CHSAA lawyer calls $2.5 million judgement for violation of federal race discrimination laws “plainly wrong”
CHSAA lawyer Alex Halpern termed a $two.5 million ruling in opposition to the association for violating federal race discrimination guidelines “plainly improper,” and claimed the association is “aggressively” pursuing all choices to lower or reverse the judgment.
The ruling came down April 23 in a Colorado U.S. District Court docket scenario that stemmed from CHSAA’s rationalization for Falcon Faculty District 49’s firing of Trey Harris, the plaintiff, adhering to Sand Creek boys basketball’s use of an ineligible transfer participant in 2017.
Halpern dealt with the ruling Wednesday all through CHSAA’s Legislative Council conference. He claimed that in much more than 30 years doing the job for CHSAA, the association did not have a complaint of racial discrimination prior to Harris’ allegations.
The lawyer claimed the ruling was “totally shocking” and disputed the veracity of the facts that were being introduced to the jury.
“I am persuaded that racially discriminatory statements that were being attributed to CHSAA team associates were being falsehoods,” Halpern claimed. “Those statements did not come about.
“I really don’t simply say that since I’m the lawyer who was there representing CHSAA, but since amongst other points, I’ve labored for this organization for more than 30 years and I know for a certainty that CHSAA does not discriminate on the basis of race. Nor does it stimulate or in any way guidance discrimination on the basis of race.”
In court filings, Harris, who was an assistant coach at Sand Creek, alleged that “Falcon 49 fired him at CHSAA’s suggestion as a minority scapegoat to save by themselves from humiliation and protected the school’s means to take part in the playoffs.”
Halpern claimed he’s doing the job with commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green and the association’s insurance policies carriers “to ascertain the place to go from right here.”
“We are discovering all of our choices relative to seeing if anything at all can be finished to appeal this judgment, to get it reduced or reversed, and we will be discovering our choices proactively and aggressively,” he claimed.
