A district judge last week denied three California Baptist University (CBU) athletes’ request to temporarily stop the university from eliminating the wrestling team, dealing a major blow to a monthslong effort to save the program.
“Unfortunately, given the denial of the preliminary injunction…it’s highly unlikely that the wrestling team would be able to be reinstated for the 26-27 school year,” Caleb Trotter, a senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation representing the wrestlers, said in an interview with The Riverside Record. “Really, the only way to have saved the team was to get that motion granted.”
CBU did not immediately respond to The Record’s request for comment.
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For months, CBU wrestlers have protested the university’s January 2 announcement that it would end three men’s athletics programs by the end of the spring semester. University officials said in a statement the cuts were necessary as it looked to invest in other programs. The university also said Title IX played a role in the decision.
Three athletes filed a lawsuit against the university in late-March, alleging the university singled out the men’s programs so its athletic participation rate would directly mirror the school’s enrollment. The plaintiffs said CBU did this to align with one of the U.S. Department of Education’s tests for Title IX compliance, an act they believed was prohibited by federal gender equity policies.
As part of the suit, attorneys for the wrestlers filed a preliminary injunction requesting District Court Judge Kenly Kiya Kato temporarily stop the school from cutting the programs as the lawsuit moved through the court.
Kato ruled against the athletes’ request June 3, saying the plaintiffs’ claims did not show “a likelihood of success or serious question.”
In the ruling, Kato said previous court cases set precedent against arguments that the use of the test conflicted with Title IX’s text. She added that even if the plaintiff’s argument were correct, there was not sufficient evidence to show the university cut the wrestling team to establish a sex-based quota. Instead, the judge said the university gave evidence to show the decision was based on “non-sex-based concerns,” like financial constraints.
Trotter said his team planned to appeal the judge’s decision though he added they anticipate the case will soon be dismissed based on this ruling.
“We knew it was an uphill battle coming into it, so if anything, we’re happy that the decision came quickly and didn’t just sit there for weeks and months just lingering,” he said. “We anticipated that we would need to take this to a higher court, and that’s the opportunity that we have now.”
Nolan Kistler, a local attorney leading a group opposed to CBU’s decision, said they found the judge’s ruling disappointing but that it hadn’t dissuaded his coalition from continuing to push for the decision to be reversed. He said his group is planning to create a more formal committee to make decisions on how to best allocate money they’ve raised for the effort, though he added he was still open to talking with university officials.
Some of the athletes and coaches, however, have already moved on to other opportunities or quit the sport altogether, he said, while others have been more willing to stick around until the end.
“CBU could, in the near future, decide that it wants to consider reinstatement,” Kistler said. “But the ball is kind of in their court.”
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