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Channeling ‘Rudy,’ RI judge orders sports league to ‘let the kid play.’ Here’s the case.

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1 month ago

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PROVIDENCE – A judge has ordered the Rhode Island Interscholastic League to “let the kid play.”

In an order sprinkled with references to the heartwarming movie classic “Rudy,” U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith determined that the league must waive its rule limiting high school athletes from competing more than eight consecutive semesters to reasonably accommodate a student’s disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He rejected arguments that the league would soon be inundated with waiver requests.

“But more importantly, the League’s point amounts to saying that accommodating people with disabilities is hard and they should not have to do it. Treating people with disabilities with sensitivity and compassion may take some effort and require previously unimagined flexibility, it is true. But that is what living in a civilized society is all about and what the law demands of us,” Smith wrote.

He concluded that achieving “the goal of full inclusion of disabled individuals in economic and social life is in the public’s interest” and that “allowing disabled students to play competitive sports contributes to that goal.”

“John Doe is like Rudy. He may not be a future Heisman Trophy recipient, but, even so, he deserves his moment to play competitively with his team as a senior. Those are the memories that will stick with him,” the court said.

“I thought he got it right … We are obviously hoping that this case isn’t going to drag on,” Robert Clark Corrente, the student’s lawyer, said Tuesday.

Corrente faulted the rule in question as outdated and no longer serving the interest for which it was intended.

“I think this is going to be good for him and his development in high school,” Corrente said.

Michael Lunney, league executive director, declined to comment beyond: “On behalf of the Principals Committee on Athletics and our member schools, the league will be considering its options moving forward.”

Mental health decline post-pandemic

The parents of the student identified as “John Doe” sued the league last year after it refused to waive the “8-semester” rule for the athlete’s senior year.

According to the complaint, the student attended a parochial school in Rhode Island during his freshman year. His parents decided to send him to an out-of-state boarding school the following year to provide him with more structure after the parochial school went fully remote during the pandemic. They enrolled him as a freshman at the advice of others.

But instead of thriving, the student became depressed, socially isolated, lost weight and struggled academically.

That summer he was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, as well as other learning disabilities. The doctor recommended that he play sports.

The next school year, he enrolled in a private school in Rhode Island and competed in basketball and football, leading to an improvement in his mental health and well-being. 

He will be in his senior year next year, meaning he will be in his ninth and 10th semesters in high school. 

League puts its foot down

Smith noted that the league “put its foot down” and denied the student’s waiver request, despite the devastating mental health crisis teenagers are experiencing since the COVID pandemic.

The league argued that the student didn’t repeat his freshman year due to his disability, nor was that the reason for his exclusion from sports.

The student’s parents accused the league of discriminating against him based on his disabilities in violation of the ADA.

Smith observed that the league applied the wrong standard in assessing the waiver request. Instead, it should have evaluated where the waiver was a reasonable accommodation given the student’s documented disabilities under the ADA.

“Waiving the rule is a reasonable accommodation because doing so is necessary to afford John access to competitive sports,” the court said.

In addition, he said, the league had not shown that waiving the rule in this case would alter high school athletics in Rhode Island. 

“Other remedies, such as monetary damages, would not address the impending harm of being denied the right to play sports. Only an injunction preventing the application of the Rule would make John whole,” Smith wrote.

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