Missouri AG Probes High School Sports Body Over Claims of Race, Sex Discrimination

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Tuesday that her office has launched an investigation into the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA), the nonprofit governing body for interscholastic sports and activities across more than 700 schools, following allegations of race-and sex-based discrimination in board selection.

The probe stems from a whistleblower complaint detailed in a letter from State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, who reported that a white male administrator was explicitly told he was ineligible for an at-large seat on MSHSAA’s Board of Directors due to his race and gender. MSHSAA’s constitution, under Article IV, Section 2.b.2, requires such seats to be filled by representatives of “the under-represented gender…or an under-represented ethnicity,” a policy the organization defended in correspondence but which critics say violates constitutional protections against discrimination.

“This discrimination is extremely troubling in any setting but is of even greater concern here because MSHSAA derives much of its funding from public sources and plays an important role in the extracurricular life of Missouri’s children,” Fitzpatrick stated in the release, emphasizing the association’s influence over 200,000 students statewide.

Hanaway, echoing the sentiment, declared, “Missouri does not tolerate race-based or sex-based discrimination, period,” as her office prepares to scrutinize whether the policy contravenes state and federal laws. MSHSAA, which has voluntarily affiliated with member schools since 1926, has not yet publicly responded to the investigation, but its attorney previously noted that schools vote to adopt the constitutional provisions annually.