High Court Says NCAA Can’t Be Sued for Bias

The Supreme Court narrowed the reach of federal civil rights laws in college sports Tuesday, ruling that the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. cannot be sued for sex bias by a female athlete just because it receives support from colleges and universities.

On a 9-0 vote, the justices said the civil rights laws apply to schools that receive federal funds, not regulatory bodies that are supported by these schools.

The ruling would appear to also exempt many state and local associations that set rules for sports in schools and colleges.

Although Tuesday’s decision concerned alleged sex bias, the ruling may sidetrack a major race discrimination suit that challenges the NCAA’s academic standards for athletes.

Lawyers for several black students in Philadelphia have sued the NCAA, contending that its use of minimum SAT scores as a requirement for freshman athletes has a discriminatory effect on African Americans. Under the NCAA’s Proposition 16, high school students must have at least an 820 SAT score to play as college freshmen. Students who fail to achieve the minimum are often denied a sports scholarship.

That lawsuit is now before a federal judge in Philadelphia. Tuesday’s decision will bolster the NCAA’s argument that it cannot be sued under the anti-bias law.

“We think it is now an open question whether the court [in Philadelphia] has any jurisdiction at all,” said Elsa Kircher Cole, general counsel for the NCAA.

But several women’s rights advocates and civil rights lawyers said they were not discouraged by Tuesday’s ruling. They predicted that they will prevail by showing that the NCAA receives federal aid.

“Because of the way the decision was written, I’m very hopeful the courts will find the NCAA does have to comply,” said Marcia Greenberger, president of the National Women’s Law Center. “They are in essence controlling major aspects of intercollegiate athletics throughout this country, and the notion they could do this independent of our civil rights laws would take most people by surprise.”

The women’s law center had represented Renee M. Smith, a college volleyball player who sought to extend her playing eligibility beyond her undergraduate years.

She played for two seasons at St. Bonaventure University in New York, but graduated after only 2 1/2 years. When she enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, she sought a waiver that would allow her to play two more years.

The NCAA refused. However, Smith alleged that the NCAA often gave waivers to male athletes, and she sued the association for sex bias under Title IX, the landmark 1972 measure that called for equal treatment for men and women in school sports.

But her case, NCAA vs. Smith, reached the Supreme Court on the threshold question of whether Title IX applies to the NCAA.

In its wording, Title IX outlaws sex discrimination in “any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

The U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia, siding with Smith last year, read the law broadly. It said institutions that “receive or benefit from federal funds” are covered. Because the NCAA is supported by dues from universities that receive federal aid, it is covered by the law, the appeals court said.

The Supreme Court overturned that decision Tuesday and narrowed the reach of the law.

“Entities that receive federal financial assistance, whether directly or through an intermediary, are recipients [of federal aid] within the meaning of Title IX,” said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “Entities that only benefit economically from federal assistance are not. At most, the [NCAA’s] receipt of dues demonstrates that it indirectly benefits from federal assistance [which] is insufficient to trigger Title IX coverage.”

But the court left open the possibility that civil rights lawyers could show that the NCAA receives some direct funding.

Through a separate foundation, the NCAA administers a $15-million-per-year federally funded summer program for disadvantaged children known as the National Youth Sports Program.

Women’s rights lawyers say the group’s receipt of this federal money brings the $200-million-per-year association within the reach of the civil rights law. NCAA lawyers disagree, saying the youth fund is separate.

The Supreme Court refused to resolve that issue and sent the case back for further study in the lower courts.