COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – A Colorado Springs swimmer has filed a federal discrimination complaint against the Colorado High School Activities Association after being disqualified from a swimming competition for his glucose monitor.
Sixteen-year-old Ethan Orr is a competitive swimmer at Coronado High School. He qualified for the state championships and had already participated in two tests during the June competition when a CHSAA referee came and reported on his arm monitor.
“Ethan had a chance to pull him off his arm or not compete in that event and chose not to compete in that event. He thought that would allow his team to swim,” said the teen’s mother, Amanda Terrell -Orr.
Orr fights type 1 diabetes from the age of ten; last year he was the first to be able to start swimming competitively, so he joined his high school team.
Terrell-Orr says his son has had a difficult trip to control diabetes this year because of the amount of energy he devotes to swimming.
“This season was the hardest time we’ve ever had to control his type 1 diabetes. He has had the most dangerous blood sugar levels and somehow persevered, practiced with the support of his coach and athletic coach and got a state qualifying time, ”said Terrell-Orr.
She says her child should wear the glucose monitor at all times because it is connected to the insulin pump and removing it could alter the algorithm to determine if he needs insulin.
Throughout the season, though, her son has been able to swim with the monitor and has used tape to hold it in place throughout the season without any problems.
He also swims on a private team during the low season that operates under U.S. swimming rules and says the monitor has never been seen as a violation of the rules.
At the state championships, the referee told the Orr coach that he should have been disqualified from all events without a medical note.
“The rule does not apply to the situation. He was not carrying any foreign substances or devices that would help his speed, buoyancy or body compression, ”said Terrell-Orr. “It basically slows him down and puts him at a disadvantage compared to other swimmers, but that’s not why he asked for accommodation. He just wants to have equity. “
After arguing with his coach and the referee, Orr agreed to sit down, but the team could not find a substitute in enough time and was disqualified from the final relay race.
Terrell-Orr says his son felt a huge guilt over the fact that his team could not compete.
The Gold coach then went to CHSAA to discuss the incident, but received no response.
The family contacted education and civil rights lawyer Igor Raykin with the Colorado legal team to ask for help.
“I can’t imagine for a lifetime how a glucose monitor could give you a competitive advantage. It’s not a rocket impulse, it’s a glucose monitor, ”Raykin said.
Because CHSAA has no state oversight, Raykin decided to file a complaint of discrimination with the Department of Justice and CHSAA.
The family wants CHSAA to change its policies or clarify the rules so that wearing a glucose monitor does not disqualify student-athletes.
“We see it as public housing under the law and it is not allowed to discriminate against people with disabilities like Ethan,” Raykin explains.
At this time, the family is not pursuing a lawsuit and is not seeking financial damages, but Raykin says that if no action is taken to change the association’s policies, there could be litigation.
“It’s really infuriating when an agency like CHSAA is more focused on denying children with disabilities the right to participate, it’s making sure they have an inclusive environment for children,” Raykin said.
Terrell-Orr believes the group owes an apology to his son and his team. He says he had never been so angry in his life as when his son was retired from a competition in which he worked so hard to qualify and sees it as one more obstacle to overcome for his family.
“It has been extremely painful for the whole family and Ethan has had to work hard to strengthen his confidence and his belief that the system can be fair,” he said.
CHSAA provided the following statement Tuesday night:
CHSAA has received requests for comments on a complaint filed with the DOJ alleging disability discrimination. CHSAA received a copy of the complaint yesterday afternoon and reviewed it. It is not our policy to answer questions about complaints filed, but given the misleading and inflammatory statements of the student’s legal counsel, there are certain facts that need to be taken into account.
During the 2020-21 State Swimming Championships, a referee noticed that the student had a strip of tape on his arm. The referee asked the student if he had the necessary signed medical authorization letter, as required by the National Federation of Secondary Education 2020/21, Rule 3-3-5, which applies to all participants. The rule specifies that a participant may use the tape to treat a documented medical condition, but documentation signed by a healthcare professional certifying that the student is safe to participate with the connected device must be submitted to the referee. All coaches were informed of this requirement through various CHSAA notices.
The student did not have a signed medical authorization and the referee warned him that he could not compete in his last event, the 400 freestyle. This decision was required by the NFHS rules governing all participants equally and they had nothing to do with the student’s disabilities
The referee also informed the coach of the decision. The coach stated that he had other athletes available for the event and that the event continued with an alternate participant. Neither the student nor the team were disqualified. The team competed but was subsequently disqualified for an early takeoff completely unrelated to the question of the student in question.
Alexander Halpern, LLC
Denver7 contacted the Justice Department to obtain a statement, but received no comment.