Law, Business, and Society 9th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 5

In 1992 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools adopted Proposition 16, which determined athletic eligibility based on the student athlete's GPA and standardized test score (ACT/SAT). For example, a student athlete with a 2.0 high school GPA needed a 1010 SAT score to ensure athletic eligibility as a college freshman. Kelly Pryor, an African American, signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play soccer on scholarship at San Jose State University in the fall of 1999. Warren Spivey, an African American, signed an NLI to play football on scholarship at the University of Connecticut. Neither Pryor nor Spivey met the Proposition 16 requirements. They sued, claiming the NCAA intentionally discriminated against them because of their race. Essentially, the plaintiffs claimed that Proposition 16 achieved the NCAA goal of improving graduation rates for black athletes relative to white athletes simply by screening out greater numbers of black athletes than white athletes. The plaintiffs provided evidence indicating that the NCAA knew that Proposition 16 would disqualify black athletes in greater proportions than white athletes. In effect, the NCAA, according to the plaintiffs, had intentionally established explicit race-based goals rather than providing a racially neutral way of deciding who would qualify for scholarship eligibility. How would you rule on the case Explain.