Uneven playing fields
Suit: Bias sidelines black, Latino athletes in city schools
“Sports is so important to me because it made me understand my compassion and my leadership.” MATT DIAZ Bronx Academy of Letters junior
Advocates and students say they’re filing a class-action suit Thursday against the city over alleged discrimination against black and Latino athletes in the public school system.
The suit to be filed by the nonprofit New York Lawyers for the Public Interest argues that the city’s school sports policies discriminate against black and Latino students because those kids have access to fewer sports teams.
Public Interest senior staff attorney Melissa Iachan, who’s a lead lawyer on the case, said the city is in violation of its own human rights laws in its unequal handling of the Public School Athletics League.
“The city’s human rights laws prohibit depriving any public accommodation to a class of citizens, based on race,” Iachan said. “The Department of Education is in violation of the human rights law by discriminating against black and Latino students because they provide more sports teams and a greater variety of sports to students of other races.”
Four students are lead plaintiffs in the suit, including Bronx Academy of Letters junior Matt Diaz.
Diaz, who is Latino, has access to just three sports teams at his school, with no football or track — or boys volleyball, which is his favorite sport.
“Sports is so important to me because it made me understand my compassion and my leadership,” said Diaz, who plays on his school’s soccer team. “It’s our right to have the same things as other humans.”
City Education Department statistics have shown for years that black and Hispanic kids and poor kids are more likely to attend public schools with fewer sports teams.
Activists filed a civil rights complaint over the issue in 2014. A year later, the city promised to add teams to needy schools. But Iachan said the playing field is still not level.
The Public Interest suit, which will be filed in New York Supreme Court, alleges that:
Eighty-three public schools offer no sports teams, and black and Latino students are twice as likely to attend one of those schools.
Black or Latino students have access to 15 sports on average, compared with 25 teams for students of other races.
More than 17,000 black and Latino students attended a school that offered zero PSAL sports in 2017.
The city Education Department spends 17% more on sports for white and Asian students, compared with black and Latino students.
Students and advocates plan to gather at Education Department headquarters in lower Manhattan on Thursday for a rally to announce the suit.
City Education Department spokeswoman Miranda Barbot said all city students deserve access to sports.
“We are dedicated to providing the maximum number of opportunities for all students to play on sports teams and take part in a transformative experience that strengthens school communities,” Barbot said.
“We are continuing to add more teams each year in districts across the city and work closely with schools to assess and address their individual needs in an equitable manner,” she added.