A federal judge in Michigan refused to allow nineteen year-old Jill Lafler to compete in the Golden Gloves. Jill,
a student at Lansing Community College, who has been working out with the
men's boxing team, had tried to register last month for the gloves but was
turned down. She appealed and Ingham County Circuit judge Raymond Hotchkiss ruled
that she could fight, but his ruling was over turned by Federal
judge Wendell Miles, who issued an eight page opinion.
Judge Hotchkiss's ruling had suspended the competition in the
flyweight class until Miss Lafler's case could be heard.
Judge Miles said the difference between male and female anatomies made
it unrealistic to believe that women could enter the sport of boxing and
operate under the same rules with no detrimental effects on the safety of
the participants.
He also said that she failed to prove that she would probably be
successful or that she would suffer irreparable harm if she could not
fight. Miles also said Lafler could not ensure that her participation
would not hurt the tournament and could not prove "the public
interest would be served" by her fighting.
The judge said he could find no evidence of sex discrimination and said
a separate tournament could be set up for women to box women.
Miss Lafler was, as she put it, "zombied out" when she heard
his decision. "Just for a minute, I lost it. I thought for sure I was
going to win." She is unsure as to her future, as there are no other
women amateur boxers in Michigan. She had fought and defeated a fourteen
-year-old boy in her only previous bout.
