After a discussion among attorneys for both sides early this week, Foster was allowed to meet with the parents of the girl, identified in the lawsuit as "C.B.," Tuesday afternoon. Earler, Foster had asked athletic director Bill Ball and the team's coach to work out the accomodations necessary to facilitate a girl on the team, such as dressing room arrangements, which they quickly provided.
Foster said the meeting with the parents was very "cordial and polite." The girl will be issued her football equipment Wednesday and appear in the team photograph, also to be taken Wednesday. She had previously been attending, but not participating in the team practices.
"This is okay; it's not a big deal," said Foster, who noted he is the father of three girls, and that there were girls who played on the junior high school team at Caston where he was formerly the superintendent.
He said the decision to allow the girl to play football on the Winamac team was not so much a change in the school's athletic policy, as a change in "past practice" in football. For instance, the high school has long had a co-ed soccer team.
Foster added that school officials "initially thought we were covered by Title IX" because they offered an equal number of sports intended for girls or boys.
But the ACLU lawsuit stated that gender equality must be recognized in many areas including the football field. The lawsuit stated the school’s initial decision not to allow C.B. to try out for the football team solely because of her gender violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said, “Numerous courts have recognized that gender is not a valid excuse for keeping young women out of previously all-male sports. Equal protection demands equality of treatment.”
Foster said Wednesday he had received no official word on what will now become of the lawsuit, but it is anticipated that it will be dropped. The superintendent pointed out that the parents had never asked for monetary damages.
At the time the lawsuit was filed, Foster said, "This isn't an uncommon situation. I am aware that there are females on other (typically male) sports teams in other schools, including football. This could absolutely lead to changes in our athletic policy."
He had also said he was "confident" that a resolution to the issue could be worked out that would be amicable to all.
The case, C.B. v. Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation, # 3-13-cv-901-TLS, was filed in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, on Aug. 28, 2013.
