And Yet Another Lawsuit

Today's Dallas Morning News had an interesting article about a Mother (of a student at North Garland High School) who is filing grievances and threatening to sue because her son was not selected as the Drum Major. She has even told the press that she will pursue her case to the Supreme Court if necessary for her son to receive justice. One of her major contentions is that her son was bypassed because he is an African American. Now its all beginning to sound all too familiar... The saddest part is that mothers like this have permeated our thinking in society and everyone thinks the solution is another lawsuit.

Take for instance the following:

1. Parents in the Alamo Heights School District (San Antonio) filed suit against the tennis coach because their children weren't playing enough. The coach was eventually fired but nothing was said about the players' abilities.

2. A USTA official files suit against the USTA and received a multi-million dollar settlement because she was being discriminated against. Its always easy to bring up race, gender, and sexual orientation when you are suing! Nothing was mentioned about her abilities as an official.

3. Mothers of cheerleaders frequently file lawsuits because their darling daughters aren't chosen as cheerleaders. Again, no mention of their abilities.

4. A convicted felon in Texas filed a lawsuit against a family because he got trapped in their garage when he was robbing their home. Seems that he wasn't provided with the "basic necessities of life" and was disciminated against "because of his race." I'll leave your conclusions to your own imaginations.

5. A well known collegiate coach was dismissed (fired) because the father of one of the players threatened to sue because his daughter wasn't playing enough. The Dad threatened to tie the school up in court so long that they chose to fire the coach instead of pay the legal bills. It was cheaper!

I do know personally that lawsuits command a lot of attention--and even the threat of a lawsuit usually produces the sought after effects. Consider these two examples in our Texas Section:

1. Last year our Sectional Chairman refused to certify a duly trained and performing official as a referee. When that official threatened to sue both the Chairman and the Section, the certification was promptly granted.

2. Last year our Sectional Chairman refused to send me a copy of a grievance filed against me. When I mentioned a lawsuit to the National Chair of Officials the grievance suddenly appeared in my email.

There are times that lawsuits are valid and necessary but the vast majority of them are ridiculous. The two examples mentioned above never would/should have happened if the proper actions had been taken by those in authority. Personal differences should not dictate policy.

The lighter side of this whole issue is that some of the lawsuits are so frivilous that they become humorous. I'm patiently waiting for the class action lawsuit filed on behalf of white men over the age of 50! I'm joining in--and can't wait to see the size of the settlement we receive from the USTA.