Lawsuit challenges lack of PIAA track and field championships for para-athletes

Two students on Tuesday filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association alleging that the sporting organization discriminates against disabled athletes who want to participate in track and field by failing to offer a statewide championship opportunity.

The plaintiffs include Alex Brown, 15, who is a sophomore at North Catholic High School in Cranberry, and Trent Clayton, an 18-year-old senior from West Chester.

According to the lawsuit, Alex uses a wheelchair after sustaining a spinal cord injury when he was four years old.

Trent has a vascular abnormality of his central nervous system which limits his ability to walk lift and bend.

Both teens, the lawsuit said, enjoy and participate in track and field. Trent has competed since 2018 in the discus and shotput for his high school.

Alex began competing at age 10, and last season competed in the 100-meter dash and shotput at North Catholic, including earning a varsity letter and competing at the WPIAL championships.

However, the lawsuit alleges that Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association does not offer any opportunity for para-athletes to participate in the statewide championships. It cites PIAA policy which states, “’[t]rack and field events administered by PIAA are intended for participation by able-bodied athletes’ only.”

“Although PIAA claims it ‘simply is not equipped to offer the broad range of interscholastic competitive opportunities which might be desired or preferred,’ at least 27 other state high school associations maintain a wheelchair division for track and field,” the lawsuit said. “Of these states, at least 12 also maintain a separate division for para-ambulatory athletes who do not use a wheelchair to compete.”

In Ohio, for example, Alex would have qualified for the state’s annual track and field tournament and with his efforts last year could have placed 10th in the 100-meter dash and seventh in the shotput, the lawsuit said.

In California, the lawsuit said, Trent could have participated in the Ambulatory Para-Athlete division of the state championships.

The lawsuit alleges that PIAA’s lack of championship opportunities for disabled athletes denies them the chance to share in the goal of qualifying for states with other athletes; participating in those events; meeting other athletes like them; being able to earn scholarships and being able to represent their schools statewide.

The complaint includes claims for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act and seeks an injunction requiring PIAA to provide para-athletes a process to qualify for and compete in the PIAA track and field championships, beginning in 2022.

Messages left with PIAA were not returned late Tuesday afternoon.