Level Playing Field

The first pitch of the West Valley Girls Softball League opening game Saturday marked a major triumph for girls sports in Los Angeles: the culmination of a lawsuit alleging that boys enjoy lush turf on city-owned ball fields while girls are assigned inferior fields.

The federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the league against the city was settled in October 1999, when both sides agreed to a five-year lease for the fields at Hughes Middle School. The case was one of the first in the nation to challenge gender equality in municipal sports.

At first, the scrubby ball fields weren’t much to cheer about. But parents installed dugouts and painted part of the old school, now used as an administration building, and after months of mowing and weeding, the fields were ready for action.

As girls laced up their softball shoes Saturday, a crowd of lawyers and politicians joined the children and parents celebrating the new season.

“It feels like we’re more equal to the guys now--Girl Power!” said Autumn Consoli, 13, a member of the Dark Angels team.

The grassy accommodations were far better than what the 500-girl league was used to: unkempt fields riddled with bald patches, clumps of grass and holes that would trip even the most agile outfielder. Most sites lacked outfield fencing, dugouts, concession stands and electronic scoreboards--standard fare at some of the fields used primarily by boys.

After moving between worn-out fields at schools and parks for years without a permanent lease, exasperated West Valley parents and coaches sued the city in 1998, contending that Los Angeles had violated the civil rights of girls by denying them equal access to city-owned ball fields that were dominated by male teams.

The settlement later broke down after school district officials declined to sign off on the deal, saying they might reopen Hughes to students. But Dave Berman, the league president, said negotiations are continuing and the league hopes to sign at least a three-year lease soon.

“It basically should teach parents and kids that you can win,” said Berman, whose three daughters have all played in the league. “And dreams do happen if you really want them to.”

Autumn and her teammates said the well-groomed fields will spare them the injuries they have endured playing on shabby fields. By contrast, many fields used by their brothers had been assigned to boys for decades, giving parents years to transform those facilities into mini-Dodger stadiums.

“It’s about time,” Christina Mason, 13, said. “With fences, now you can hit it out of the park!”

In settling the lawsuit in October, the city did not admit guilt but agreed to pay the league $100,000 to build four fields. The league signed a five-year lease with a 10-year renewal option. More space is available for the girls on a portion of the Adam Bischoff Soccer Fields in West Hills.

Berman said the new fields send an important message: “This tells the girls their sport matters.”

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Tierra Ebe, 10, an infielder on the Black Jack team, said she likes the fields because all the teams now play at one place, instead of shuffling between sites located miles apart. “All the people I know are here. I get to see my friends.”

Parents are just as excited. “Now they will play with more enthusiasm,” Nona Mason said.

And it’s a sweet victory for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the girls and later expanded the legal challenge on behalf of all girls in the city. As a result, the city launched an aggressive recruitment effort aimed at attracting more girls to municipal sports programs.

“Before, boys got to play on the fields of their dreams and girls could only dream of fields,” said ACLU legal director Mark Rosenbaum. “Maybe diamonds are a girl’s best friend.”