Athletes claim gender discrimination

Some Richmond High School volleyball players say the school has shown a pattern of discrimination against girls sports teams there, and are asking school administrators, and possibly state officials, to take action.

Richmond Community Schools officials are asking the community to avoid speculation until an investigation is complete.

RHS student and girls varsity volleyball player Emma Stites says events of the last two weeks have left her and her teammates shaken, with the status of head coach Darrell Morken uncertain and the lack of support from school administrators unsettling. 

When the team showed up for practice on Tuesday, Sept. 24, they found the boys basketball team was using one of two available gym spaces that had the needed floor markings for volleyball, even though the basketball season had not yet begun. When the volleyball players went to the auxiliary gym, which Stites says is generally unsuitable for their practice needs because of how hot it gets, they found the volleyball floor markings had been pulled up by a janitor during a cleaning.

Frustrated with feeling like their team’s ability to practice was not a priority, they asked the boys basketball team and its coach if the boys could practice elsewhere because multiple other gym spaces are configured for basketball, but were told it was not an option, Stites said.

Morken took the issue to the school’s athletic director, Robert Lee. According to witnesses, the meeting became heated as it was joined by other coaches advocating for the girls’ need to have a suitable practice space. Stites says things went poorly from there; at one point the girls were told by assistant athletic director Rachel Etherington to leave the gym and go home, while at another point a player confronted boys basketball head coach Billy Wright and that he “screamed at her” in response, Stites said.

After the incident, teammates, parents and supporters took to social media to express their concerns that the volleyball team, as well as girls softball, soccer and basketball teams, have experienced repeated instances of being treated as a lower priority than boys teams. 

Brandy Minor said in a Facebook post that as a former two-sport RHS athlete, that was her experience. “We were used to having terrible fields, old equipment and even older uniforms,” Minor wrote. “We were also, unfortunately, used to different standards in conduct, academics, attendance, etc. between male and female athletes.”

The following Monday, Sept. 30, the team found out that Morken had been removed as their coach. Stites, who knows Morken’s family personally, said they weren’t given much other information and are still waiting to hear why he was removed or if he’ll return. Morken confirmed to WWN Oct. 4 that he is on paid administrative leave from coaching at the school.

After WWN contacted multiple RHS administrators to be interviewed for this story, Richmond Community Schools released a statement on its website, saying “RCS has not received any official Title IX complaints internally or externally. It was also rumored that another athletic program attempted to displace our volleyball program from the Tiernan Center main floor and that rumor is also untrue,” the statement said. “At this time, speculation, innuendo, rhetoric and propaganda will only serve as a deterrent to our entire athletic community. Furthermore, it does harm to our students, our coaches/sponsors and our school community at-large. RHS remains in compliance with IHSAA mandates and in compliance with RCS policy. Utilizing this incident as a teachable moment for all involved is what our profession is all about and we will continue to work to that end.”

In a meeting with administrators Tuesday, Oct. 1, Stites says players were told they were behaving disrespectfully and that if they were in a classroom setting doing the same, they might be suspended. A parent who attended the meeting but who did not want their name used out of fear of retaliation against their RHS student, told WWN the meeting was “awful” and representative of the poor communication and lack of support for girls teams. “The girls felt like they had already come to the administration for help, and they weren’t getting help, no one was hearing them, no one was giving them a chance,” the parent said.

Stites says that she and 13 other players subsequently submitted complaints to the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education. That office investigates and enforces violations of Title IX, the federal civil rights law passed in 1972 that prohibits schools from discriminating on the basis of sex in school and educational programs, including sports.

A representative for the Office for Civil Rights told WWN that it does not confirm individual complaints, and directed our reporter to an online list of open investigations, where no current Title IX complaint against RHS is listed as of Oct. 4. 

Jason Wille, sports information director at the Indiana High School Athletic Association, told WWN that IHSAA is aware of the students’ concerns, but that there is no current investigation open and that they have not yet formally received any complaint documents.

In her Title IX complaint filing document dated Sept. 30 and shared with WWN, Stites wrote that the actions by Lee and Wright constitute a violation of discrimination laws as well as IHSAA rules, and claimed a “lack of care for girls sports at Richmond High School.”

In the release, RCS officials said they’d begun proactive discussions about equity and Title IX months ago, and are working to review curricular and extracurricular activities, and outline the scope of a “preemptive” Title IX audit. The school board will be asked to approve an agreement at its Wednesday, Oct. 9, meeting to gather data “to further improve the overall RCS experience for all students,” the release said. 

The board will first gather for a work session at 5:30 p.m. in the administration building, 300 Hub Etchison Parkway, followed by a business meeting at 6:30 p.m., which includes an opportunity for public commentary. 

Both portions of the meeting are open to the public. It is the board’s only October meeting because of fall break.

Some volleyball team members have said they are now experiencing bullying in school as a result of their claims. Stites is hopeful that their experience will be noticed by others in the community and that some good will come out of the challenges her team is experiencing. For now, she said her teammates have decided together to finish their season “for our coach” and to keep working on getting him back.

Taylor George, a sophomore player on the varsity volleyball team, told WWN that she’s focused on creating the best opportunities for all RHS athletes. “At this point, the problems just need to be fixed with better awareness, accountability and better communication,” George said.