WSF, with pro bono partners at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, led and submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in Crowther v. Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, a case that will decide whether coaches and other school employees at schools receiving federal funding can sue under Title IX when they face sex discrimination from their employer. The case centers on MaChelle Joseph, the winningest women’s basketball coach in Georgia Tech history, who was fired after repeatedly raising concerns about unequal resources for men’s and women’s basketball, and Thomas Crowther, an Augusta University professor who alleged harsher treatment than female colleagues in a disciplinary process. WSF gathered 36 sign-ons, including Billie Jean King, Lisa Bluder, Muffet McGraw, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, among others.
This action reflects WSF’s longstanding commitment to Title IX and the coaches who help enforce it. Coaches are often the first to see discrimination, and the first to speak up for their athletes; if they lose the ability to challenge sex discrimination in their own employment, many will be reluctant to advocate at all, or to take on women’s coaching roles in the first place. By uniting a broad coalition behind this brief, WSF aims to ensure the Court understands what’s at stake for Title IX’s unfulfilled promise of equal opportunity in sports.
Read the full brief here.