Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / League president, administrators stick up for MHSAA
League president, administrators stick up for MHSAA
by Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
May 23, 2008
Detroit — Vic Michaels, director of the office of athletics, physical education and safety for the archdiocese , had some strong words for the high school sports community in defense of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
In an open letter issued last week to superintendents, school boards and the public, the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association – of which Michaels is president – defended the MHSAA’s handling of a lawsuit that forced the statewide athletic association to change the schedules of its sports tournaments last year.
“Our request is simple,” stated the letter, signed by the six-member MIAAA executive board. “Do not criticize the MHSAA or its leadership for litigating on behalf of its member schools. The MHSAA has consistently placed the well-being of our student-athletes at the forefront of everything they do.”
The letter was in response to what the MIAAA saw as increasing and unfair criticism of the MHSAA for deciding to fight the lawsuit.
In 1998, the Communities for Equity, an outfit based in Grand Rapids, claimed that female high school athletes were being discriminated against because priority in scheduling was given to boys’ sports seasons. Since the MHSAA is the statewide organization that schedules championship tournaments – in which most schools in the state participate – it was the target of the lawsuit.
After nearly a decade of litigation, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Communities for Equity and mandated that girls’ sports seasons be rescheduled. The ruling took effect this past school year.
Following the litigation, a U.S. District Court ordered the MHSAA to reimburse the plaintiffs $4 million in legal fees and $3 million in interest for the drawn-out court battle.
Still, Michaels and the board of the MIAAA pointed out that not one member school of the MHSAA withdrew from the organization during the court battle. Also, the letter stated, the MHSAA is unique among high school sports organizations in not requiring schools to pay membership dues or tournament fees as a condition of participation. Also, member schools are not responsible for the legal costs.
Likening the court battle to an athletic competition, the MIAAA said the MHSAA deserves a “pat on the back” for standing up in court for its member schools.
“Yes, there is a final score and it appears that the MHSAA has come up on the short end,” the letter states. “However, before, during and after this particular form of competition, the MHSAA has continued to provide its member schools with competent and passionate leadership, with innovative and critical programs and with pioneering initiatives to create new opportunities for our student-athletes. In essence, they ‘play the game the right way.’”
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