Diane Madsen and Jay Roberts Eveland
It happened innocently enough when one early evening in 1993 I took my three daughters, Katie (8th grade), Kristi (6th grade) and Kelsey (3rd grade) to their high school girls’ basketball game because Katie was thinking about trying out for the team next year. We were looking forward to a great night out, eating at the concession stand and having fun rooting for the team. We hadn’t been at the girls game for long when Kelsey asked me, “Mom, where’s the mascot and the cheerleaders?’’ I said something like “they don’t do that for the girls.” About 20 seconds later Kelsey said, “Then I guess I have to be good enough to play on the boys' team”. Her comment sparked my interest. I wondered what else wasn’t the same. There was no water on the bench, no concession stand (so no dinner), no announcer, no locker room. I couldn’t believe it. Why was it different for the girls? I wrote a letter to our superintendent pointing out these differences. Fortunately, Dr. Patricia Oldt was interested and supportive. The next year the girls’ varsity team had their own locker room along with water and introductions.
Little did I know that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Once we got to high school I saw that there were many other serious inequities on the state level. The girls played basketball out of season and this was something the superintendent couldn’t fix. MHSAA was in charge of seasons and they wouldn’t budge. By this time I had met other parents around the area who wanted changes in the system, too. We formed an organization called Communities for Equity and went to meetings, wrote letters, contacted legislators and did everything we could to get equity for the girls. Three years later, after exhausting every avenue to get MHSAA to change we filed a complaint in Federal Court. By that time we had uncovered lots of other issues under MHSAA’s control that discriminated against the girls (e.g., facilities, TV coverage, publicity) which eventually were mediated but MHSAA wouldn’t budge on the seasons issue so we went to trial in 2001. The judge ruled pretty quickly in our favor saying that MHSAA violated the law. We were elated. We had won. Unfortunately, those feelings lasted only a couple of minutes because we knew the MHSAA would appeal the decision. Every time the case went to court, we won – we were elated -- and they appealed. This went on for six years until their final appeal for the Supreme Court to hear the case was denied. On April 2, 2007 it was finally over. At least the legal battle was over.
It took 12 long years to win. It was very tough going at times. Our kids were put in the spotlight in school, in newspapers and in court. It was a nightmare. Every time the case went to trial the newspaper articles would begin all over again, condemning the two families who were named plaintiffs; having private investigators talk to our friends, neighbors and our children’s teammates trying to intimidate us; we were treated like non-persons. There were times when I wondered if I could go on. I hated the thought that my daughters had to testify and receive sometimes subtle and sometimes blatantly different treatment in school and from their friends. I felt a huge weight on my shoulders; for me, my family and the next generation of girls in Michigan. Perhaps the most hurtful times were receiving emails from female students around the state asking me how it felt to be the most hated person in Michigan or telling me that I had ruined their lives.
I guess what really kept me going was that I knew this was the right thing to do. My husband and the girls kept reminding me that we had to keep going. I’ve been a chemistry teacher for 33 years and I knew from an educational basis that what MHSAA was doing was wrong. If this had been going on in a classroom and let’s say that the boys were getting short shrift, maybe only getting used books or having to share computers or confined to desks that were too small for them there would be no question that this was wrong - morally, ethically, and legally. In sports, parents and other adults know it and seem to accept it. I just couldn’t accept this for my daughters. Because they are girls doesn’t mean they should get a second rate experience. If we don’t teach our daughters and our sons that they all deserve the same opportunities, then the same inequities will occur in the workplace. And, no one wants that.
My girls won’t see the benefits of what Communities for Equity has done, but that’s okay. Thousands of girls in Michigan and hopefully other states will. My girls have benefited in other important ways, too. They are strong and have learned to speak up for themselves and for what’s right. And they’ve seen our family stick together and support each other. I’m often asked would I do it again. I have to say “yes." This time I wouldn’t be so naïve. Who would have thought it would take 12 years to decide whether a state’s athletic system is right or wrong. But at least I can sleep easier at night knowing a small group of committed citizens saw something that was wrong and did something to change it. CFE’s motto has always been the quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small committed group of citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
This never would have happened if Jay Roberts Eveland hadn’t agreed to be a named plaintiff as well, putting herself, her four daughters, and her family in the spotlight. She went through everything that I did. Our lawyer Kristin Galles spent 12 years on this case and still hasn’t received compensation. We owe so much to her and the other lawyers and organizations like the National Women’s Law Center for spending hours and hours on our case.