A community college in Kansas is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for telling its coaches to recruit more white athletes while scrutinizing black athletes with background checks before offering scholarships.
What We Know:
- The ACLU “is the nation’s largest public interest law firm, with a 50-state network of staffed, autonomous affiliate offices,” according to its website. The ACLU took legal action on Thursday towards Highland Community College, which according to KMBC News, “instituted a plan six months ago to reduce the number of black students”.
- The lawsuit also included the college’s actions towards singling out Black students for dorm and car searches, and for expelling Black students for minor infractions. Eric Ingmire, the vice president of student services, is listed in the lawsuit as a defendant along with Bryan Dorrel, the school’s athletic director. The suit was filed on behalf of four former and current students.
- Highland Community College is made up of more than 3,200 students, 87% of whom are white. However, in 2019 the football team consisted of mostly Black players. Out of the 111 players, 104 of them were Black.
- The 2020 football recruiting group includes “a significantly lower number” of Black athletes, the lawsuit claims. According to the lawsuit, Dorrel told coaches to recruit “more local kids” and “less Southern kids”.
Neither Dorrel nor Ingmire have commented on this allegation at this time.
