Fight for gym space at Richmond High School

RICHMOND, Ind. (WISH) — Boys versus girls: It’s a fight for gym space at Richmond High School.

At the center of the heated argument is the use of the main gym. The girls volleyball season is underway, and the Richmond team found the boys basketball team, who were off-season, using the main gym.

When the girls asked the boys to move they didn’t.

Parents of the captain of the girls’ volleyball team spoke to News 8. “An in-season sport is being displaced for an out-season sport in an open gym,” said father David Spradling.

According to our newsgathering partners at Western Wayne News , the girls volleyball team filed a federal Title IX complaint because of the ongoing unfair use of the gym. Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools.

Volleyball coach Darrel Morken went to the administration and, witnesses say, the discussion became heated. The volleyball coach was suspended the next week, but the school didn’t say why.

The volleyball players later had their own meeting with administrators. The players were told they were behaving disrespectfully.

That’s when they decided to file their Title IX complaint.

Deanna Spradling, the team captain, said, “We were shocked about it. We didn’t understand the reasoning. We didn’t see that he had done anything wrong.

Deanna says the coach was just fighting for fair use of the gym.

The boys Basketball coach, Billy Wright, is the brother of the Superintendent Curtis Wright of Richmond Community Schools .

Deanna says the team doesn’t even have volleyball court lines in any of the gyms, and players have to use painter’s tape each time to set up.

David says the favoritism has been going on for a while. “It’s been that way for a while now and it was kind of just accepted and it got to the point where they had enough.”

The school posted a response on its website denying the basketball team displaced the volleyball team. The post also said they have not received any official Title IX complaints.

Deanna agreed with the girls that something needs to be done. “There is a violation with this, because they have to give girls’ sports adequate space to practice.”