Student Challenges Play Up Stay Up Rule Claiming Sex Discrimination
According to a Kentucky sixth-grader’s lawsuit, a rule that limits the movement of boys (but not girls) basketball players between class-delineated teams violates equal protection laws and Title IX. Under the so-called “play up, stay up” rule, male students who play for a higher grade team can never play for a lower grade team, but female players can play up or down without any restrictions. “Specifically,” the lawsuit claims, “this rule unfairly subjects male basketball players to a harsh restriction on the number of grade levels at which they may play, but expressly exempts female basketball players from the restriction,” thus resulting in “gender-based discrimination against middle school male student-athletes....