RSSGathering celebrates lawsuit that changed women's sports
Yakima Herald-Republic
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It took long hours, dedication and a sprint to the finish, but she won.
In a way, all women did.
On Thursday evening, Karen Troianello of Yakima took time to look back on history as part of a Seattle event celebrating a legal victory that changed the course of women's participation in sports.
A high school and college track star, Troianello -- then known as Karen Blair -- was the lead plaintiff in a 1987 lawsuit filed by the Northwest Women's Law Center in Seattle that challenged Washington State University's treatment of women's sports.
Filed under the Washington State Equal Rights Amendment in 1979, the lawsuit, which became known as Blair vs. WSU, argued that the university allotted less money and gave inferior facilities to female athletes in comparison to men.
In 1987, state Supreme Court justices unanimously agreed and directed WSU to make its participation rates and scholarships reflect the ratio of female undergraduates to male undergraduates. The case set a precedent for public four-year colleges and universities in the state.
Troianello, who is letters editor at the Yakima Herald-Republic, graduated from WSU in 1980. She had earned a track scholarship there after setting six records in the sport at Bellingham High School.
Not everyone agreed with the lawsuit at the time, Troianello remembered. In fact, her track coach elected not to participate, and plaintiffs were sometimes criticized for "killing" men's sports, she said. She was among 39 female athletes and 14 coaches who joined the lawsuit.
"We weren't trying to take money away from men's sports; we were just fighting for equitable funding," Troianello said.
Because it took more than eight years from the time the lawsuit was filed until the Supreme Court ruled, "I knew it was for the benefit of future generations," she said.
The case was one of the first lawsuits filed by the Northwest Women's Law Center, which opened nearly 30 years ago. The center hosted Thursday's celebration at Seattle's Paramount Theatre.
Former Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro served as master of ceremonies. A board member of the women's law center in the 1980s, Munro introduced Troianello, who, along with other former WSU athletes, described their experiences in the groundbreaking lawsuit.
"Karen is such a hero to all of us here," said Lisa Stone, executive director of the law center.
Troianello, 50, is married to Craig Troianello, the Herald-Republic's city editor. Their son Peter, a member of the Eisenhower High School track team, often runs the 800-meter race, which was his mother's specialty.
