LAYTON — Kathleen Janis was never quite sure why she had to fight for the same athletic opportunities her male classmates enjoyed, but she fought anyway.
Last week her persistence paid off.
The 15-year-old Layton teen and her family settled a federal lawsuit they filed against the Davis School District after Janis was denied the right to participate in Central Davis Junior High’s wrestling program because she was a girl.
In exchange for dismissing their complaint, Davis District officials agreed to allow girls to participate in any wrestling school-sanctioned wrestling program. The school district also agreed to pay the family’s legal fees and a monetary settlement.
“That was the big win,” said attorney Stewart Gollan of the change in district policy that barred girls from participating in junior high wrestling programs. “I wasn’t surprised that it got resolved quickly. … We were pretty confident that the case law was so clear.”
In fact, it may be that Judge Robert Shelby granted Janis a temporary restraining order against the district, which allowed her to wrestle on the junior high team this year as a ninth-grader, that persuaded the district to settle the case, he said.
Davis District Community Relations director Chris Williams confirmed that the policy has changed as a result of the settlement.
"We had a number of girls who wrestled (this winter), and wrestled competitively," he said. "We are moving forward, and that will be standard opportunity for girls as well as boys."
Kelly Janis, Kathleen's mother, said it’s a shame it took a lawsuit to change an archaic rule.
“In today’s society, it’s unfortunate that it even remotely got to this extent,” she said. “I’m happy my daughter was able to wrestle, and now that policy has changed. … I’m very pleased it’s over and done with, and I’m happy with the settlement agreement. It should never have come to this.”
The family was baffled by the district's policy regarding junior high programs because girls are allowed to wrestle at the high school level on boys teams.
She said the family felt it had no choice, and family members endured harassment and threats throughout the struggle. Instead of cowing the teen into giving up, the backlash and subsequent legal fight have only helped enhance the teen’s commitment to the sport.
“Kathleen is ecstatic she was able to wrestle,” Kelly Janis said. “It’s heightened her desire for wrestling. She’s blossomed through all of this. Being told no twice, and then say, ‘Hey, this is wrong.’ It’s made Kathleen so much stronger.”
Kelly Janis said they’ve had eggs thrown at their house, and vulgar and unflattering insults have been hurled at both of them. They’ve even had death threats.
Still, Kelly said Kathleen was proud to lead the fight for change because she felt like it was the right thing to do.
“She knows a lot of young girls will be able to follow in her footsteps,” she said. “She’s very, very happy to be at the forefront of this. She’s very proud, and I’m proud of her.”
Not only did Kathleen compete for Central Davis Junior High, she just returned from the U.S. Marine Corps girls folkstyle national tournament, where she placed seventh.
“So she’s an All-American,” Kelly said. “We’re all very, very proud of the outcome.”