Male gymnast sues UMN, claiming sex discrimination in decision to eliminate team
Oct. 29—A University of Minnesota gymnast is suing the school for sex discrimination over its decision last year to eliminate the mens gymnastics team.
An incoming freshman last year, Evan Ng still was home in Chicago because of the coronavirus pandemic when he learned on a Sept. 10, 2020 conference call that his first year as a Division I athlete would be his last.
Besides mens gymnastics, the U's Board of Regents in October eliminated mens tennis and indoor track — cutting 34 roster spots for male athletes — and reduced by 40 the rosters of the womens rowing, track and field and cross country teams.
Eliminating the three mens programs was projected to save an estimated $1.6 million a year at a time when athletics revenue was expected to plummet because of the pandemic. It also was going to help the U balance its number of male and female athletes in order to comply with Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs.
"The men's gymnastics team was cut because the University sought to reduce the number of male athletes in its varsity athletics program. As a result, Evan Ng is no longer a varsity NCAA gymnast at the University of Minnesota solely because of his sex," according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court.
Asked whether the sex-discrimination argument has ever succeeded in similar lawsuits, Ng's attorney, Caleb Trotter, said it hadn't. But he's hopeful a win in court could set a precedent that brings back gymnastics and the other mens sports.
"There's a hope, of course, that if we prevail, the University will see the writing on the wall and do the right thing," said Trotter, who works for the Pacific Legal Foundation, a California-based libertarian public interest law firm.
Days before the vote last October, Coach Mike Burns and others presented the Board of Regents with a self-funding proposal, but Athletics Director Mark Coyle said it was "unrealistic" to expect fundraising to sustain the program. The lawsuit says the team was told it was cut for Title IX reasons, not financial.
The lawsuit asserts Title IX does not require the U to have the same male-female ratios in athletics as it has in the student body at large.
The lawsuit asks a judge to order the U to reinstate the gymnastics program.
A university spokesman said for this article that the decision to eliminate the three sports was difficult.
"Importantly, this lawsuit isn't just about the University. It is a broad challenge to how Title IX has been implemented by the U.S. government across colleges and universities nationwide to achieve equal opportunity. The University has and will always honor its legal obligations," Jake Ricker said by email.
Ng, still enrolled at the U as a sophomore, told reporters Friday that he is suing for not only himself, but also teammates and future Gopher gymnasts.
"I worked my whole life to get where I am today," he said.
The complaint says it would be difficult for Ng to transfer because only 13 Division I schools still offer mens gymnastics, and because he's dealing with a shoulder injury.
Burns and gymnasts have formed a club program to stay in shape in case the team is restored, Trotter said.
