An Uneven Playing Field?

Ashley Badis thought it was rough enough when she and her teammates in girls’ water polo had to practice in the ocean, battling fickle winds and choppy waves because their high school didn’t provide them with a pool.

But it was humiliating, Badis says, when she learned about female athletes on other teams at her school lugging their gear around all day, running to a nearby Burger King to use the bathroom, or changing clothes under the bleachers or on the bus. The boys had no such worries because they had their own locker room and other facilities.

“Hearing how many concerns and complaints that they had—it made me feel like I’m not alone in this, but it’s so wrong that we’re all being treated like this,” Badis, now 21, says.

Ashley Badis thought it was bad enough that she and her water polo teammates had to practice in the ocean. As a result, they had to battle fickle winds and choppy waves. This was all because their high school didn’t provide a pool for the girls’ team.

But Badis says that it was humiliating when she learned about the struggles of female athletes on other teams at her school. Many of them had to lug their gear around all day. To use the bathroom, they had to run to a nearby Burger King. Some of them even changed clothes under the bleachers or on the bus. The boys had no such worries because they had their own locker room and other facilities.

“Hearing how many concerns and complaints that they had—it made me feel like I’m not alone in this, but it’s so wrong that we’re all being treated like this,” Badis, now 21, says.

Badis is among the plaintiffs in a potential landmark lawsuit that alleges widespread and systemic sex discrimination against female athletes at James Campbell High School, the biggest public high school in Hawaii.

The suit is based on Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and colleges that receive funding from the federal government. Although Title IX helped level the playing field over the past 50 years, experts still point to many examples of inequality in athletics today. They say the outcome of this trial could affect generations of girls in Hawaii and act as a wider stress test for the promises and responsibilities of Title IX.

“What strikes me . . . is just how little we actually know about what is going on in the high school space,” says Ellen J. Staurowsky, a professor of sports media at Ithaca College in New York and the principal investigator for a recent Title IX report published by the Women’s Sports Foundation. “[This case] has the potential to really be a wake-up call for schools that continue to ignore the law and don’t take it seriously.”

Badis attended James Campbell High School, the biggest public high school in Hawaii. She is among the plaintiffs in a potential landmark lawsuit. It alleges that the female athletes at the school have faced widespread and systemic unequal treatment.

The suit is based on Title IX, the 1972 federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in schools and colleges that receive funding from the federal government. Title IX helped level the playing field over the past 50 years. Despite that, experts still point to many examples of inequality in athletics today. They say the outcome of this trial could affect generations of girls in Hawaii. They also note that the case could act as a wider stress test for the promises and responsibilities of Title IX.

“What strikes me . . . is just how little we actually know about what is going on in the high school space,” says Ellen J. Staurowsky, a professor of sports media at Ithaca College in New York and the principal investigator for a recent Title IX report published by the Women’s Sports Foundation. “[This case] has the potential to really be a wake-up call for schools that continue to ignore the law and don’t take it seriously.”

Before Title IX, many U.S. schools didn’t offer team sports for girls. But when the legislation became law, it required institutions to provide equal access to educational programs and activities to both male and female students, opening a lot of doors for girls and women. Since Title IX, girls’ participation in high school athletics has grown from fewer than 300,000 students in the early 1970s to almost 3.5 million today. And as more girls have joined high school teams, women’s professional sports have risen as well.

When it comes to Title IX, much of the attention has focused on opportunities for women to participate in college sports. In 2021, for example, college basketball player Sedona Prince posted a TikTok video from the National College Athletic Association (N.C.A.A.) tournament, comparing the stack of 12 hand weights available for the women’s basketball teams with the state-of-the-art weight room provided for the men. The video quickly went viral, and eventually led the N.C.A.A. to commission a gender equity review and make changes to the women’s tournament, such as rebranding it “March Madness,” just like the men’s tournament—a move the N.C.A.A. had previously resisted.

Although Title IX applies only to schools and colleges, many professional female athletes have also pushed for fairer treatment. Fans around the world have been particularly captivated by the U.S. women’s soccer team’s recent fight against wage discrimination (see “Demanding Equal Pay,” below).

As far as high schools and Title IX go, parents are often the ones pushing administrators to offer equal opportunities. When school officials are accused in lawsuits of not doing so, districts frequently settle cases without going to trial.

Before Title IX, many U.S. schools didn’t offer team sports for girls. But when it became law, Title IX required institutions to provide equal access to educational programs and activities to both male and female students. The move opened a lot of doors for girls and women. Since Title IX, girls’ participation in high school athletics has grown. In the early 1970s, there were fewer than 300,000 high school female athletes. Today, that figure is nearly 3.5 million. And as more girls have joined high school teams, women’s professional sports have grown as well.

Much of the attention on Title IX has focused on creating pathways for women to take part in college sports. For example, college basketball player Sedona Prince posted a TikTok video from the National College Athletic Association (N.C.A.A.) tournament in 2021. In it, she compared the stack of 12 hand weights set aside for the women’s basketball teams with the state-of-the-art weight room provided for the men. The video quickly went viral. It then led the N.C.A.A. to back a gender equity review. After the review, changes were made to the women’s tournament. It was rebranded as “March Madness,” just like the men’s tournament. Before this, the N.C.A.A. had resisted this move.

Title IX applies only to schools and colleges. That hasn’t stopped many professional female athletes from also pushing for fairer treatment. Fans around the world have been following the U.S. women’s soccer team’s recent fight against wage gaps (see “Demanding Equal Pay,” below).

When it comes to high schools and Title IX, parents are often the ones pushing officials to offer equal opportunities. When school officials are accused in lawsuits of not doing so, districts often settle cases without going to trial.

The Hawaii case, though, is pushing forward and goes beyond questions of systemic problems of participation and unequal treatment: It also accuses Campbell officials of retaliating against the girls for raising concerns by identifying the plaintiffs, who had used only their initials in the lawsuit, and by warning faculty members to speak carefully around them. Badis says school officials repeatedly threatened to cancel the girls’ water polo season.

Spokespeople for the defendants, which include the Hawaii Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association, said they would not comment on the pending litigation. But in court documents, the defendants have argued that school officials have done the best they can and that the girls who sued aren’t entitled to retroactive fixes: “The Department of Education has made and continues to make the required reasonable efforts to accommodate plaintiffs.”

Campbell High, whose teams are called the Sabers, has more than 3,000 students. In February 2018, the Honolulu Civil Beat, a nonprofit newsroom, detailed gender disparities at Campbell, among other schools, reporting that female athletes hadn’t had a locker room since the school was constructed in 1962.

But the Hawaii case is pushing forward. It goes beyond questions of systemic problems of participation and unequal treatment. It also accuses Campbell officials of taking action against the girls for raising concerns. The plaintiffs had used only their initials in the lawsuit. They claim that officials identified them and warned faculty members to speak carefully around them. Badis says school officials repeatedly threatened to cancel the girls’ water polo season.

The defendants include the Hawaii Department of Education and the Oahu Interscholastic Association. They said they would not comment on the pending case. But in court documents, the defendants have argued that school officials have done the best they can. They also noted that the girls who sued aren’t entitled to fixes after the fact: “The Department of Education has made and continues to make the required reasonable efforts to accommodate plaintiffs.”

Campbell High has more than 3,000 students. The school’s teams are called the Sabers. In February 2018, the Honolulu Civil Beat, a nonprofit newsroom, detailed gender disparities at Campbell and other schools. The report showed that female athletes hadn’t had a locker room since the school was built in 1962.

With access to only a handful of decrepit portable toilets (which were sometimes locked to prevent vandalism) on playing fields, some girls drank less water—despite the hot and dry climate—to avoid having to run to the nearest available bathroom, at a fast-food restaurant or a gas station a half-mile away.

Abby Pothier, a former soccer and water polo player, recently outlined the daily indignities of being a female Campbell Saber. All day long, she hauled a duffel bag containing soccer balls, cleats, shin guards, and more—separate from her backpack and her lunch box. And sometimes, girls’ soccer players couldn’t practice until the football and boys’ soccer teams had concluded their workouts on the field.

“It would be like 9:30 already,” says Pothier, now a sophomore at the University of California, Irvine. “The lights would turn off or the sprinklers would turn on—maybe both.”

The female athletes had access to only a handful of shabby portable toilets on playing fields. These portable toilets were sometimes locked to prevent vandalism. The nearest bathrooms they could use were at a fast-food restaurant or a gas station a half-mile away. As a result, some girls drank less water despite the hot and dry climate. They did so to avoid having to run to the bathroom offsite.

Abby Pothier, a former soccer and water polo player, recently outlined the unfair treatment female Campbell Sabers faced. All day long, she hauled a duffel bag containing soccer balls, cleats, shin guards, and more. She carried this as well as her backpack and her lunch box. And sometimes, girls’ soccer players couldn’t practice until the football and boys’ soccer teams had ended their workouts on the field.

“It would be like 9:30 already,” says Pothier, now a sophomore at the University of California, Irvine. “The lights would turn off or the sprinklers would turn on—maybe both.”

While the football team played in places such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, the girls rarely left Oahu, the island they lived on, according to the lawsuit. Yet when the girls’ soccer team qualified for state tournament games on the nearby island of Maui, the team wasn’t allowed to stay overnight. So they had a tight window to fly there, play, and return, often without showering.

“We’d be rushing after games, getting everyone into vans to get back to the airport, and we wouldn’t have time to eat,” Pothier says. “It was like: ‘Sorry, you have to get to your gate. You can eat when you get home.’”

The football team played as far away as Phoenix and Las Vegas. But the girls rarely left Oahu, the island they lived on, according to the lawsuit. Things weren’t much different when the girls’  soccer team made it to compete in the state tournament games. The games took place on the nearby island of Maui, but the team wasn’t allowed to stay overnight. So they had a tight window to fly there, play, and return. They often did so without showering.

“We’d be rushing after games, getting everyone into vans to get back to the airport, and we wouldn’t have time to eat,” Pothier says. “It was like: ‘Sorry, you have to get to your gate. You can eat when you get home.’”

After Civil Beat published its story about gender disparities, the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) of Hawaii demanded that the Department of Education come up with a plan to address inequities, saying that 14 schools statewide with athletic lockers for male athletes didn’t have them for female athletes.

But frustrated by the lack of progress, the A.C.L.U. of Hawaii—working with the nonprofit Legal Aid at Work—sued in December 2018 on behalf of the plaintiffs. After a lengthy legal battle over whether the case could move forward as a class action, a federal district court judge in Hawaii set a trial date for this October.

The plaintiffs—Badis and her sister Alexis, Pothier, and another former student—aren’t seeking any damages. Instead, they’re pushing for changes and accountability.

“I wanted to make sure that things are better for future generations,” says Badis, now a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “I didn’t want them to go through what I had to.”

After Civil Beat published its story about gender disparities, the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.) of Hawaii demanded that the Department of Education come up with a plan to address inequities. They noted that 14 schools statewide with athletic lockers for male athletes didn’t have them for female athletes.

But frustrated by the lack of progress, the A.C.L.U. of Hawaii sued in December 2018 on behalf of the plaintiffs. They worked with the nonprofit Legal Aid at Work to file the lawsuit. There was a lengthy legal battle over whether the case could move forward as a class action. After much back and forth, a federal district court judge in Hawaii set a trial date for this October.

The plaintiffs—Badis and her sister Alexis, Pothier, and another former student—aren’t seeking any damages. Instead, they’re pushing for changes and holding decision-makers accountable.

“I wanted to make sure that things are better for future generations,” says Badis, now a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. “I didn’t want them to go through what I had to.”

In the meantime, the school has made some changes. During a recent tour of Campbell’s campus, state representative Matthew LoPresti pointed to improvements, such as a new baseball and softball field next to a small building with some lockers for softball players. And though it’s hardly an ideal solution, female athletes have been allowed to use a boys’ locker room. Furthermore, state lawmakers allocated an additional $6 million this year to the Department of Education for Campbell athletic facilities, including a girls’ locker room, as part of a broader $60 million Title IX effort statewide.

Still, LoPresti backs the litigation.

“I support anybody fighting for justice,” he says. “At the end of the day, we’re still fighting a patriarchal system that favors boys over girls.”

In the meantime, the school has made some changes. During a recent tour of Campbell’s campus, state representative Matthew LoPresti pointed out some of the upgrades. Among them was a new baseball and softball field. It sat next to a small building with some lockers for softball players. And though it isn’t an ideal solution, female athletes have been allowed to use a boys’ locker room. State lawmakers also set aside $6 million more this year for the Department of Education to fund Campbell athletic facilities, including a girls’ locker room. This investment is part of a broader $60 million Title IX effort statewide.

Still, LoPresti backs the lawsuit.

“I support anybody fighting for justice,” he says. “At the end of the day, we’re still fighting a patriarchal system that favors boys over girls.”

David W. Chen covers sports for The New York Times. With additional reporting by Chrisanne Grisé.

David W. Chen covers sports for The New York Times. With additional reporting by Chrisanne Grisé.