An Inclusive Litany

9/11/99

After 17-year-old Rickey Higgins led Chicago's Warren Township High School to a surprising second-place finish in the state basketball tournament, he was arrested twice on alcohol-related offenses and thus declared ineligible for the upcoming basketball season.

Higgins subsequently sued in federal court, arguing that as a recovering alcoholic, the school's disciplinary action amounts to discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He seeks reinstatement to the team and $100,000 in compensatory damages. Currently practicing alcoholics are not covered under the act's provisions.