Female student athletes from the University of Oregon gathered at Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton in Eugene to announce the filing of a Title IX sex discrimination lawsuit against the UO on Friday, Dec. 1. Ashley Schroeder and Batia Rotshtein were present at the press conference from Oregon women’s beach volleyball along with Elise Haverland, captain of the women’s club rowing team. (Santiago/Emerald)
Twenty-six women’s beach volleyball student athletes and six women’s club rowing team members from the University of Oregon filed a 115-page Title IX sex discrimination class action today against UO for “depriving women of equal treatment and benefits, equal athletic aid equal opportunities to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics,” the Bailey & Glasser press release said.
“Based on the way the beach volleyball team has been treated, female athletes at Oregon do not need much food or water, good or clean clothes or uniforms, scholarships, medical treatment or mental health services, their own facilities, a locker room, proper transportation, or other basic necessities,” women’s beach volleyball captain and lead plaintiff Ashley Schroeder said.
According to the athletes, the only support from men’s teams regarding the lawsuit have come from men’s club rowing.
“I’m not sure [men’s varsity sports] are aware of what’s going on. The more advocates we can get for us, the quicker and the better we can be treated equally,” beach volleyball member Batia Rotshtein said.
On the same day as the Oregon football team is competing in the Pac-12 championship in Las Vegas, the suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Eugene.
In an email statement to the Emerald, UO said “for beach volleyball, in addition to all other benefits, UO has already previously committed to increasing scholarships and to building a beach volleyball facility on campus at a site identified via the Campus Planning process. This site planning process began in 2019 and the project is now in the development phase.”
UO said it believes it complies with Title IX and it is unable to comment on any further specifics due to not having the complaint.
Three of the plaintiffs were at the press conference: Schroeder, beach volleyball athlete Batia Rotshtein and women’s club rowing captain Elise Haverland.
Haverland said the female student-athletes are holding the UO accountable for its actions.
“We love this school, but, in addition to treating its women athletes unfairly, it is also depriving us and other women of equal opportunities to participate,” Haverland said in a press release. “Oregon’s own numbers show it needs to add at least 94 varsity women athletes to reach proportionality.”
The complaint can be read here.
Other plaintiffs in the case include: beach volleyball members Zoe Almanza, Jade Bernal, Kendall Clark, Josie Cole, Vivian Donovan, Halli Fields, Siuloloavo Folau, Natasha George, Josie Griffiths, Alexandra Haden, Delaney Hopen, Madelyn Lafollette, Alex Laita, Anatasia Lima, Mia Lopez, Dahlia McAllister, Presley McCaskill, Abigail Plevin, Valerie Peterson, Batia Rotshtein, Savannah Siegrist, Alaina Thomas, Ella Tyus, Carly Wallace, and Beatrice Wetton and womens club rowing team members Claire Daley, Anna Maria Knight, River Ribeiro, Sophia Schmitz and Sydney Weddle.
Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination against all academic institutions receiving federal funding and requires them, including UO, to provide equal treatment to both female and male student-athletes. It also requires those institutions to provide equal opportunities to participate in intercollegiate athletics.
Lori Bullock, a lawyer for Bailey & Glasser said UO knows how to make and support a successful team, but has failed continuously to do that with these female athletes.
“What they’ve been told before is if they had more fans they would have more resources but that is not how Title IX works,” she said.
Bullock said these it’s important to remember that these women were recruited out of high school to compete in division one.
In late September, Bryant told the Daily Emerald that the “women will have to sue” the University of Oregon for “depriving its female student-athletes and potential student-athletes of equal treatment, athletic financial aid, and opportunities to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics in violation of Title IX.”
In particular, UO is violating Title IX in these aspects:
-
A lack of equitable financial aid. Women’s beach volleyball members have not received athletic scholarships in its 10-year existence. Women in UO’s athletics are being deprived of over $800,000 a year in equal athletic financial aid, according to Equity in Athletics Data Analysis.
-
Poorer facilities compared to men’s sports. The beach volleyball team practices at Amazon Park, a public park in Eugene, making it the least expensive venue compared to all other varsity sports, including men’s sports.
-
Disproportionate numbers of male varsity athletes. To reach gender equity with the number of male athletes, UO would need to add 94 female varsity athletes. Making women’s club rowing a varsity sport would help fill that gap, but the university has not considered doing so.
-
UO is missing gender equity plans on this issue. According to Bryant, the UO lawyers believed there was “no need” to complete a gender equity plan, because they believed UO Athletics were already complying with Title IX.
On Sept. 27, UO wrote to the Emerald that “UO Athletics has been working with Campus Planning since 2019 to identify a site to build an on-campus Beach Volleyball facility.”
But days after the news of the potential lawsuit, the Campus Planning Committee held “meeting one” to find an equitable solution for the women’s beach volleyball team.
With eight in favor and two opposed, the committee agreed that Hamilton Hall, once demolished, would be the site recommendation to President Scholz to be a potential venue for the team.
Bryant hopes UO will create a gender equity plan, hire a gender equity specialist and will comply with Title IX regulations sooner rather than later.
This is a breaking story. Check back for more updates.
Female student athletes from the University of Oregon gathered at Johnson Johnson Lucas & Middleton in Eugene to announce the filing of a Title IX sex discrimination lawsuit against the UO on Friday, Dec. 1. Ashley Schroeder and Batia Rotshtein were present at the press conference from Oregon women’s beach volleyball along with Elise Haverland, captain of the women’s club rowing team. (Santiago/Emerald)
