Injunction denied for teenage girl cut from LeBoldus football team

There won’t be any girls suiting up for the LeBoldus Golden Suns football team Friday evening, after an application for an injunction from a Grade 12 student was denied Friday morning.

According to the injunction decision, 17-year-old Hannah Ounsworth tried out for the Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School team but was cut. She and her family feel it was only because of bias against Ounsworth because she’s a girl.

Her family filed to the court asking for a declaration that the Regina Catholic School Division, the high school and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association discriminated against Ounsworth. The family asked for an injunction that would have forced the team to accept Hannah in time for Friday’s city final.

In her decision, Justice Janet McMurtry said the evidence raises “some markers of discrimination” and called it a serious issue.

Since this is Ounsworth’s last year in high school, this would be her last chance to be a part of the team. McMurtry wrote that, while Ounsworth and her family have filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, that matter could take months to conclude.

The Golden Suns are to play the Riffel Royals in the 6A final at Leibel Field at 6 p.m., and could advance to the provincial final if they win.

The justice wrote she accepts that Ounsworth wouldn’t play in the city and provincial finals because she doesn’t have enough experience with the team to play safely.

The justice determined that the harm done to Ounsworth by not granting the injunction would be the harm of not being able to attend the two games and any team events afterward as part of the team.

Lawyers for the school argued that incorporating Ounsworth into team practices would disrupt the team chemistry.

So McMurtry decided not to grant the injunction, saying the harm possibly done to Ounsworth by not granting the injunction could be compensated for in damages in a separate decision, and the harm done to the team by granting the injunction could not be compensated for in damages.

McMurtry stayed the request for a declaration on the discrimination question. She relied on a previous court decision that found that’s under the purview of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission unless the chief commissioner makes an application to the court.

The family has filed a complaint with the commission.