When 31 year-old boxer Lisa Kuronya and her coach went to participate in the hard-earned honor of competing in a national amateur boxing championship last year, they were in for a shock. Remember the shame of Josephine Baker having to enter an American club through the kitchen? It was kind of like that. This lawsuit may become significant, depending on the outcome.
The following excerpts are recut from Gregory D. Kesich's finely done article Female boxer, coach sue over unequal treatment, for the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Sunday Telegram.
"While male boxers and their coaches received free airline tickets and were put up at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Kuronya and her coach, Bobby Russo, bought their own tickets and paid for their own rooms at a roadside motel.
And when the male boxers and their coaches ate for free at the center's cafeteria, Kuronya and Russo had to take a taxi into town and eat at an Applebee's.
Kuronya and Russo filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Portland on Thursday against United States Amateur Boxing Inc., alleging their treatment was a violation of state and federal laws that prohibit sex-based discrimination. They hope to be compensated for their expenses and force the governing body of their sport to recognize the effort and commitment women boxers make to their sport.
The justification
Canino said that when she has complained about the treatment, she has been told women are treated differently because they are not yet eligible for the Olympic Games.
There will be no women's boxing at the 2008 games, but there could be women in exhibition bouts in 2012.
How the law works
USA Boxing receives funding from the U.S. Olympic Committee, which, according to Germani, was created by federal law and passes federal money to its member organizations.
Germani said both organizations have an educational mission, which makes them subject to Title IX, the federal law that requires equal treatment for men and women in school athletics.
In the course of the lawsuit, she said, the governing body will have to explain why they treat the women boxers so differently.
History
According to historians, women have been boxers since the 1700s, but the sport took off among women in 1993, when a lawsuit by 16-year-old female boxer Dallas Malloy of Bellingham, Wash., forced USA Boxing to lift its ban on bouts between women.
USA Boxing has sponsored a Women's National Championship since 1997, and the same year sponsored a World Boxing Championship. USA Boxing counts almost 2,000 women as dues-paying members.
Women's boxing is not an Olympic sport, but USA Boxing has sponsored a team of elite female boxers to fight in international competitions. Kuronya, who lives in Portland, is a member of the team. She traveled to India and Argentina last year at the association's expense.
A spokeswoman for USA Boxing Inc. confirmed that women boxers have been excluded from the dormitories and the cafeteria during previous national championships, which are supported by funds from the U.S Olympic Committee."
female boxer sues for unequal treatment
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3 comments:
I would like to see the line item in the federal budget that gives the USOC money (aside from specific grants that are applied for).
I do not believe that any such line item exists.
Also, the Training Centers give bed space on a priority basis with the top tier going to Olympic athletes; since women are not eligible for the Olympics in boxing, they are not eligible under the rules.
Also, I think it is a stretch to say that the USOC and USA Boxing have much of an educational mission. If a judge lets that fly, then Title IX could be opened up far beyond what it is intended.
Hi Anonymous,
The addition of a line item sounds like a great idea.
Now, this line of reasoning: since women are not eligible for the Olympics in boxing, they are not eligible under the rules - is just short-sighted. The rules were obviously not drawn up with this co-ed-bred problem in mind. To assume that the constituents of a system should be satisfied with rules that do not address them is closed-circuit thinking. The progressive view is hey, the rules need to be changed.
While you have a point on your Title IX argument, it does not directly address the original argument putting forth Title IX in this situation, so it cannot close this issue.
Finally, why rely only on logos? Ethos matters.
Readers should note this anonymous poster posted from Colorado Springs, where the national finals were held.
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