O’Connor v. Board of Education of School Dist. 23United State Supreme Court

449 U.S. 1301 (1980)

Key Search Terms: Title IX, gender-based, interscholastic events, equal opportunity, contact sport

FactsKaren O’Connor, an 11-year-old girl, requested to tryout for the boys basketball team at MacArthur Junior High School. As a member of an interscholastic athletic conference, MacArthur permits sixth graders to tryout for the seventh and eighth grade teams, as well as students of either sex to compete on the same teams in some noncontact sports. The Conference rules for contact sports differ, however, in that they require separate teams for boys and girls reasoning that girls may be physically harmed if allowed to play in contact sports with boys. Despite this rule, Karen’s father requested that Karen be allowed to tryout for the boy’s team based on her skill level and the fact that she had successfully been competing with boys her age for the past four years. After the request was rejected a number of times, Karen’s Mother and Father filed suit against the District seeking a temporary order requiring the District allow her to tryout at the originally scheduled tryouts in addition to permanent relief of allowing her to play in interscholastic competition based on her making the seventh or eighth grade team.

IssueIs it constitutional for a school board or conference to structure athletic programs using sex as a criterion for eligibility?

HoldingThe Court found no gender-based discrimination and the District to be compliant with Title IX. The Court reasoned that though the refusal to allow Karen to tryout for the boys’ team is solely based on the fact that she is a girl, the District has a separate athletic programs for girls that are equal to the boys as measured by time, money, personnel, and facilities. The Court further reasoned that discrimination cannot be justified based solely on Karen’s exclusion from the higher level of competition with the boys, despite the fact that it may have been advantageous to her development and skills as a basketball player. The Court reasoned further that the District had sufficiently justified their reasoning in separating boys and girls in contact sports based on the potential physical harm and had complied with Title IX in having a team for each sex.

Summarized by: Erika Nelson