Report: Members of Michigan State's swimming and diving team file lawsuit against university for cutting sport
Members of the Spartans swimming and diving team have filed a lawsuit claiming that taking the sport away violates the Title IX law.
It was first reported by Dan Murphy of ESPN on Friday afternoon:
Several Michigan State swimmers have filed a lawsuit claiming that getting rid of the swimming program violates Title IX law. They are asking the courts to issue an injunction that would keep MSU from eliminating the sport at the end of this season. More details coming soon.
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) January 15, 2021
As the tweet also says, they’re asking the courts to issue an injunction that would have the sport not eliminated.
In late October, the school released a statement from Athletic Director Bill Beekman as he explained why they were cutting the sport as COVID-19 continued to rage on. Part of his statement on the Spartans official website says:
“The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have touched every area of our life. It’s forced us all to evaluate not only our current place but also our prospects for the future. Michigan State Athletics is not immune from those calculations. Sadly, as a University and an athletic department, we’ve reached a decision that MSU Athletics will no longer sponsor men’s and women’s swimming and diving as varsity sports following the conclusion of the 2020-21 season. We understand that the news is devastating to our outstanding student-athletes in these sports, as well as to their coaches, but with every thoughtful analysis, it became increasingly clear that we were not positioned to offer the best experience to our student-athletes, either now or in the future.”
We’ll have to see where the lawsuit goes as members of the team try to get the sport back.