The potential litigation discussed here came to fruition Tuesday when the Spokespeople for Florida’s Parents for Athletic Equity filed suit against the FHSAA for what it views as Title IX violations in Policy 6, which was passed by the FHSAA board of directors in April.

The Sun has obtained a series of e-mail correspondences between Florida Coastal School of Law professor Nancy Hogshead-Makar, the front-person in the suit, and FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing that occurred before litigation was filed.

In those letters Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic swimming gold medalist and FHSAA Hall of Famer, expressed her belief that competitive cheerleading joining football as the sports whose schedules were not reduced by Policy 6 does not provide a proper gender balance. In an e-mail dated June 8, she referred to cheerleading as a “sideline activity” and suggested cheerleading’s structure be fixed “so that it conforms to recognized standards for a sport.”

An e-mail from Dearing on June 11 asked Hogshead-Makar what her thoughts would be if the board of directors convened a “special meeting in July, and rescinds the action taken to reduce the maximum number of allowable contests (from 25 to 20 for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years).”

Hogshead-Makar responded with an e-mail to all FHSAA board members stating her legal team was demanding an emergency board meeting on or before June 26. She said a July meeting would be too late for schools to add back the games lost with the April 27 vote.

On June 12 Hogshead-Makar sent an e-mail to Florida’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Larry Cretul. There, she said attempts at a compromise between her group and Dearing were unsuccessful and asked that Cretul intervene.

Three days later the House’s general counsel, Karen M. Camechis, replied with a short letter declining Hogshead-Makar’s request.

Attached to this blog are copies of those e-mails, as well as a copy of the actual suit that was filed by Hogshead-Makar and fellow attorneys Wayne Hogan, Leslie Goller with Terrell Hogan.

When reached by phone, FHSAA director of media relations Cristina Alvarez said “we have no comment.” Alvarez added Dearing was out of town this week and that due to the litigation she was unsure if the FHSAA would be able to provide a statement in the near future.

A few other notes …

* According to Policy 9, Section D of the FHSAA Handbook, legal fees incurred by the FHSAA will be paid by member schools. That could mean schools that are anti-Policy 6 would be on the hook to financially support a court fight defending Policy 6.

* In April an agreement was reached between the Michigan High School Athletic Association and Communities for Equity concerning a Title IX lawsuit filed in 1998. The MHSAA agreed to pay $6 million in legal fees by 2015 to Communities for Equity, which won the lawsuit in 2001.

The lawsuit contended that the MHSAA’s scheduling of girls sports in 1998 did not follow colleges and universities and therefore was detrimental to female athletes because it limited news coverage of their games and their ability to play for college recruiters that follow the university schedule. The suit argued that the scheduling policy violated equal protection rights under the 14th amendment, Michigan civil rights laws, and Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination against girls and women in federally funded education programs, including athletics.

* Two of the most anti-Policy 6 board members, Oak Hall athletic director Jeff Malloy and Naples AD Ernie Modugno, will see their FHSAA terms end June 30.