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23 Legal Issues Collegiate Athletics 1 (2021-2022)

handle is hein.journals/lica23 and id is 1 raw text is: November 2021 Volume 23, Issue 1 Legal Issues in COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS A Report of Court Decisions, Legislation and Regulations Affecting Collegiate Athletics Sixth Circuit Rules in Favor of Free Exercise of Religion over WMU's Sixth Crcuit Rulesin Favor Exemption Policy in Case Involving of Free Exercise of Religion over WMU's Exemption Vaccines and Collegiate Athletes Policy in Case Involving Vaccines and Collegiate Athletes 1 By Adam Epstein, JD/MBA On October 7, 2021, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to stay an in- junction in Dahl v. Bd. of Trs. ofW Mich. Univ.,' thereby allowing sixteen student- athletes at Western Michigan University (WMU) to participate in varsity athletics without having to receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot as the school required. The case was appealed on an Emergency Mo- tion from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, and the three Sixth Circuit judges unanimously 1 Dahl v. Bd. of Trs. of W. Mich. Univ., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 30153. agreed with District Judge Paul Lewis Maloney that the student-athletes should prevail. WMU required that student-athletes be vaccinated against COVID-19, but it had a policy in which it would consider, on a discretionary basis, individual requests for medical and religious exemptions. All sixteen of the student-athletes applied for exemptions, but the Sixth Circuit noted that WMU either ignored or denied their requests and barred them from See SIXTH CIRCUIT on Page 11 Ambrose v. Delaware State University: Retaliation Claims Based on Speech, Not Gender: By Gary Chester; Senior Writer The pages of this publication are often filled with cases reflecting the difficul- ties that student-athletes face when they report Title IX and other violations to colleges and universities. Student-athletes often report egregious conduct on the part of the institutions who tend to reflexively defend their own interests to the detri- ment of the complaining party. Ambrosev. Delaware State University, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 151849 (D. Del.August 12, 2021) is one such case. However, the court's decision on motions to dismiss by multiple defendants reminds us that not every action is based on gender and that Title IX has its limitations. It also demonstrates that colleges, like other businesses, would do well to apply risk management practices when there are obvious missteps. THE FACTS The plaintiff, Allison Ambrose, played on the Delaware State women's golf team on a partial scholarship. Her coach, Scott See AMBROSE on Page 14

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