# Baseball bleachers torn down after ruling that girls softball team's seats must be equal **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 1, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051 "2014-04-01T04:41:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/1 "2014-04-01T04:41:36Z")
> **[FOX 2 Detroit](https://www.fox2detroit.com)** > > Detroit news, weather, sports, and traffic serving all of southeast Michigan and Metro Detroit. Watch breaking news live or see the latest videos from programs like The Nine, Let it Rip, and FOX 2 News. A new set of seating is being torn down outside the Plymouth Wildcats varsity boys’ baseball field, not long before the season begins, because the fields for boys’ and girls’ athletics must be equal. **A group of parents raised money for a raised seating deck by the field, as it was hard to see the games through a chain-link fence. The parents even did the installation themselves, and also paid for a new scoreboard.** But, after a complaint, the U.S Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights investigated the new addition and says it must be torn down. It says the facility was no longer equal to the girls’ softball field next door, which has old bleachers and an old scoreboard. Mmmm. US Federal Government. Stupidity squared. Here’s the fun part: now that the bleachers are torn down, boys’ baseball field has no bleachers and girls’ field does. I think the Feds should investigate and demand girls’ bleachers be torn down as well. In the name of equality, of course. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/2 "2014-04-01T04:48:05Z")
I think the boys should be given breast implants and the girls forced to wear jock straps. You know, so nobody feels left out. //rolleyes// ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/3 "2014-04-01T04:54:56Z")
Nixon signed the original Title 9 into law. If I remember, he’s a Republican. Also, the article says the new stands were not accessible to the handicapped. Pretty stupid oversight in this day and age. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/4 "2014-04-01T04:58:19Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Nixon signed the original Title 9 into law. If I remember, he’s a Republican. Also, the article says the new stands were not accessible to the handicapped. Pretty stupid oversight in this day and age. Yes, I am sure they just couldn’t be made accessible to the handicapped. Better to tear them down. Oh, wait, if they were made accessible to the handicapped they would still have to be torn down. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/5 "2014-04-01T05:05:02Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > [FOX 2 Detroit](http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/25095169/the-battle-over-bleachers-do-high-school-sports-facilities-have-to-match) > > A new set of seating is being torn down outside the Plymouth Wildcats varsity boys’ baseball field, not long before the season begins, because the fields for boys’ and girls’ athletics must be equal. > > **A group of parents raised money for a raised seating deck by the field, as it was hard to see the games through a chain-link fence. The parents even did the installation themselves, and also paid for a new scoreboard.** > > But, after a complaint, the U.S Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights investigated the new addition and says it must be torn down. It says the facility was no longer equal to the girls’ softball field next door, which has old bleachers and an old scoreboard. > > Mmmm. US Federal Government. Stupidity squared. Here’s the fun part: now that the bleachers are torn down, boys’ baseball field has no bleachers and girls’ field does. I think the Feds should investigate and demand girls’ bleachers be torn down as well. In the name of equality, of course. (bolding yours) I love the picture, which shows what I assume to be the bleachers in question. I note that I can see only 4 or 5 benches for sitting, none of which elevates anyone above the chain link fence, which is also in the picture. Good job, parents! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/6 "2014-04-01T05:11:40Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > (bolding yours) > > I love the picture, which shows what I assume to be the bleachers in question. I note that I can see only 4 or 5 benches for sitting, none of which elevates anyone above the chain link fence, which is also in the picture. > > Good job, parents! Didn’t watch the video in the OP I see. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/7 "2014-04-01T05:12:55Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > (bolding yours) > > I love the picture, which shows what I assume to be the bleachers in question. I note that I can see only 4 or 5 benches for sitting, none of which elevates anyone above the chain link fence, which is also in the picture. > > Good job, parents! Actually, the bleachers shown are the girls’. The video clip showed the boys’ stands had individual theater style seats. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/8 "2014-04-01T05:13:55Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I love the picture, which shows what I assume to be the bleachers in question. What happens when you “assume”? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/9 "2014-04-01T05:17:52Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > What happens when you “assume”? Of course, you failed to mention that there was a substantial difference in seating(and scoreboard) between the two fields. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/10 "2014-04-01T05:18:39Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Of course you failed to mention that there was a substantial difference in seating(and scoreboard) between the two fields. Huh? That’s what the OP was all about, wasn’t it? How did I “fail to mention” it? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/11 "2014-04-01T05:30:10Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Mmmm. **US Federal Government. Stupidity squared.** Here’s the fun part: now that the bleachers are torn down, boys’ baseball field has no bleachers and girls’ field does. I think the Feds should investigate and demand girls’ bleachers be torn down as well. In the name of equality, of course. This part. Maybe you should blame the idiot parents and school admin. for not complying with a law that was passed in 1972. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/12 "2014-04-01T05:34:34Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > This part. > > Maybe you should blame the idiot parents and school admin. for not complying with a law that was passed in 1972. How the law was applied in this case is stupidity squared. Parents built the bleachers. Not the school. Tearing them down is stupid and irrelevant to the purpose of the law. But I am not surprised that a lefty supports stupidity. That’s just SOP. I bet you supported the school admins that [suspended an elementary school kid](http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/02/7-year-old-boy-reportedly-suspended-after-making-a-gun-out-of-a-pastry-at-school/) for biting a pastry into gun shape. After all, he was “not complying with a law” - right? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/13 "2014-04-01T05:43:28Z")
I would think that building a new set of bleachers for the softball field would also be a satisfactory solution to the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/14 "2014-04-01T05:59:34Z")
I’m showing my stick-and-ball sports ignorance here, but why couldn’t both teams just use the same field, with nice seats and scoreboard? They should have just bulldozed the other field! Problem solved! ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/15 "2014-04-01T06:40:12Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I would think that building a new set of bleachers for the softball field would also be a satisfactory solution to the problem. The school had no money for it and the parents of the softball team are not willing to do it. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’m showing my stick-and-ball sports ignorance here, but why couldn’t both teams just use the same field, with nice seats and scoreboard? > > They should have just bulldozed the other field! Problem solved! [different field dimensions and properties](http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-differences-between-softball-and-baseball.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/16 "2014-04-01T13:12:08Z")
Ok, so the parents should have been informed they can’t help a school shirk their Title 9 requirements by way of donations. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/17 "2014-04-01T13:44:04Z")
After the line about handicap accessibility, it also mentions that the seats are being stored until they can come up with a better plan, so that makes it somewhat less wasteful. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/18 "2014-04-01T13:45:53Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > This part. > > Maybe you should blame the idiot parents and school admin. for not complying with a law that was passed in 1972. Yep - another solution would have been to make sure that the softball fields were simultaneously upgraded. Perhaps by forming a “field committee” with representatives from both the softball and baseball parents. I ran into this with softball and baseball with my own kids - fortunately, my daughter wasn’t much of a softball player, so I didn’t put up with it for long - but when my kids both played park and rec ball… My son’s teams got the superior fields My son’s teams got hired umpires My son’s teams got uniforms - including caps and pants. My son’s team got a large bag of equipment - complete catchers gear, extra gloves for the boys that didn’t have them, bats, a first aid kit. My daughter’s team was playing on the unmaintained elementary school fields. We had to provide a “red ball cap.” They received the loans of overshirts - which did not even fit the girls - too small for most of them. There were no umps. No equipment except a catchers mask (no catchers padding) - not even a first aid kit. The boys got use of the fields for free - we were told that the reason the girl’s cost was the same was that they had to rent the fields - but we never got an explaination why the boys didn’t need to rent the fields. The cost for the two activities was the same. Same age group. The next year the boys parents were up in arms - they were going to need to start paying to rent fields. Cost stayed the same - parents now needed to provide a pair of baseball pants. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/19 "2014-04-01T13:50:44Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Yep - another solution would have been to make sure that the softball fields were simultaneously upgraded. Perhaps by forming a “field committee” with representatives from both the softball and baseball parents. Yes, maybe boys’ team’s parents should have paid for the girls’ team’s bleachers as well, since girls’ team’s parents weren’t willing to do that. Right? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051/20 "2014-04-01T13:51:17Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > How the law was applied in this case is stupidity squared. Parents built the bleachers. Not the school. Tearing them down is stupid and irrelevant to the purpose of the law. But I am not surprised that a lefty supports stupidity. That’s just SOP. > > I bet you supported the school admins that [suspended an elementary school kid](http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/02/7-year-old-boy-reportedly-suspended-after-making-a-gun-out-of-a-pastry-at-school/) for biting a pastry into gun shape. After all, he was “not complying with a law” - right? And I’m not surprised that a righty thinks girls should make do with lesser facilities. After all, they should only be concerned with becoming wives and mothers. And no, I don’t support crap like that suspension. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-bleachers-torn-down-after-ruling-that-girls-softball-teams-seats-must-be-equal/685051.md?page=2)