Page:Veronica Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High School District (September 19, 2014) US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.djvu/9

 Plaintiffs had standing to bring their Title IX retaliation claim—a claim the court viewed as premised on harm to the class, not harm to the softball coach whose firing Plaintiffs alleged was retaliatory. See id. at 1226 (“Plaintiffs . . . have set forth actions taken against the plaintiff class members after they complained of sex discrimination that are concrete and particularized.”). The district court also concluded that Plaintiffs’ retaliation claim was not moot after finding that class members were still suffering the effects of Sweetwater’s retaliatory conduct and that Sweetwater’s actions had caused a “chilling effect on students who would complain about continuing gender inequality in athletic programs at the school.” Id. at 1225.

C

After a 10-day bench trial, the district court granted Plaintiffs declaratory and injunctive relief on their Title IX claims alleging (1) unequal treatment of and benefits to female athletes at Castle Park, and (2) retaliation. ''See Ollier v. Sweetwater Union High Sch. Dist.'', 858 F. Supp. 2d 1093 (S.D. Cal. 2012).

The district court concluded that Sweetwater violated Title IX by failing to provide equal treatment and benefits in nine different areas, including recruiting, training, equipment, scheduling, and fundraising. Id. at 1098–1108, 1115. Among other things, the district court found that female athletes at Castle Park were supervised by overworked coaches, provided with inferior competition and practice facilities, and received less publicity than male athletes. Id. at 1099–1104, 1107. The district court found that female athletes received unequal treatment and benefits as a result of “systemic administrative failures” at Castle Park, and that Sweetwater