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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Former student sues for losing in SoCal cheerleader tryouts
Friday June 20, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) A former student of Puerto Rican descent has
taken her case to federal court, claiming the Antelope Valley Union
High School district violated her civil rights when she was
rejected at cheerleader tryouts.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court by former
Quartz Hill High School student Kelly Smith, who contends that
cheerleading coach Tammy Stewart, motivated by racial bias, rigged
her scores during the 2002 tryouts. Smith is seeking unspecified
damages from Stewart and other school district employees.
A lawsuit was filed in Superior Court but it was withdrawn in
May, said a paralegal for Smith's attorney. A telephone message
left before business hours Friday for her attorney, Thomas P.
Hanrahan, was not returned.
A call to school district offices before business hours was
answered by a recording that offices were closed.
Stewart's attorney did not return a call seeking comment,
however, Stewart has denied any wrongdoing.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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