The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a sex discrimination case from former NCAA basketball coach MaChelle Joseph, who alleged that Georgia Tech violated federal anti-discrimination laws by providing more resources for the men’s basketball team than for the women’s program.
Joseph, who was fired as head coach in 2019, sued under several laws, including Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs. But workplace discrimination cases are typically brought instead under Title VII, which is specifically geared toward employment but which also includes additional requirements and caps on how much can be awarded in damages.
The question for the Supreme Court, which has divided federal appeals courts, is whether Joseph may bring her claims under Title IX. The answer will have important ramifications for both publicly funded schools, which could put them on the hook for larger damage awards in sex discrimination cases, and employees, who may have another avenue to pursue those claims – or have that route closed off.
Joseph told the Supreme Court that the case would have “far-reaching implications.”
A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2024 that Joseph could not rely on Title IX. The full appeals court declined to review that decision last year.
