Indiana AG suing IHSAA over "race-based quota"

(INDIANAPOLIS) – Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is calling for the IHSAA to eliminate a race-based quota that is in their bylaws. 

The IHSAA has a by-law that reserves two seats on their Board of Directors for “an individual other than a white male or female,” according to Rokita. 

Rokita’s office is suing the IHSAA to force the immediate elimination of that bylaw. 

“IHSAA’s quota tells kids that skin color, rather than merit, is an appropriate way to judge people. That lesson has no place in Indiana’s education system, and, regardless, the law does not permit it,” said Attorney General Rokita.

The lawsuit aims to prevent the IHSAA from reserving Board of Directors seats based on race, prohibit any future bylaw directly based on race, and declare that the existing quotas violate state law. 

“The IHSAA exists to build character. A racial litmus test for choosing leadership on the IHSAA’s board does the opposite, and after months of delay, the Association left us no choice but to take legal action," Rokita said.

The attorney general’s office said they demanded the IHSAA to eliminate the quote earlier this year, however, the athletic organization refused to act. 

He added that the IHSAA has maintained some version of its racial quote since 1993.