Indiana AG Sues High School Athletic Assoc Over Race-Based Board Seats After Equal Protection Project Demand Letter
“The IHSAA exists to build character. A racial litmus test for choosing leadership on its own board does the opposite, and after months of delay, the Association left us no choice but to take legal action,”
The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is facing a lawsuit from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita over its policy reserving two seats on its Board of Directors for racial minorities.
🚨My team and I are suing the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) to force the immediate elimination of a race-based quota that reserves two seats on its Board of Directors for “qualified minorities,” defined in the Association’s bylaws as “an individual other than a… pic.twitter.com/FfZFb2DcJz
— AG Todd Rokita (@AGToddRokita) September 24, 2026
The lawsuit follows a challenge initiated on May 14, 2025, when the Equal Protection Project (EPP) and Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) sent the IHSAA a demand letter challenging its racially discriminatory board positions. The letter received coverage from Fox News, PLF, and Legal Insurrection.
Under the IHSAA’s bylaws, its 19-member Board of Directors must include two “qualified minorities.” The bylaws define a “minority director” as “an individual other than a white male or female,” expressly excluding white individuals from eligibility for those seats. According to the Attorney General’s complaint, the IHSAA has maintained some form of racial set-aside on its board since 1993, with the current two-seat requirement dating to the early 2000s.
When the IHSAA did not agree to eliminate the challenged provisions, EPP and PLF began considering litigation. Satisfying Indiana’s standing requirements presented a significant obstacle, however, so EPP referred the matter to the Attorney General’s Office.
On April 23, 2026, Rokita’s office formally directed the IHSAA to eliminate the race-based board requirement or face legal action. The IHSAA declined to make an immediate change, stating that it would instead consider the issue as part of future bylaw amendments. The Attorney General’s Office followed up in July, again warning that litigation would follow if the provision remained in place.
On September 23, 2026, the State of Indiana, through Attorney General Rokita, filed suit against the IHSAA. The complaint alleges that the board requirement constitutes unlawful racial discrimination and is inconsistent with the IHSAA’s obligations as an Indiana nonprofit and public-benefit corporation. The State seeks, among other relief, a permanent injunction requiring the IHSAA to eliminate the race-based board provisions and a declaratory judgment that the challenged bylaws violate Indiana law.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is suing the state’s high school athletic association over a rule reserving two board seats for minority representatives, calling the policy racially discriminatory.https://t.co/Lb85yQd6aD pic.twitter.com/DrzSGvT1lj
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) September 24, 2026
Fox News reported on EPP’s early involvement:
The lawsuit marks the latest escalation in a dispute first brought into public view last year.
Fox News Digital reported in May 2025 that the Pacific Legal Foundation and Equal Protection Project had sent a letter demanding that the IHSAA remove race- and sex-based requirements from its board-selection process.
At the time, the bylaws provided for a 19-member board that included two “qualified female representatives” and two “qualified minorities.” The groups warned that legal action could follow if the provisions were not removed.
“We hope that IHSAA will do the right thing and voluntarily remedy the discriminatory bylaws provisions, but if it does not, all legal options are on the table,” Equal Protection Project founder William A. Jacobson told Fox News Digital at the time.
The IHSAA criticized the lawsuit, stating, as Fox News further reported:
“It is unfortunate that distractions like today’s lawsuit take away from what really matters: the student-athletes.”
Rokita, however, emphasized the association’s responsibility to set an example for those students:
“The IHSAA exists to build character. A racial litmus test for choosing leadership on its own board does the opposite, and after months of delay, the Association left us no choice but to take legal action,” Rokita wrote on X.
As a former Indiana high school athlete and an attorney with the Equal Protection Project, I was troubled to learn that the IHSAA expressly reserved board positions based on race. I commend Attorney General Rokita for taking action to end that practice. An organization entrusted with promoting sportsmanship and character should select its leaders based on their qualifications, not their race. That principle is at the heart of our work at EPP: There is no “good” form of racism, and the remedy for racism is never more racism.
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