ATHLETE'S ALCOHOLISM LAWSUIT A LONGSHOT, SAY LEGAL EXPERTS

Basketball player Rickey Higgins' argument that he should be
reinstated to his high school team because he's an alcoholic and
protected under federal law will be no slam dunk in court, according
to some legal experts.

"I think it's definitely going to be a difficult case," said attorney
Barry C. Taylor, legal advocacy director of Equip for Equality, a
private, non-profit Chicago-based advocate for people with
disabilities.

Higgins, a 17-year-old senior at Warren Township High School in
Gurnee, announced this week that he has filed a federal lawsuit
claiming that the school violated the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) by removing from him from the team for two alcohol-related
brushes with the law, knowing that he is an admitted alcoholic.

Higgins said he fears his inability to play as a high school senior
will jeopardize his chances for a college basketball
scholarship.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ruled that alcoholism
can be considered a disability under the ADA, which is designed to
remove barriers in employment and access to accommodations for people
with physical and mental limitations.

But the experts say several factors could weaken Higgins' case,
especially the fact that he was acting illegally by consuming alcohol
as a minor.

"The ADA was not passed to protect people (who engage) in illegal
activities," Taylor said. "In that respect, this is not the type of
case we anticipated to be brought under the ADA."

Steven Glink, Higgins' Northbrook attorney, agreed that his client was
breaking the law by drinking while underage. "I think it is a concern,
but it's an arguable concern," he said. "It doesn't automatically
disqualify him."

Glink contends that Higgins had no control over his actions because of
his addiction, unlike a student who may on occasion simply drink too
much at a party. Glink has doctors' letters stating that the youth
suffers from "chronic alcoholism," but is receiving treatment and has
been sober for several months.

"His is a recognized medical and psychiatric condition," Glink said.
"He's entitled to an accommodation under the law."

Invoking the law in this instance, however, has struck some as an
abuse of the measure's intent.

"This is the kind of case that gives the ADA a bad name," said
Jennifer Bowerman, associate director of the Great Lakes ADA Center, a
federally funded group that provides technical assistance on the law
through the University of Illinois at Chicago. "This is not who the
law was mean to protect."

According to Bowerman and others, to be covered under the ADA, Higgins
will have to clear a difficult legal hurdle by proving to the court
that he not only has a disability, but that it results in a
"substantial limitation," of a major life activity.

For example, in ADA cases involving non-ambulatory people, those
plaintiffs must show that their condition prevents them from walking.

For an alcoholic, however, manifestations of the illness might be less
obvious, say those questioning the suit's chances in court.

That aside, Higgins will have to prove that the school denied him an
equal opportunity to participate on the team, where he was the
second-leading scorer in last season's AA state tournament. The school
barred him from playing this year after he voluntarily reported to
coaches that he had been involved in the two alcohol-related
incidents, including one in which he was convicted of driving while
intoxicated.

Under the school's athletic code of conduct, second violations
involving drug or alcohol use require automatic, one-year team
suspensions.

"It would be discrimination if they held him to a different standard
or a higher standard than they did other students," said Kendra
Duckworth, a consultant at the Job Accommodation Network, a West
Virginia-based, federally funded organization that provides technical
assistance on ADA issues. "If other students have had similar
incidences but weren't kicked off the team, that might be
discrimination."

However, she said the ADA does not protect people from normal
disciplinary consequences for their behavior.

Glink recognizes that the legal fight will not be easy. He said he
considered asking the courts for an injunction ordering the school to
reinstate Higgins, but he said most courts have ruled that
participation in extracurricular activities is a privilege, not a right.

"I think it will be an uphill battle, I do," Glink said. "But I'm
prepared to fight the battle. I think the boy should be on the team."