new school, not in the same district, where she continues to play football. However, E.H. continued requesting injunctive relief because she did not want Valley Christian to exclude other female football players. Nevertheless, the court stated that since she changed schools she no longer had standing for injunctive relief, but she still had a valid claim for damages.
Defendant Mikkelson
The defendants sought to dismiss all causes of action alleged against Mikkelson because E.H. did not state any specific claims against him. Subsequently, the court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss Mikkelson as a defendant with leave to amend.
Title IX
E.H. sufficiently proved that Valley Christian was a recipient of federal financial assistance from the federal paycheck protection program loan and had tax-exempt status, which meant the school was obligated to comply with Title IX. The defendants argued that E.H. failed to state a claim under Title IX because E.H. was a student at a different institution than the defendants. They said the discriminatory actions fall outside the “zone of interests.” The court explained that even non-students who participate in or use services provided by a school, including sporting events, could bring a claim under Title IX. Therefore, E.H.’s claim about her participating in games on the defendants’ campus falls within the “zone of interests” under Title IX. In turn, defendants argued that E.H.’s Title IX claim was invalid due to the “religious organization exception.” Although Title IX does not apply to schools controlled by a religious organization if the action has to do with the religious beliefs of the organization, in this case, the defendants’ discriminatory acts were based on gender and not religious beliefs. The religious exception to Title IX does not apply if the plaintiff can prove that the defendant’s actions were based on gender and not religion. Defendants also claimed that due to the contact sports exemption of Title IX, this law did not apply to football. However, the defendants misunderstood the contact sports clause because it states that schools have a choice in allowing members of the opposite sex to try out for contact sports teams, but once a person is accepted onto the team, the school is still liable for sex discrimination, as in Mercer v. Duke University (1999). As a result, the court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss E.H.’s cause of action under Title IX.
California Education Code Section 220
E.H. successfully pleaded a violation of California Education Code Section 220. The defendants attempted to dismiss this violation on the same ground as their Title IX challenge because the California Legislature intended Section 220 to be interpreted consistent with Title IX. The court agreed that Section 220 be interpreted consistently with Title IX. Thus, for the same reasons mentioned above, the court found that Valley Christian’s federal tax-exempt status means it receives a state benefit. Therefore, the court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss.
Unruh Civil Rights Act
The defendants claim that First Baptist and Valley Christian are not “business establishments,” so they wanted to dismiss E.H.’s Unruh Act claim. However, E.H. claimed that because Valley Christian was a member of the CIF and opened its facilities to the public, they were subject to liability under the Unruh Act. The court decided that Valley Christian and First Baptist were “social organizations” whose primary goal was to promote their values to the youth. This means it is not a business establishment subject to the Unruh Act. The court, therefore, granted the defendants’ Motion to Dismiss with Leave to Amend.
Conclusion
The court granted the motion to dismiss with leave to amend for the Defendant Joel Mikkelson; denied the motion to dismiss related to Title IX; denied the motion to dismiss related to the California Education Code Section 220; granted the motion to dismiss with leave to amend for the Unruh Act claim; granted the request for judicial notice of Exhibits A-B; and denied the request for judicial notice of exhibits C-E.
Rachel Silverman is a Sport Management doctoral student at Troy University. She has her master’s degree in Kinesiology and Sport Management from the University of South Dakota and her bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and Art History with a minor in Journalism from Brandeis University. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Physical Education Department at Fullerton College in California. Her research interests are sports law, ethics, and sociological aspects of sports, focusing on gender issues. She lives in Anaheim, CA.
