Judge Refuses to Toss Out Bisexual Players' Lawsuit Over Gay Softball
A federal judge in Seattle has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against a gay softball league by three players who claim they were barred from competition for being bisexual.
The three men, bisexual members of a gay San Francisco softball team that made it to the finals of the Gay World Series in Seattle in 2008, were disqualified from the series for violating a league rule that limited to two the number of heterosexuals on any team.
U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour, in a series of pretrial rulings Tuesday, held that the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association, which sponsors the yearly event, is subject to the state’s anti-discrimination laws, the Seattle Times reported.
But the judge also held that the association can keep its rule limiting the number of heterosexual players on any team for the time being.
The three men claim they were brought into a room, one by one, before a panel of officials and questioned about their sexual preferences after the manager of another team protested their eligibility for play. Then panel members took a vote as to whether the men were “gay” or “non-gay.”
Suzanne Thomas, a lawyer for the men and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which contends that the rule discriminates against bisexuals, praised the judge for finding that the association is subject to state anti-discrimination laws.
“No one should have to go through what they experienced,” she said of the men.
Seattle lawyer Michael Reiss, who represents the softball association, said he was pleased the judge recognized the defendant’s right to choose its members. But he said that at trial, the association would “vigorously dispute” the plaintiffs’ version of events.
