The U.S Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has forced a school in Michigan to tear down a brand-new set of bleachers for its boys’ varsity baseball team because the new seating is nicer than the girls’ softball bleachers.
in Canton, Mich., was ordered to tear down a new set of bleachers after government officials told them they're no longer equal to the girls' bleacher (Image source:
Plymouth High School in Canton, Mich., was ordered to tear down a new set of bleachers after government officials told them they’re no longer equal to the girls’ bleachers. (Image source: WJBK-TV)
The raised seating deck for the boys’ baseball team, which was paid for with money raised by parents, was put in place because fans who’d come to watch games at Plymouth High School in Canton, Mich., were having a hard time seeing the game through the chain-link fence WJBK-TV reported.
The parents installed the new bleachers themselves and even added a new scoreboard to the field, the station reported.
But after an investigation by government officials, which was prompted by an anonymous complaint, the school was told it had to remove the new seating because it was “no longer equal” to the adjacent girls’ softball bleachers, which have yet to get a makeover of their own.
Further, government officials said, the new boys’ bleachers were not sufficiently handicap-accessible.
The school agreed to tear down the new bleachers after government officials issued a citation.
Plymouth High School superintendent Michael Meissen said the school will hold onto the new bleachers until they can come up with a plan that adheres to strict government rules and is “fair to everyone,” WJBK-TV reported.
The superintendent also said that the school doesn’t have the money to renovate the girls’ bleachers. They will, however, add a new scoreboard to the girls’ field soon.


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