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Press Release

May 21, 1998

VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS

Lt. General Daniel W. Christman, Superintendent
Building 600
United States Military Academy at West Point
West Point, New York 10996

RE: Potential Sex Discrimination Litigation –
Radzik v. United States Military Academy at West Point

Dear General Christman:

On April 28, 1998, Jennifer Radzik was denied admission to the summer wrestling camp at the United States Military Academy at West Point ("West Point") solely on the basis of her gender. We have recently been contacted by Ms. Radzik and her family, who have asked us to sue West Point for sex discrimination. I am writing to ask that you meet as quickly as possible with me and my co-counsel, Frank Navarra of Finkelstein, Levine, Gittelsohn & Partners in Newburgh, to determine if we can resolve this matter without the need for litigation.

In case you are not familiar with Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, we are a national public interest law firm dedicated to using the skills and approaches of the nation's top trial lawyers to advance the public good. We have successfully sued several educational institutions, including most recently Brown University, for illegally discriminating against women in athletics. The schools we have sued have uniformly lost and have uniformly been required to provide females with equal opportunities to participate in athletics. They have also been forced to pay both their own and our legal costs and fees.

Now we have been contacted by the Radziks. Based on the information provided us to date, we believe that West Point is discriminating against Jennifer Radzik and possibly other females in violation of the U.S. Constitution and applicable New York law.

Under established constitutional law, reemphasized by the United States Supreme Court just two years ago in the Virginia Military Institute case, West Point cannot legally exclude Ms. Radzik from its summer wrestling camp unless it can demonstrate that it has an "exceedingly persuasive justification" for doing so. West Point must prove that Ms. Radzik's exclusion from the summer camp is "substantially related" to the achievement of "important governmental objectives." United States v. Virginia, 116 S. Ct. 2264, 2274 (1996). We do not believe West Point can meet this burden.

According to the information provided to us, Ms. Radzik is a 13-year-old wrestler who has successfully competed on the Cornwall Central School District's wrestling team (which otherwise consists of boys) for the past two years. In order to compete with males, Ms. Radzik has demonstrated that she is qualified under the guidelines for mixed competition promulgated by the New York State Department of Education. She finished this past season with a 6-6 record competing exclusively against boys her own age, and next year will be a member of her school's Junior Varsity team. Her school coaches and counselors at other wrestling camps she has attended have recognized and lauded her skill, excellence, and dedication to the sport. One counselor, now the Head Assistant Wrestling Coach at Binghamton University, and a former coach at the West Point camp, has written a general letter of recommendation stating that "Jennifer would be a tremendous asset to your camp" and "I would be honored to have her as a part of my team."

On April 28, 1998, Ms. Radzik's father, Ted Radzik, saw a flier advertising the summer wrestling camp at West Point. He called the telephone number on the flier to determine whether spaces were still available at the camp. Upon being informed that openings existed for the July 5-10 session, Mr. Radzik stated that he wanted to enroll his daughter. He was told that she could not enroll because she was female.

Mr. Radzik then spoke with Jack Effner, Head Coach of the Wrestling Program at West Point, and reviewed his daughter's experience and qualifications in detail. Mr. Effner offered two reasons for denying Ms. Radzik admission: (1) that enrolling a female would be a burden on the program because there was no space for a girl at the overnight camp and (2) that including a girl would increase the costs of the program, because he would have to hire a female coach. Mr. Radzik indicated his willingness to provide transportation for his daughter so she could participate as a day-camper, and further explained that, since all of Ms. Radzik's other coaches were males, there would be no need to hire a female coach. Mr. Effner then offered two additional reasons for excluding Ms. Radzik: that he was concerned that losing to a girl would have a negative impact on the boys' egos, and that he did not think that girls should participate in the sport of wrestling.

Given these facts, West Point is clearly violating Ms. Radzik's constitutional right to equal protection by refusing her admission to the wrestling camp solely on the basis of her sex. In fact, two federal district courts have already ruled that school policies excluding girls from boys' wrestling teams solely on the basis of their sex are unconstitutional. See Adams v. Baker, 919 F. Supp. 1496 (D. Kan. 1996); Saint v. Nebraska School Activities Ass'n, 684 F. Supp. 626 (D. Neb. 1988). In both cases, the courts entered orders requiring the schools to allow the female athletes to participate on the boys' wrestling teams. Copies of these court decisions are enclosed for your convenience.

We believe that Jennifer Radzik has legally valid and enforceable sex discrimination claims against West Point. Unless we are able to resolve her claims without the need for litigation, we are prepared to file suit. In the event that we are successful, West Point will be required to admit Ms. Radzik to the wrestling camp, change its policy regarding admission of girls to the boys' athletic camps, and, of course, reimburse us for the costs and attorneys' fees we incurred throughout the course of the litigation.

Because we would prefer to resolve this dispute amicably and without the need for litigation, we hope that you will meet with us as quickly as possible. I understand from Theodore Radzik, Jennifer's father, that he has already written to you and requested a meeting, but been told that you are unavailable until after May 27, which is West Point's graduation day. I ask, therefore, that you call me to schedule a mutually convenient meeting to take place sometime between May 29 and June 3, 1998. We cannot delay further because, if we are unable to resolve this matter amicably, we will have to file suit and seek a preliminary injunction requiring West Point to admit Ms. Radzik to the July 5-10 wrestling camp.

In light of the need for us to make travel arrangements to New York, please call me before the close of business on Thursday, May 28, to let me know whether you are willing to meet. If we do not hear from you, we will have no choice but to file suit.

If you have any questions or need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Arthur H. Bryant
Executive Director

cc: Frank Navarra, Esq.
Theodore Radzik