NOTE: A lawsuit represents only one side of a story.
SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — A federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of an international high school student, accusing the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) of discrimination against international students.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Oct. 7, alleges that UHSAA recently implemented a rule that prohibits foreign students — who are legally in the United States on an F-1 student visa — from participating in varsity sports. The suit claims that the new rule constitutes illegal discrimination.
‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ star sues executives of her church’s business firm The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Juan Diego Catholic High School student-athlete Zachary Szymakowski and “a proposed class of similarly situated F-1 students.” Defendants in the suit include the UHSAA as an organization, UHSAA Executive Director Rob Cuff, and 15 other individuals.
An F-1 visa is one of two “ nonimmigrant visa categories ” that allows individuals from other countries to become full-time students if they meet certain criteria — including (but not limited to) being enrolled as a full-time student at an institution that has been approved by the Student and Exchange Visitors Program of the Immigration & Customs Enforcement .
“You must be enrolled in a program or course of study that culminates in a degree, diploma, or certificate and your school must be authorized by the U.S. government to accept international students,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services explains online .
According to the 2024-25 UHSAA Handbook , students with F-1 visas are eligible only for “non-varsity level competition” unless they meet other conditions outlined by the UHSAA.
“[A] member school may choose to compete with an F1 student at the varsity level, but the member school is not eligible for post-season competition,” the handbook reads. “Such member school must declare the use of an F1 student at the varsity level prior to the competition start date for that given sport and receive approval from the UHSAA.”
International students who are not living with parents or legal guardians are subject to additional requirements before they can be “considered for interscholastic athletic eligibility,” according to the handbook.
If a student doesn’t comply with the provisions listed in the handbook, then that student will be “ineligible for interscholastic athletics at any UHSAA member high school,” the handbook reads.
On Oct. 7, the plaintiffs also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, saying in the motion, “The UHSAA is no more permitted to discriminate on [based on a student’s foreign status] than for any other class.”
The suit alleges the UHSAA’s rule is unconstitutional and violates the rights of Szymakowski and other students under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment . The suit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
ABC4.com has reached out to the UHSAA for comment but has not yet received a response.
Background
“I want to leave a legacy, and I don’t want people to have to do what I’ve done or have to go through what I’ve gone through,” Zachary Szymakowski told ABC4.com the day after the suit was filed.
Szymakowski is a high school senior from Australia, who moved to Utah last year. He made the football team at Juan Diego Catholic High School in his junior year — but he soon learned that his first season may have been his last.
“I’ve just been essentially ripped away from the things that make me the most comfortable over here, which is the football team and the guys on the football team,” Szymakowski said.
He told ABC4.com that he wants to get a college education and was hoping to get a college scholarship for football — but with the UHSAA’s recent ruling, his chances of getting a scholarship were cut in half.
“That’s something that I want to fight for as well,” Szymakowski said of his higher education.
Szymakowski’s parents said an F-1 visa requires support from a school that can issue the necessary paperwork.
“They’re looking for the complete American high school experience,” JDCHS principal Dr. Galey Colosimo said. “And so, to say that … come to a private school in Utah and just do algebra and history and physics — that’s not really the full high school experience.”
Colosimo said the school supports the lawsuit because 26 of the school’s 700 students are F-1 students, though not all of them participate in sports.
“We don’t really bring them here so that they’ll augment our sports teams,” Colosimo said.
Szymakowski’s parents are in town visiting, and they said that, every week, he calls them to say he is hopeful that the rule will be overturned so that he can be on the field.
That hasn’t happened yet, but Szymakowski and his parents are still hoping to see him on the field.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Local News
